Teachers' preferred contexts for Mathematical Literacy as possible initiators for Mathematics for Action

Abstract

The reasons provided by teachers for the contextual issues they would prefer and not for learners to deal with in Mathematical Literacy were analysed. This analysis rendered that teachers consider situations from the background of the learners and those that will not conflict with teachers' personal pedagogical ideologies as important contexts to be used in Mathematical Literacy. Issues from learners' background are intensely political and this leads to the wonderment whether the handling of such issues should remain at a level of awareness- making. To deal with this wonderment the notion of mathematics in action is extended to mathematics for action. It is concluded that teachers' preferred contexts to be used in Mathematical Literacy open the possibility for the inclusion of an action component which can contribute towards societal transformation as desired by the South African Mathematical Literacy curriculum.