"Hvorfor skal voksen tilbydes undervisning i matematik?" - en diskursanalytisk tilgang til begrundelsesproblemet

This Thesis focuses on the justification problem and especially the question Why teach mathematics to adults with lack of basic skills? According to Mogens Niss, reasons for mathematics education need not be explicitly formulated, and often the reasons are implicit and only in rare cases, therefore, do we have direct access to reasons for mathematics education. When the Danish Government, in the autumn 1999, presented a coming reform of the Adult educational system I felt that this was the rare case. Part of this reform was a new adult education named Preparatory Adult Education (PAE), which included a new course in mathematics. The research question of this thesis is answered through an analysis of the development of the new course PAE-mathematics. I have expanded my research question with the following working hypothesis:

 

In society there exist different and conflicting reasons as to why adults, who lack basic mathematical skills, need to learn mathematics. These conflicting reasons relate to different discourses about what mathematics education is, and to various assumptions about the benefits adults can get from it.

 

I have focused on reasons given by three different groups of partners in the curriculum development process. I have focused on: (1) the politicians, which have been involved in development of the reform, and development of the PAE-act, and the discussion of the act in the Danish Parliament. (2) The Curriculum Planners, which were Lena Lindenskov and Tine Wedege, who allowed me to follow their work and collect data from the development of the new curriculum and the new teacher-training course. (3) The mathematics teachers, the 25 mathematics teachers who joined the first teacher-training course, to become PAE-mathematics teachers. I monitored and collected data from four weeks of teacher-training course.