Faculty Publications

Numeracy as Cultural Practice: An Examination of Numbers in Magazines for Children, Teenagers, and Adults

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal for Research in Mathematics Education

Volume

26

Issue

4

First Page

346

Last Page

361

Abstract

Many have argued for the importance of numeracy, yet little is known about the opportunities for numeracy presented to people in their daily lives. In this study, we analyzed and compared the characteristics of rational numbers in magazines written for children, teenagers, and adults. Our analysis indicates that difficult mathematical concepts that appear in the media, such as fractions, percents, and averages, are much more prevalent in adults' magazines than in those written for children and teenagers. Adults are often presented with rational numbers that are related to each other. Numbers in teenagers' texts do not appear to form a transition to those found in adults' texts, despite the fact that through formal schooling teenagers have covered all the mathematical concepts that are frequently found in adults' texts. Implications for preparing students for the numeracy demands of everyday life are discussed.

Department

Department of Educational Psychology, Foundations, and Leadership Studies

Original Publication Date

7-1-1995

DOI of published version

10.5951/jresematheduc.26.4.0346

Link to Full Text

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