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Abstract

This study explores the relationship between everyday practices and mathematical understandings of working class children in three different settings: Schooling, Newspaper Vending and Paan Selling. Children were compared on their knowledge of the number system and their competence and understanding in solving a set of mathematical word problems. Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed that the vendors, although constrained by their lack of formal mathematical knowledge, have a competent understanding of the mathematical principles and computations that their everyday practices entail. Schoolchildren demonstrate a more mechanical application of rules. Supported by ethnographic descriptions, the article attempts to understand these differences within the larger socio-cultural contexts.

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Living,Learning and Doing Mathematics: A Study of Working-class Children in Delhi

Abstract

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References