The Advanced Certificate of Education (ACE) specialisation in mathematics (for the FET) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal includes a module on professional practice in mathematics education. As part of this module students complete an action research project on their own teaching. This article describes both the progression of one action research project and, in the light of this project, reflections on the module from a teacher education perspective. Measured against the outcomes, the action research project appeared to be highly successful, as the change in teaching not only proved to further the intended learning, but also helped the educator become aware of her own previously held assumptions about learners and learning. However contrasting this one project against how the module developed in general, forced me to question the degree to which my agenda waas as emancipatory as I had desired. By applying the notion of 'distortions' in a critical discursive analysis of the action research report, I attempt to unravel the underlying messages of the module. Through this, I reach the conclusion that while steps were certainly taken towards the emanicipatory aim of helping educators become aware of distortions embodied in ideology, they also contributed to sustaining existing power relations and distortions.
From: Perspectives in Education, Volume 26 (2), June 2008
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