An Introduction to Adults Count Too.

This paper provides an overview of a book entitled Count Too: Mathematics for Empowerment. The introduction to the book details why the author spent three years writing about adults learning mathematics, and outlines the shape and structure of the book. chapter from the book, entitled A Matrix of Factors, is presented as an example of the book's style and to offer a peek at understanding the needs of adults learning mathematics and strategies for teaching them. (ASK) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY m 1 TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) An Introduction to Adults Count Too Roseanne Benn University of Exeter, UK U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION ,,Ic.ec CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as eived from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position cr policy. The Adults Learning Mathematics Research Forum has been an important part of my professional life since its inception four/five years ago. I have attended every Conference and found it an excellent opportunity to try out my ideas on a group of colleagues with similar interests to my own. Hence this year I felt no (or little) qualms in using my session to give participants an overview of my book Adult Count Too: Mathematics for Empowerment which was published in June this year by NIACE. This paper will do the same. First, the introduction to the book details why I spent three years writing about adults learning mathematics and outlines the shape and structure of the book. The one chapter matrix of factors will be given for a flavour of the book. As a schoolgirl, I fell in love with mathematics. I thought it was a wonderful subject to me, it epitomised elegance, beauty and simplicity. (It had the added advantage that there was minimal use of English and I was an abominable speller...) My subsequent educational pathway was, as is the case for many of our adult students, very chequered. One small baby later, I embarked as a mature student on my mathematics degree. Like most adult learners, I was committed and highly motivated. After gaining my degree, I taught mathematics at the then Kingston Polytechnic to all kinds of learners including adults studying for a mathematics degree part-time, and all manner of mathematics service teaching. After two more children, I decided to move into continuing education to support women and men who, for whatever reason, had missed out the first time round and wished to return to study. I became more and more interested in opening up routes for adults to both mathematics and higher education. This career choice led me to Ffillcroft College then later to the Department of Continuing and Adult Education at the University of Exeter. Earlier in my career, I taught in a humanistic student-centred way but with a belief in the truth, beauty and abstraction of mathematics a belief that mathematics is a 'peek into the mind of God', is already 'written in the sands'. Three factors caused me to question this value-free, culture-free notion of mathematics. Firstly, through feminism, I became aware of the deeply unequal nature of both society and the constructs of society. Secondly, through my work in teaching, development and research over many years with adult returners, I became interested in the reasons that mathematics held the particular and peculiar place that it unquestioningly does in so many adults' minds. Lastly, but most importantly, I became committed to the notion that adult education has a vital role to play in a democratic society. I became convinced that the low levels of numeracy in our society limit participation and critical citizenship. This book is therefore the result of all my working life my teaching in mathematics itself, my work with adult returners, my research and my abiding interest in critical citizenship and the role mathematics has to play in this. It is my hope that it will be of interest to anyone concerned with mathematics, mathematics education, adult education and a democratic and more just society. It is written for people involved in the teaching and learning of mathematics but will also be of interest to all involved in adult education. Adults Count Too examines the low level of numeracy in our society, the reasons why this is critical and the forces acting on adults which contribute to this state of affairs. These forces include experiences and philosophies of mathematics and mathematics education, social and cultural factors, political imperatives and the aims and aspirations of the adults who, despite all at ST COPY AVA Lw BLE Adults Count Too examines the low level of numeracy in our society, the reasons why this is critical and the forces acting on adults which contribute to this state of affairs. These forces include experiences and philosophies of mathematics and mathematics education, social and cultural factors, political imperatives and the aims and aspirations of the adults who, despite all odds, wish to return to study to learn mathematics. As theory is an essential basis for the acquisition of new ideas with consequent change in practice, the book examines these issues from a theoretical perspective. But it is also grounded in practice and the belief that adults learn best when mathematics teaching builds on positive attitudes, is interactive and co-operative, practical and relevant, set in a social, historical and cultural context and enjoyable and fun. It was written in the hope that it would contribute to a more empowering curriculum for adults learning mathematics, a curriculum which would, first and foremost, fulfil the priorities of the individual but would also take into account the different needs of the diverse population of adults learning mathematics, building on their life, work and social experience. It recognises but rejects the discourse of mathematics for social control where mathematical literacy is seen as a way of maintaining the status quo and producing conformist and economically productive citizens. Similarly, it rejects the approach of deficit and disadvantage where any problem with mathematics is located in the learner rather than the system. It moves away from an individual skills-based approach to one of a critical analysis of social and economic factors, a cultural critique of the elitist assumptions about mathematics and mathematics education and a critique of the educational system with its tendency to create deficit models for adults returning to learn mathematics. It is based on the passionate belief that mathematics is a crucial way of knowing that can make a real difference in people's lives but only if it can be seen in the wider context of society, structural inequality and cultural difference. Our modern society has been dominated by certain cultures and ways of thinking. In the new post-modern world, this is being questioned at all levels. There is a growing recognition that there are alternative world views, truths, realities and cultures, many of which are not recognised or valued by society. This is true in mathematics and mathematics education and this book is concerned with the discovery and recognition of these 'silent' voices. Such an approach built on social, economic, political and cultural awareness, a value system of social justice and equity and a collaborative, co-operative approach to learning, might transform mathematics education for adults into education for empowerment. The first section on Adult Education presents an overview of the adult education environment within which adults learn mathematics. Chapter 1 explores the role and purposes of adult education in our society and Chapter 2 identifies some characteristics of and influences on those who participate in the process as either learners or tutors. The second section The framework within which adults learn mathematics outlines the wider disciplinary, social, political and cultural context within which adults learn mathematics. Chapter 3 examines underlying beliefs about the nature of the subject itself; outlining, on the one hand, an absolutist philosophy of mathematics and, on the other, an alternative fallibilist approach. Chapter 4 introduces the three main players when adults learn mathematics the learner, the tutor and the curriculum and identifies a matrix of forces which act on all three. In chapters 5, 6 and 7 the players are positioned in the framework by an examination of both their aims and goals and the effect on the learning and the approach to teaching of current cultural, political and educational forces and experiences or philosophies of mathematics. Section 3 Understanding adults learning mathematics deepens the investigation of the