A functional view on language: a methodology for mathematics education to study shifts in prospective teachers’ discursive patterns

Abstract

This paper set out to contribute to mathematics education research by elaborating on a methodology developed during a study, trying to understand, view and follow shifts in prospective teachers' discursive patterns. The methodology aims to illustrate and describe how prospective teachers adapt to the context of teaching through a flexible process. This flexible process is then described in the result as a narrative. It is argued that the methodology can be used in relation to different theoretical directions, such as research about beliefs, knowledge, or identity. Another contribution is that the methodology presented gives insights into bridging the gap between different analytical levels, micro and macro. With a theoretical foundation in ‘Cultural Worlds’ [Holland, D., Skinner, D., Lachicotte, W., & Cain, C. (1998). Identity and agency in cultural worlds. Harvard University Press.] the Social Semiotic approach of Systemic Functional Linguistics, SFL [Halliday, M., & Hasan, R. (1989). Language, context, and text: Aspects of language in a social-semiotic perspective (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press] is used as a methodological tool. SFL offers a toolkit that allows the analysis of meaning at the clause level to uncover how and why a speaker produces a particular wording rather than any other in a specific social practice. The paper aims to illustrate and describe how to go beyond findings in the micro-analysis and then present the result as a narrative case.