South africa's mathematical literacy and mathematics curricula: Is probability literacy given a fair chance?

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper critically examines how South Africa's Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy curricula address the area of probability, and points to the need to re-examine curricular goals and teaching methods in this regard. The paper argues that the emphasis in these curricula on teaching and assessing probability through games of chance, tree diagrams, and related aspects of classical probability lead to a neglect of many important aspects of real-world probabilities and their associated language of chance. The paper analyses several illustrative examples for probability in socially meaningful situations, examines the role of literacy factors in communicating about probability, and presents conclusions pertaining to instruction and needed research.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)50-61
Number of pages12
JournalAfrican Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009

Keywords

  • Curriculum
  • Mathematical literacy
  • Probability
  • Statistical literacy
  • Teacher education

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Mathematics
  • Education
  • General Engineering
  • General Physics and Astronomy
  • Computer Science Applications

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