Theorizing the practice of mathematics education in a Freirean adult literacy program.

摘要

This study investigated mathematics teaching in a nonformal adult literacy program that proposes to use Paulo Freire's "liberation" pedagogy. Using the methodology of critical action research, the study involved practitioners in the literacy program in self-reflection about their practice in mathematics education and about how Freire's pedagogy can be applied to the teaching of mathematics. Using cyclic alternations of reflection and action as a strategy for the improvement of both practice and theoretical understanding, participants in the study negotiated and implemented alternative practices for the program's teacher preparation course. This was done both as tentative contribution to the improvement of the course and as an opportunity for further reflection on the mathematics education practice. Data collection was done both through "monological" methods (application of a questionnaire and collection of documents) and through "dialogical" methods (one to one and group discussions). The study employed critical reconstructive analysis, which uses hermeneutical processes to reconstruct meanings in communicative acts. The major theme I identified as characterizing mathematics practice in the course was the interdependence between technical competence of teachers and their political commitment. The study identified norms existing in the context in which the program takes place, that should be challenged for a liberatory pedagogy: (a) illegitimation of non-standard practices in mathematics; (b) beliefs in a necessary hierarchy in the learning of mathematics; (c) acceptance of the "basic skills" mathematics curriculum; (d) compartmentalization of curriculum into disciplines; and (e) emphasis on the decontextualization of mathematics.