Mathematical literacy teachers’ engagement with contextual tasks based on personal finance

Abstract

This article reports on a study carried out with a group of 108 practising Mathematical Literacy (ML) teachers who participated in an Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) programme. The purpose of the qualitative study was to identify and describe the teachers’ varying levels of engagement with mathematics tools and resources. The teachers were given questions based on financial mathematics as part of a routine assessment, including questions based on other aspects of the module. Their written responses to the selected test items were analysed. Thereafter 13 teachers were interviewed individually with the purpose of confirming or disconfirming the categories identified by the initial script analysis. The analysis identified varying levels of skill in using the mathematics and contextual resources and tools. The study also found that success in the items required flexible participation in both the mathematics and contextual domains.