Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Philosophy)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10566/22043

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    Social science pre-service teachers' mathematical activity in a technology-intensive mathematics classroom
    (University of the Western Cape, 2002) MBEKWA, OSMOND MONDE
    This thesis describes an investigation into how a group of pre-service teachers with junior secondary school mathematics qualifications did mathematics in a technologyintensive mathematics classroom. The students were allowed to do a series of lowlevel mathematical activities with the help of the TI-92 Plus, a sophisticated handheld calculator incorporating a Computer Algebra System, DERIVE. The students were required to interpret the results of their calculations by looking a t their p encil-andpaper computations and then compare these with those of the calculator-generated calculations. The purpose of the exercise was to observe their engagement with the mathematics embedded in the calculator and in the activities and how they understood the concepts involved in the calculations. Secondly, the aim was to observe the interactions generated in this environment among the students themselves, the students, the lecturer and student assistants. Also, between the students and the technology. The participants in the study were a group of fourteen students whose highest school mathematics qualification was grade 10. These were students who had graduated in non-mathematical disciplines at the University of the Western Cape. These students were being trained to be teachers in the social sciences and languages. The students were introduced to a course in junior secondary school mathematics structured in such a way that they had to use a sophisticated mathematics technology that would allow them to experiment and explore mathematics. Data gathering was done through lesson observation and video recording of all the lessons. The results of the investigation reveal that students did engage with the mathematics by mathematical conjecturing and through the resolution of mathematical misconceptions. The students were able to gain mastery of the technology, which was employed in the exploration 0 f mathematical concepts. Mastery 0 f t he technology was made possible through technical questions that they asked. Technical mastery was also made possible through support given to students by knowledgeable peers and student assistants and also through their own manipulations of the technology. Nevertheless students h ad a bias towards employing their 0 wn manual calculations especially those they felt confident in executing at the expense of the technology. The technology was used more in calculations that students were less confident in executing. The calculator was used to check whether it would yield the same results as the students' hand calculations and when they were instructed to use it to verify the results of their calculations. Whilst students generally succeeded in mastering the technology and understanding the mathematics, they tended to ignore word descriptions, preferring to concentrate on calculations as well as discussing the mathematics at a superficial level.
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    An analysis and critique of the conceptual relationship between selfhood and narrative in philosophy
    (University of the Western Cape, 2025) Romeo, Adrian
    Narrativity is a popular concept with which to explain the concept of selfhood and the identity of the self in philosophy and other academic fields. It is a natural and easily accessible vehicle for selfhood in philosophy as fictional stories, and indeed the stories we tell about our lives, are instrumental in the way we understand the world and each other. This thesis will argue that some of the most influential narrative theories of selfhood fail to account for a complete notion of the experiencing subject as a fundamental part of the self. The argument will take two interconnected approaches. Firstly, to present the most well-established and defined concept of the self and experiencing subject from the phenomenological tradition in the work of Dan Zahavi. Then, secondly, and as the main thrust of the argument, will be to argue that these influential theories of narrative selfhood do in fact incorporate - either explicitly or implicitly - an experiencing subject; however, the consequences of doing so are not fully appreciated in these theories. It will then be possible to look at the consequences which must follow for a narrative theory of selfhood from the inclusion of a full notion of the experiencing subject. Doing so will help to resolve the current debate on why some narrative theories of selfhood are mistaken in assuming that the self is wholly narrative in nature. Furthermore, it will clarify the distinction between selfhood and personhood, showing that when selfhood is, mistakenly, expressed purely as narrative in nature it is easily confused with the identity questions pertain to persons and not the self. This thesis will conclude that the self does have an important relationship to the way we understand our lives as narrative, however, this relationship is much weaker than the narrative theories of selfhood offered by Marya Schechtman, Anthony Rudd, Alasdair MacIntyre and others claim.