%0 Journal Article
%T Towards empowering learners in a democratic mathematics classroom: To what extent are teachers¡¯ listening orientations conducive to and respectful of learners¡¯ thinking?
%A Michael K. Mhlolo
%A Marc Sch£¿fer
%J Pythagoras
%D 2012
%I AOSIS OpenJournals
%X In an effort to make education accessible, to ¡®heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values¡¯, the South African Department of Education claims that a series of mathematics reforms that has so far been introduced is underpinned by the principles of ¡®social justice, fundamental human rights and inclusivity¡¯. Critics however argue that the system has remained ¡®undemocratic¡¯ in that those groups of learners who were supposed to be ¡®healed¡¯ continue to underperform and hence be disempowered. In this study, we conceptualised a democratic and mathematically empowering classroom as one that is consistent with the principle of inclusivity and in which a hermeneutic listening orientation towards teaching promotes such a democratic and mathematically empowering learning environment. We then worked with three different orientations teachers might have towards listening in the mathematics classroom: evaluative, interpretive and hermeneutic. We then used these orientations to analyse 20 video-recorded lessons with a specific focus on learners¡¯ unexpected contributions and how teachers listened and responded to such contributions. The results were consistent with the literature, which shows that teachers tend to dismiss learners¡¯ ways of thinking by imposing their own formalised constructions.
%K Empowerment
%K democratic classrooms
%K hermeneutic listening
%K learner novel contributions
%U http://www.pythagoras.org.za/index.php/pythagoras/article/view/166