The constitution of school geometry in the Mathematics National Curriculum Statement and two Grade 10 geometry textbooks in South Africa.
Date
2015-05-19
Authors
Bowie, Lynn
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The
National
Curriculum
Statement
for
Mathematics
for
grades
10
–
12
(MNCS)
was
the
first
major
revision
of
the
South
African
school
mathematics
curriculum
for
learners
in
those
grades
post
apartheid.
Thus
the
MNCS
was
created
at
a
time
when
there
was
considerable
pressure
for
the
curriculum
to
play
a
role
in
redressing
the
social
wrongs
of
apartheid
and
to
provide
access
to
mathematics
for
all
learners
in
the
country.
In
this
study
I
analysed
the
MNCS
and
the
geometry
chapters
in
two
popular
textbooks
aligned
with
the
curriculum
in
order
to
examine
what
was
constituted
as
school
geometry
in
these
documents.
I
interviewed
members
of
the
committee
that
created
the
MNCS,
geometry
consultants
whose
advice
was
sought
on
the
curriculum
and
the
textbook
authors
in
order
to
understand
the
factors
and
constraints
that
shaped
the
production
of
school
geometry
in
these
texts.
A
modification
of
Bernstein’s
pedagogical
device
was
used
to
frame
the
study
and
Kuzniak
and
Houdement’s
notion
of
the
paradigms
of
geometry
was
used
to
gain
insight
into
the
nature
of
the
geometry
produced.
This
study
shows
how
different
areas
in
the
field
of
production
(mathematics,
mathematics
education
and
the
general
regulative
discourse)
and
from
the
field
of
reproduction
interact
in
the
field
of
recontextualisation,
mutually
influence
each
other
and
are
each
recontextualised
into
the
pedagogical
discourse
of
the
curriculum
and
textbooks.