Demystification of the learning of mathematics : analysis of narratives from feminist perspective

Abstract

This study focuses on how the learning of mathematics was demystified by analysing narratives from three female mathematicians. In this study the researcher was interested in finding out what would the women who succeeded in the study of mathematics say they did in order to learn mathematics successfully, and to over- come the negative perceptions surrounding the study by women. The methodology employed was qualitative, where the researcher is the most important research instrument for data collection, this means this study does not quantify human experiences, but is the best approach to adopt. The researcher is interested in words, ideas, and perceptions other than numbers and she attempts to make sense of or interpret phenomena in terms of meaning respondents bring to them. The Feminist theory was chosen as the appropriate theoretical framework grounding the study. This study is contextualised within the paradigm identified as the most appropriate which is critical emancipatory research, which approaches the research from the researched point of view. This paradigm was contrasted and compared with positivism as a paradigm, to show why this is the best approach. Three women who studied mathematics successfully were selected for inclusion in the study, only three women were chosen because of their experiences since a large group of respondents sometimes yield information that can be managed. Data was collected mainly through Free Attitude Interview mentioned by Meulenburg-Buskeins (I 997), this is unstructured interview where the researcher only bring the structure after the interview not before the interview. The analysis of the interviews is based on the procedure formulated by Fairclough (1992), called Textually Oriented Discourse Analysis, where the researcher focuses on the actual text made up of words spoken by the respondents. On the basis of the findings arrived at in this study, recommendations are made. It is recommended that socio- environmental and motivational and psychological factors play a very important role as far as the learning of mathematics is concerned. In a nutshell the study was based on major themes, which feature more prominently during the interviews and discussions with respondents.