Place-based mathematics education: An education for sustainable development pedagogy to enhance mathematics teacher training
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38140/obp3-2025-05Keywords:
Place-based education, education for sustainable development, mathematics educationAbstract
Mathematics education in South Africa is experiencing a crisis that disproportionately affects the majority of learners, enhancing inequality and inequity and promoting unsustainable development. Part of the problem lies in the quality and training of Mathematics teachers, as well as the pedagogy they follow. South African education, particularly Mathematics education, should contribute to the transformation of society into an equitable and sustainable one. Hence, the orientation of South African education towards Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It is believed that ESD will contribute to equity, equality, and sustainability. One way to implement ESD is through Place-Based Education (PBE). PBE capitalises on place, community, experiences, location, and geography to create unique, authentic, meaningful, and personalised learning opportunities. Consequently, PBE expands the mathematics classroom to include the surrounding community. This empowers Mathematics teachers to make the subject relevant to learners by incorporating their local context into their pedagogy. This approach to Mathematics teaching and teacher training promotes equity and the realisation of sustainable development, as it addresses the educational needs of the majority of South Africa’s learners within Mathematics education. This desktop chapter scrutinises literature on the topic to highlight the value and relevance of ESD and PBE in Mathematics teacher training, and to situate PBE as a pedagogy within Mathematics education and teacher training. I provide an overview of Mathematics teacher training in South Africa; thereafter, I discuss ESD and its connection to Mathematics education; and finally, I reflect on PBE and its relevance and value to Mathematics teacher training.
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