Abstract
The importance of mathematics or its alter ego 'numeracy' has been cemented in the public's mind with the instigation of national, high-stakes testing in Australia. As part of the discourse around these tests, it is possible to see how a process of social valorisation operates. Using press releases, online news articles and online public comments, we show how politicians, parents, teachers and the general public discuss ideas around disadvantage in relationship to national testing of numeracy. Deficit language in these discussions identifies some children as being less likely to gain value from mathematics instruction. On the other hand, there is also a perception that poor results for individual schools contribute to their students being seen by the wider community as disadvantaged.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings of the Seventh Congress |
Place of Publication | Poland |
Publisher | CERME |
Pages | 1-10 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |
Event | Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME) - Poland, Poland Duration: 09 Feb 2011 → 13 Feb 2011 |
Conference
Conference | Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME) |
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Country/Territory | Poland |
Period | 09/02/11 → 13/02/11 |