The study of the participating educators’ perceptions of the notions of mathematical literacy (as a competency, and as a school subject) in KwaZulu-Natal area has offered a picture of teachers’ beliefs and views of their experiences about the implementation of the new NCS for Mathematical Literacy in South Africa. It has also attempted to explore how educators construct their understandings of the two notions of
‘mathematical literacy’. The analysis of teachers’ perceptions emphasized the
meaning or definition used to describe the term ‘mathematical literacy’, and also what teachers understood or viewed to be a distinction between mathematical literacy as a
‘competence’ and mathematical literacy as a ‘subject of study’. The study was focused on teachers or educators who were enrolled in the Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) course in Mathematical Literacy offered in the University of KwaZulu-Natal, at Edgewood campus, as well as those who were also studying for Bachelor of Education (B.Ed-Honours) in Mathematics and Science education courses.
As a result, the study seem to have highlighted a number of issues that were central to the implementation of the new Mathematical Literacy curriculum, as well as pointing out the different perspectives held within mathematics education community about the concept of mathematical literacy. From the information gathered, there seems to be enough evidence to suggest that, indeed, participating teachers within and across cohorts generally had differing perceptions about the notion of mathematical literacy as a competence and as a subject of study, as well as different beliefs and views of their experiences about the concept of mathematical literacy, thereby leading them to
have differing states of readiness (in terms of both their professional and technical competence) to implement the new curriculum.
Based on the discussions of the arguments advanced (in extant literature) against and in favor of increased attention to mathematical literacy, it is evident that there is indeed a controversy surrounding the notion ‘mathematical literacy’ and some of its definitions, as well as the related terms that have been used to describe it.
Furthermore, an examination of the main issues raised by the participating teachers shows that (in general) there is no shared understanding (in the South African context) of the concept of mathematical literacy amongst the educators; hence the different beliefs and views within and between the cohorts. However, there are some common themes running through many of the arguments and issues that have been raised, and link both the international and local perspectives together, as well as some of the participating teachers’ beliefs and views about mathematical literacy. One is the need for the integration of mathematics with other subjects in service to mathematical literacy. This is consistent with what Madison (2004) and Wallace (2000) have both argued for, and have further advocated for curricula and pedagogical changes that would see effective articulation between various disciplines in teaching the use of mathematics in numerous contexts (see also Adler et al, 2000). Similarly, some of the participating teachers have also expressed misgivings towards the introduction of mathematical literacy as a separate subject from mathematics. Instead, they felt that it should not have been introduced since it proved to be difficult (compared to the traditional mathematics) for many learners. Another important theme is the need for changes in curricular and teaching practices (in terms of the curriculum priorities and the pedagogical approaches) geared towards proper teaching and learning of
mathematics if development of mathematical literacy in all learners is to succeed.
Furthermore, it has been revealed that, although teachers vary in their understandings of what constitutes mathematical literacy, a majority of them view it as a subject of study rather than a competency. This is, perhaps, attributable to the fact that it has been declared so by the curriculum designers, as well as, maybe, the way the curriculum itself has been designed or even framed. That aside, the study has generally revealed that:
• Participating teachers (especially the ML cohort) perceive mathematical literacy as a subject that is different from formal mathematics. They have highlighted, as the major element that is key to the difference between the two
‘subjects’, the abstract (as opposed to the concrete nature of ML) nature of formal/academic mathematics;
• Learners who choose ML option seem to have serious English language (both spoken and written) literacy problems which seemingly frustrate their efforts to cope with the subject;
• Teachers without good foundation or background in formal mathematics seem to be having serious difficulties with teaching mathematical literacy;
• Linking teaching/learning of academic mathematics with everyday life situations through use of relevant contexts seems to be a big challenge for many educators; and
• There is not enough support to help teachers with the implementation of the new curriculum;
• The workshops that were run by the department of education were not adequate to fully prepare teachers to implement the new curriculum for mathematical literacy.
The study has also identified a number of issues and/or factors that would seemingly impede the development/teaching of mathematical literacy: learners’ lack of basic mathematical concepts, their difficulties in English language communication, and their negative attitudes towards the new subject (ML). Also, teachers highlighted a number of factors that they felt were some of the impediments to the teaching of the new subject: teachers’ lack of confidence to teach mathematical literacy; their lack of pedagogical content knowledge, their conceptions and beliefs about the nature of mathematics; high workloads; the large class sizes; the lack of appropriate and sufficient teaching and learning support materials; lack of uniformity in the types of textbooks used for instruction; lack of support from the department of education by way of frequent in-service training workshops; lack of funds to buy the necessary resources for instructional purposes; and the difficulties associated with finding or deciding on relevant contexts, as well as implementing effective instructional approaches relating to the development of mathematical literacy.
However, there seems to be some contradictions and serious gaps in some of the arguments in the existing literature, not only in terms of the connotations used to describe the concept of mathematical literacy, but also in terms of the relationship that is being made between this concept and formal mathematics; further leading to
confusion about the nature of mathematics as a discipline and its utility. For example, Steen (1999) asserts that numeracy/quantitative literacy is more than mathematics and is synonymous with ‘mathematical literacy, yet mathematical literacy is not
synonymous with quantitative literacy or numeracy. On the contrary, de Lange (online) argues that these terms or concepts are not the same. In other words, neither numeracy nor quantitative literacy are synonyms of mathematical literacy.
Furthermore, no similarities or relationships between these terms have clearly been made in many of the arguments or discussions around the description of the concept of mathematical literacy insofar as they relate to mathematics subject. Nonetheless, generally, the overall response from the participating teachers seems to indicate that mathematical literacy is a subject that can be studied and therefore should be
incorporated into the FET phase of schooling in South Africa despite the many challenges that may come with the introduction of such an innovation.
Based on the present findings it can be concluded that:
• Through a sustained monitoring of the implementation process, reviewing of policy documents, and professional development of those involved with teaching mathematics and/or mathematical literacy, educators can gain increased pedagogical content knowledge and skills which will ultimately enhance their performance in their daily classroom discourses;
• The different conceptions of mathematical literacy are due to the multifarious ways in which the relationship between school mathematics and out-of-school mathematics has been analyzed and constructed, but not due to any differences between these two aspects of mathematics as a discipline;
• There is a relationship between school mathematics as a subject and mathematical literacy as a competency. This relationship is merely a
consequence of knowledge of mathematics because it reflects an individual’s capacity to use the mathematics that is supposed to be learnt at school; and
• The problem of perceived differences between school mathematics and mathematical literacy could be overcome or resolved by incorporating
ethnomathematical practices or ordinary everyday indigenous knowledge into school mathematics rather than to have split streams.
It is perhaps important at this stage (in the light of the foregoing) to consider what the implications of these results are, given that the new curriculum has already been introduced and has to be implemented. As the results have shown, most participating teachers viewed mathematical literacy as a subject, and as such have highlighted their concerns relating to its introduction and implementation. Furthermore, the results showed that many of the issues or factors that have been raised are related and interdependent in some ways. Hence, in the following sections I will discuss these findings in terms of their implications for policy and practice, as well as for further research.