The Academic and the Everyday: Subject Advisors’ and Teachers’ Interpretations and Classroom Practices Related to the Goal of Connecting School Mathematics and Students’ Everyday Experiences in Namibia (original) (raw)

In assuming that relating school mathematics to students' everyday out-of-school practices and other related experiences is beneficial to the learning and appreciation of the usefulness of mathematics, there have been widespread calls for realising a school mathematics curriculum that makes mathematics meaningful for learners. In Namibia, for instance, the mathematics curriculum for Upper Primary and Junior Secondary suggests that by application and local contextualisation of mathematics, this goal can be achieved. However, teachers' pedagogic approaches to put these aspirations into practice remain under-researched. This makes this subject worthwhile to investigate further. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate how teachers and personnel with curricular responsibility interpret the official goal statement of the curriculum and how teachers realise their interpretations in classroom practice. Methodologically, the study used interviews with subject advisors and teachers, and observations of classroom teaching by means of video. PART I 1 Background, motivation and research setting This study is concerned with mathematics education in Namibia, a country whose education policy has changed dramatically since the country's independence in 1990. Mathematics education for all has become an important goal in order to overcome restrictions of access to quality academic education based on racial classification. While the research question for this study is framed with reference to the particular context of the Namibian education system, the discourse of making mathematics more relevant, meaningful and motivating by connecting school mathematics to students' everyday experiences is international. Ideas emanating from this discourse, as well as many other ideas, have entered Namibia through South Africa and via the policy of learner-centred teaching (Kasanda et al., 2005). Learnercentred education (LCE) is a foundation policy for the new education system which was introduced in Namibia soon after independence in 1991 (National Institute for Educational Development [NIED], 2003). This chapter provides a reflection of professional experience that motivated the undertaking and a short outline of the context of this research study. It also includes an introduction to Namibia's education system and policy. The managerial structure within which mathematics as a school subject is organised in Namibia is of particular interest for the study and includes actors from different system levels (subject advisors and teachers). This information is intended to provide sufficient background for the research questions asked. The section that follows deals more specifically with the national curriculum and the official document that motivated the research questions.