Action Research in Contexts of Change and Inequality

The first purpose of this chapter is to discuss research in education within the international context of change and inequality. In a previous chapter, Atweh and Arias (1991) discussed action research in education both as an appropriate research methodology and as a means of professional development of teachers. Similarly, Atweh (2004) posited action research as a methodology consistent with sociocultural approaches in education. That chapter discussed arguments for the use of action research in the discipline and outlined some of its characteristics. The discussion presented in those chapters did not contextualise their arguments within the international context of countries experiencing rapid changes, nor with regard to countries where poverty and lack of resources are major hindrances for developing research programs in the field. This contextualisation is the second purpose of this current chapter. The next section of this chapter identifies three major current trends in global society and education that impact on the work of researchers in the field. The following section discusses the role of action research within the trends identified in the first section

Designing postgraduate pedagogies: connecting internal and external leaders

Learning is the new resource driving the knowledge economy. Now everyone is expected to make themselves available to learn : un-learn : re-learn. Much has been written about new modes of learning, as well the new technologies that promise to deliver information 24/7. Paradoxically, however, in the field of educational sociology there has been little systematic theorisation of the pedagogies designed to facilitate learning in the knowledge economy. Nor have there been systematic efforts to connect macro economic, technological and social changes to state official policies and institutional pedagogic practices. The Bernsteinian theoretical corpus models the power and control relations generating pedagogic discourses, practices and identities from the macro level of policy formation to the micro level of pedagogic interactions. It is therefore useful in examining the new pedagogies designed to generate the learning resources of the knowledge economy. In this paper, we draw on and extend Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse and identities to analyse the design and implementation of a postgraduate unit in educational research. This unit aimed to be: rigorous in disciplinary knowledge, technologically innovative, cost efficient; and responsive to diverse student needs and market contingencies

Theorising Values and their Study in Mathematics Education

This paper provides a critical summary of the different conceptions of 'values' in mathematics education literature as compared with the more general debate about values in current educational discourse. It attempts to provide a multidimensional theoretical and methodological model for studying values that is attuned with past research in the discipline as well as value of mathematics in society

Developing Mathematical Knowledge Through Social Justice Pedagogy with Young Adult Arab Women

The study involved a group of Middle Eastern Muslim women learning mathematics through social justice pedagogy. The findings suggest that the involvement of students in social justice issues has not lead into a decline in their opportunity to learn mathematical content as set in the course. However, this approach has helped them to develop significant mathematical knowledge beyond the basic numeracy skills expected of them. In addition, this study demonstrated how a focus on mathematical content can be maintained while students are involved in social issues in mathematics learning

Potentials and Challenges for Student Teachers in Using Productive Pedagogies in their Field Experience

The aim of this paper is to report on an ongoing doctoral study designed to introduce Saudi primary student teachers to the Productive Pedagogies framework in a final year preservice unit in mathematics education, and to investigate its usefulness to guide their practice during their field experience. The focus of this paper is to report on the student teachers' ability to implement the framework in their teaching and to identify any difficulties they have encountered. Each of the participating six student teachers was observed five times during the whole semester for evidence of implementation of the four dimensions of the framework. The observations were followed by individual discussion with the student and their lecturer. In addition, a focus group was conducted with all the participating students at the conclusion of the period of observation to investigate their understanding and views about the use of the framework. The findings indicated that, while the student teachers faced challenges in using Productive Pedagogies in their practice and some of the main dimensions were not highly implemented, there was clear evidence of increasing implementing of each dimension by student teachers over the duration of the observation period

Alternative Understanding of Equity and Their Relationship to Ethics

This paper discusses three distinct, yet overlapping and often exchangeable discourses of equity, diversity and social justice in mathematics education. Like all discourses in education, they are social constructs and have been subjected to development and critique from a variety of perspectives. This paper focuses on poststructuralist discourses, and in particular that of identity, that renders the traditional understandings of these constructs as problematic for policy and practice. The paper proposes that the discourse of ethics lies at the heart of the three discourses, and in turn places these discourses at the heart of mathematics education

Using Productive Pedagogy to Improve the Teaching and Learning of Practical Numeracy with Adult Learners

In 2001, the Queensland State Government in Australia developed the Productive Pedagogy (PP) framework for teaching that aims at improving students’ achievement and engagement in the study of mathematics and other subjects across all school levels. Today, PP is widely used as both a research tool and as a means for self-reflection on practice by teachers. However, little research has been conducted on the effectiveness of PP as a framework in cultures other than the Western world. This paper discusses how 7 elements of the PP were utilised to design student projects in order to enhance the teaching and learning of Practical Numeracy (PN) among young adult Arab women. Data analysis suggests that the adoption of PP framework in this context has helped to improve the teaching and learning of the PN course, has contributed to the increase of the students’ engagement in mathematics classes and promoted their active citizenship. Keywords: Practical Numeracy; Productive Pedagogy; Mathematical Enriched Workshee