| dc.description.abstract | The paper focuses on challenges in the teaching of problem-solving in Grade 10
Mathematics, which may emanate from ignoring the background environment of the
child (Graven & Schafer, 2013:4). It is important to affirm what learners know because
their background knowledge is influenced by environmental surroundings (Leung,
2008:145), including social and cultural practices. The Department of Basic Education
Report (2009) shows that the same topics in which Grade 10 Mathematics learners
performed poorly corresponded with those in which they did poorly at the end of their
Grade 12 examinations. The study is framed by community cultural wealth theory
(Yosso, 2005), which posits knowledge as excluding communities. Rocha-Schmid
(2010:344) contends that it is not correct to view excluded communities as objects for
rehabilitation, but rather they should be conceived by a Freirean emancipatory project
that perceives subaltern communities as authentic beings capable of engaging
mathematical concepts in creative endeavours and critical thinking. Hence, the study
asserts that it is crucial that parents, traditional leaders and community leaders, play a
crucial role in the teaching and learning of Grade 10 Mathematics, so as to alleviate the
identified challenges. The study utilised participatory action research (PAR) methods,
which recognise community members as experts, and the empowerment of communities
to find their own solutions to local issues (Moana, 2010:1). The researcher puts together
a team of community members, the school population and education district officials as
participants in the study. Each challenge was outlined and analysed using critical
discourse analysis (CDA), enabling the participants to use the spoken/written word as
evidence of the interpretation made at both the levels of discursive practice and social
structures, to extract a deeper meaning and to make repertoires of each participant
(Francis, 2012:18; Mahlomaholo, 2012a:51, 2012b:104). | en_US |
