Exposing the 'myth of participation' in the South African secondary school Mathematical Literacy

Centre for Research in Mathematical Education (CRME)

Presented by Dr Mark North, Senior Research Fellow, The University of Nottingham

Nine years post implementation of secondary school Mathematical Literacy in the 16+ curriculum framework in South Africa and reality is far removed from the stated intentions for the subject. An orientation for preparing students for empowered engagement in everyday life, the world of work, and for critical citizenship, has been overshadowed by an ardent emphasis on the development of mathematical knowledge and thwarted through exposure to problem-solving experiences involving largely mathematised forms of real-world participation with mythologised and fictionalised representations of reality. In this talk I will argue that the current structure of participation in the subject embodies the ‘myth of participation’, namely the belief that engagement with mathematical structures in pseudo-contextual experiences equips students to participate more effectively in real-world practices. I will further demonstrate how the current structure of participation in the subject contributes to the sustainment of a degree of educational disadvantage in the curriculum framework. This current state of affairs provides the motivation for a reconceptualised vision of a possible structure of legitimate knowledge and participation for the subject, and suggestions will be offered in this regard. Where appropriate, connections between Mathematical Literacy and the recently implemented UK-based qualification Core Mathematics will be drawn.

Refreshments will be available