This book is unique. It gathers texts which give the best presentation of the principles and key concepts of the Theory of Didactical Situations that Guy Brousseau developed in the period from 1970 to 1990. These texts provide a comprehensive presentation of the Theory. In order to facilitate the reading of certain points footnotes have been added, as well as preludes and interludes to place in context the chosen texts and clarify the construction of the book.

Editors' Preface. Prelude to the Introduction. Introduction. 1. Foundations and Methods of Didactique. 2. Epistemological Obstacles, Problems and Didactical Engineering. 3. Problems with Teaching Decimal Numbers. 4. Didactical Problems with Decimals. 5. The Didactical Contract: The Teacher, the Student and the Milieu. 6. Didactique - What Use is it to a Teacher? Appendix: The Center for Observations: The école Jules Michelet at Talence. Bibliography. References. Index of Names. Index of Subjects.