The Opinions of Middle School Mathematics Teachers on the Integration of Mathematics Course and Social Issues

Yıl 2018, , 397 - 406, 15.04.2018

Buket Turhan Turkkan , Memet Karakus

https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.7.2.397

Öz

The
purpose of this study is to examine the opinions of middle school mathematics
teachers on the integration of mathematics course and social issues. For this
purpose, qualitative research method was used in this study. As for determining
the participants of the research, criterion sampling among purposeful sampling
methods was used. Being a middle school mathematics teacher as an occupation
was considered as a criterion for determining the participants. The
participants of the research consist of 13 middle school mathematics teachers
in Turkey. So as to collect the research data, the semi-structured interview
form created by the researchers was used. The data analysis was performed
according to the content analysis, and Nvivo 10 program was used for the analysis.
As a result of this study, the themes of the situation and methods of the
integration of mathematics course and social issues, the attainment of
democratic values in mathematics course and the ways of its attainment, gaining
awareness of social justice and equality in mathematics course and the ways of
its gaining, the activities performed by teachers for social issues in
mathematics course and the teachers’ suggestions for the integration of
mathematics course and social issues were reached and the results were
discussed within this frame.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Mathematics education, social issues, mathematics teachers, teachers’ opinions

Kaynakça

• Alexander, P. T. (2001). Math and social justice: a capstone course for undergraduates. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of California, Santa Barbara.
• Allen, A. F. (2003). Integrating themes of social justice and equity into a middle school mathematics classroom. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Indiana University, Indianapolis.
• Bali, A. S. (2001). Cokkulturluluk ve sosyal adalet [Multiculturalism and social justice]. (1st ed.). Konya: Cizgi Kitabevi.
• Ball, D. L., Goffney, I. M. & Bass, H. (2005). The role of mathematics instruction in building a socially just and diverse democracy. The Mathematics Educator, 15(1), 2-6.
• Beane, J. (1990). Affect in the curriculum: Toward democracy, dignity, and diversity. New York: Teachers College Press.
• Brantlinger, A. M. (2007). Geometries of inequality: teaching and researching critical mathematics in a low-income urban high school. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Northwestern University, Illinois.
• Esmonde, I. & Caswell, B. (2010). Teaching mathematics for social justice in multicultural, multilingual elementary classrooms. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 10(3), 244-254.
• Gonzalez, L. (2009). Teaching mathematics for social justice: reflections on a community of practice for urban high school mathematics teachers. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, 2(1), 22-51.
• Gutstein, E. (2003). Teaching and learning mathematics for social justice in urban, Latino school. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 34(1), 37-73.
• Gutstein, E. (2007). Math, maps, and misrepresentations. In W. Au, B. Bigelow & S. Karp (Eds.). Rethinking our classrooms: Teaching for equity and justice Volume-2 (2nd ed.). (pp. 112-114). Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools.
• Gutstein, E., Middleton, J. A., Fey, J. T., Larson, M., Heid, M. K., Dougherty, B., et al. (2005). Equity in school mathematics education: how can research contribute? Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 36(2), 92-100.
• Harper, F. K. (2017). Coming to understand the big issues: remaking meaning of social justice through mathematics across the school year. In A. Chronaki (Ed.),  Mathematics education and life at times of crisis, 2, Proceedings of the Ninth International Mathematics Education and Society Conference (pp. 513-521). Volos: University of Thessaly Press.
• Hart, L. E. (2003). Some directions for research on equity and justice in mathematics education. In L. Burton (Ed.), Which way social justice in mathematics education? (pp.27-49) (1st ed.). London: Praeger Publishers.
• Johnson, J. D. (2005). Instructional implications of social justice pedagogy on the teaching of mathematics. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. The Florida State University, Florida.
• Koestler, C. (2010). (Re)envisioning mathematics education: examining equity and social justice in an elementary mathematics methods course. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison.
• Leonard, J., Brooks, W. & Barnes-Johnson, J. (2010). The nuances and complexities of teaching mathematics for cultural relevance and social justice. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(3), 261-270.
• McNamee, R. (2013). Teaching social justice mathematics in a privileged setting. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Montclair State University, Montclair.
• Ministry of National Education (2013). Ortaokul ve imam hatip ortaokulu matematik uygulamalari dersi (5, 6, 7, ve 8. siniflar) ogretim programi [Middle school and religious vocational middle school mathematical practices course curriculum (5, 6, 7, and 8. grade levels)]. Retrieved from http://ttkb.meb.gov.tr/dosyalar/programlar/ ilkogretim/ matematikuygulamalari_ortaokul.pdf on February 9, 2014.
• Ministry of National Education (2017). Matematik dersi ogretim programi (ilkokul ve ortaokul 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ve 8. siniflar) [Mathematics course curriculum (elementary and middle school 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. grade levels)] . Retrived from http://mufredat.meb.gov.tr/ProgramDetay.aspx?PID=191 on August 10, 2017.
• Miner, B. (1995). Taking multicultural, anti-racist education seriously: an interview with Enid Lee.  In D. Levine, R. Lowe, B. Peterson & R. Tenorio (Eds.), Rethinking schools – an agenda for change (pp.9-16). New York: The New Press.
• Moss, L. C. (2014). Argumentation through policy-analysis: designing effective standards-based mathematics for social justice instruction. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Capella University, Minneapolis.
• Noyes, A. (2007). Rethinking school mathematics (1st ed.). London: Paul Chapman Publishing.
• Peterson, B. (2007a). Teaching for social justice: One teacher’s journey. In W. Au, B. Bigelow & S. Karp (Eds.). Rethinking our classrooms: Teaching for equity and justice Volume-1 (2nd ed.). (pp. 28-34). Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools.
• Peterson, B. (2007b). Teaching math across the curriculum. In W. Au, B. Bigelow & S. Karp (Eds.). Rethinking our classrooms: Teaching for equity and justice Volume-2 (2nd ed.). (pp. 84-88). Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools.
• Peterson, B. (2007c). Percent as a tool for social justice. In W. Au, B. Bigelow & S. Karp (Eds.). Rethinking our classrooms: Teaching for equity and justice Volume-2 (2nd ed.). (pp. 89-90). Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools.
• Petric, M. (2011) Reform in mathematics education: “what do we teach for and against?” Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Montclair State University, Montclair.
• Skovsmose, O. & Valero, P. (2001). Breaking political neutrality: The critical engagement of mathematics education with democracy. In B. Atweh, H. Forgasz & B. Nebres (Eds.), Sociocultural research on mathematics education: An international perspective (pp.37-56). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
• Spielman, L. J. (2008). Equity in mathematics education: unions and intersections of feminist and social justice literature. ZDM Mathematics Education, 40, 647-657.
• Tanase, M. & Lucey, T. A. (2015). Interdisciplinary connections: teaching mathematics for social justice and financial literacy. Journal of Mathematics & Culture, 9(1), 81-118.
• Voss, R. N. (2015) Teaching mathematics for social justice within a victorian public school for year nine mixed ability classes. Unpublished master’s thesis. Curtin University, Pert, Australia.
• Wager, A. A. (2008). Developing equitable mathematics pedagogy. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Wisconsin – Madison, Wisconsin.
• Wonnacott, V. (2011). Teaching mathematics for social justice and its effects on affluent students. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
• Woodrow, D. (1997). Democratic education: Does it exist: Especially for mathematics education? For The Learning of Mathematics, 17(3), 11-16.
• Wright, P. (2017). Teaching mathematics for social justice: transforming classroom practice. Mathematics Education and Life at Times of Crisis – Proceedings of the Ninth International Mathematics Education and Society Conference, 2, 999-1010.