Case Study 8 Integrating ESDGC into the
Mathematics classroom
Suman Ghosh, London South Bank University
Overview
This case study shows how, as a result of some small-scale research, the Secondary Mathematics
Initial Teacher Training team at London South Bank University integrated a school-based activity
relating to ESDGC into the students’ school practice. This encouraged the students to deepen
their understanding of how Mathematics in the classroom can play a key role as a tool for social
and political analysis and encourage pupils to become critical thinkers.
Background
A small-scale study undertaken by the Secondary Mathematics Initial Teacher Training team at
London South Bank University surveyed secondary Mathematics student teachers to determine
what impact education for sustainable development and global citizenship (ESDGC) had on them
and how they embedded this into their teaching (Ghosh and Beg, 2010). The student teachers in
the study were on the Secondary Mathematics Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
course. The course runs over an academic year and consists of ten weeks of university-based
teaching, and placements in two contrasting schools, with each placement running for 11 weeks.
For the most part, students were placed in inner London comprehensive schools in which the
demography of the pupils is very diverse. One of the university-based components of the course is
the ‘Equality, Inclusion and Citizenship’ (EIC) module, which is designed to enable students to
critically explore some of the related key educational issues, and how these impact on their
professional role as teachers. ESDGC is one of the topics covered in the EIC module. As part of
their assessment, the students are required to research a topic of their choice in their second
school placement. Students carry out individual research in their placement schools and submit
this with a report and a presentation of their findings.
The study was partly prompted by the fact that, in the three years previous to the study,
Secondary Mathematics PGCE students had not chosen ESDGC as a key educational issue to
research. Other areas covered in EIC, such as social class, special educational needs, gender, race
and sexual orientation, had been regularly chosen by students. Further, literature suggests that
there is scarcely any indication of Mathematics in the classroom addressing ESDGC (Apple, 2000;
Robbins et al., 2003).
Findings
The study found that Secondary Mathematics PGCE student teachers identified two main barriers
to embedding ESDGC into their teaching. These centred on (i) the uncertainty of how to actually
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include this in their Mathematics teaching, and (ii) dealing with the constraints of the Mathematics
curriculum.
A follow-up study (Ghosh and Beg, 2011) investigated the mathematical resources available in
secondary school Mathematics classrooms and the extent to which they encourage the embedding
of ESDGC in teaching. This case study summarises these findings and presents some of the good
practice which resulted from the Secondary Mathematics Education team using directed activities
in order to encourage their students to integrate ESDGC into their lessons.
Analysis of Mathematics classroom resources
A wide range of textbooks and worksheets were used at key stage 3 within departments and by
the student teachers. Ten Ticks – a set of commercially produced worksheets – were used by
many of the students in both key stages 3 and 4. However, at key stage 4, there was a narrower
range of textbooks used, and these were aligned to the GCSEawarding bodies used by the schools. The textbooks, then, were
designed to teach to the requirements of the awarding bodies.
A very cursory glance at the Ten Ticks worksheets showed a series of
level-based consolidation mathematical exercises, games and activities.
The use of comic figures appears to soften the endless rows of
questions, very few of which are contextualised and, from the sample
taken, none of which had any content referring to ESDGC.
Two Edexcel higher GCSE textbooks were analysed in an attempt to
identify the extent to which issues around ESDGC were explicitly
included in examples, questions and exercises. The ‘Heinemann Edexcel GCSE Mathematics
Higher’ textbook – widely used in secondary schools – had a clear layout of mathematical
explanations of the topics followed by a series of exercises, interspersed with some small
coloured drawings and photographs. Written and endorsed by one of the public examination
bodies, it demonstrates little or no content to encourage pupils to critically reflect on issues of
sustainability or global issues, when there are obvious opportunities to do so. The following
example serves as an example: describe questions taken from the book.
In one question pupils were asked to complete a two-way table based on the results of the survey
of 100 people, asking them which type of tea they buy. The categories given are tea bags, packet
tea and instant tea. Ironically, without any mention of fair trade tea in the question, a token
gesture towards ESDGC is made by adding a picture of a tea plantation worker next to the
question, and a statement underneath it reading: ‘Sales of fair trade tea are increasing in Britain. Fair
trade initiatives should ensure workers earn fair wages’. There was no question relating to this
statement, or any other reference to fair trade in the question.
Further examples include a percentages question showing a small picture of a boy holding a ball,
which bore no relation to any of the questions used; and a fractions question with a picture of
people on a rollercoaster and a picture of planet Earth next to some questions on standard form.
These small images hardly register or make an impact in terms of contextualising the mathematics,
and certainly would not engender discussion. Overall the (albeit limited) analysis of the resources
revealed no reference to any issues around ESDGC. Therefore, the Secondary Mathematics PGCE
students had very little exposure to issues of sustainability and global citizenship in the resources
they were using.
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ESDGC in the Mathematics classroom
In order to encourage the integration of ESDGC into the Mathematics classroom, this theme runs
through many of the university-based sessions for the Secondary Mathematics PGCE students. The
student teachers are also required to maintain a reflective journal – the school experience learning
journal – throughout their school placement. This includes weekly, directed activities that student
teachers are required to undertake. As a result of the findings from the study, the Secondary
Mathematics Education team added an activity which requires the students to investigate the
school’s policy on ESDGC, and how the school and the Mathematics department address this. The
directed activity also requires the students to plan and deliver a lesson that addresses ESDGC.
This goes some way to raising awareness of these issues in a mathematical context, and the
following examples demonstrate that the student teachers produce some innovative lessons:
This goes some way to raising awareness of these issues in a mathematical context, and the
following examples demonstrate that the student teachers produce some innovative lessons:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
discussing data relating to the death penalty as a deterrent for violent crime in
America. The statistical data included the number of murders, the number of people
sentenced to death and the actual number of people executed;
a visual representation of six billion and the proportion who live on a dollar or less
per day. This student teacher also carried out an activity of dividing resources as a
third world village would;
one student teacher worked in a school that had close links with schools in China,
Bangladesh and Tanzania. During ‘extended talent days’, the Mathematics department
arranged activities linked to these schools, for example, scale drawings of iconic
buildings in each of the countries;
showng the change in world map proportion according to population/unemployment,
generating discussion of this and providing various statistical data related to the
population of the continents in order for pupils to answer related Mathematics
questions;
deciding how the price of a banana should be distributed between the retailer, the
carriers, the factory workers, the plantation owners and the plantation workers.
It was evident from the quality of some of these lessons that, once ideas of ESDGC had been
discussed with the Mathematics student teachers, and they had been prompted to integrate this
into their teaching, lessons had been designed that could potentially encourage pupils to critically
think about ESDGC in a mathematical context.
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References
Apple, M. W. (2000) Mathematics reform through conservative modernization? Standards,
markets and inequality in education. In Boaler, J. (ed.) Multiple perspectives on mathematics
teaching and learning. Westport, CT: Ablex.
Ghosh, S. and Beg, S. (2010) What impact does 'education for global citizenship' and 'education for
sustainability' have on trainee teachers? Education for Hope: the impact of ESD/GC on the well
being of teachers and young people (TEESnet 2010 conference proceedings, 88-95).
Ghosh, S. and Beg, S. (2011) Education for Sustainable Development/Global Citizenship in
Mathematics Teaching. Building Capacity for ESD/GC in times of change (TEESnet 2011 conference
proceedings, 64-70).
Robbins, M., Francis, L. J. and Elliot, E. (2003) Attitude toward education for global citizenship
among student teachers. Research in Education. 69, 93-98.
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