The Contemporary Andragogical Framework: The Impact of Translingual Practices on the Development of South African Offenders’ Metalinguistic Awareness and Mathematics Understanding

Source abstract

This paper explored the impact of translingual pedagogical practices on the synchronic development of metalinguistic awareness and mathematics conceptual understanding in an adult correctional centre classroom in South Africa. I reported on the functioning of translingual andragogical practices in the selected South African multilingual mathematics learning environment in. The epistemologies of the paradigm of pragmatism were employed. Through a mixed methods research approach, I collected quantitative data from 250 randomly sampled adult offenders through pre-testing and post-testing. Qualitative data were collected from 20 purposively sampled mathematics educationists. I used the latter methodological lens to collect and analyse data, which sought to address the research question: How do translanguaging approaches affect adult offenders’ metalinguistic awareness and mathematics conceptual understanding compared to traditional monolingual approaches? Findings were inferred from the analysis of data thematically and by SPSS, through the Andragogic theoretical perspectives. The findings identified the fundamental role of translingual predicated practices in the development of adult offenders’ multilingual competencies. The findings further underscored the position of translingual andragogical practices in the concurrent development of adult offenders’ mathematics conceptual understanding and metalinguistic awareness. This study contributes to the growing field of multilingual andragogy by demonstrating how translanguaging can be systematically integrated into mathematics learning environments to foster mathematics understanding and metalinguistic awareness. The andragogical framework presented offers guidance for educationists seeking to implement translanguaging approaches in correctional centre mathematics classrooms, while accommodating adult offenders’ learning preferences.