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Abstract
This article aims at developing an external language of description to investigate the problem of why particular groups of students are systematically not provided access to school mathematical knowledge. Based on Basil Bernstein’s conceptualisation of power in classification, we develop a three-dimensional model that operationalises the contextual boundaries, the linguistic features and the structure of knowledge, and their respective relations to power on a not too high level of abstraction. The contribution of this article consists of a systematic connection of classification with the latter two dimensions that abides the generative principles of Bernstein’s internal language of description. Finally, we illustrate the analytical potential of the three-dimensional model through a brief discussion of one classroom episode.
Notes
1. In Germany, all Bundesländer (provinces) stream their students according to their achievement into two or three different types of schools. In the official and the public discourse, the high-stream school is considered to match the needs of ‘theoretically able’ children and prepare for university studies, while the lower-stream schools are considered to match the needs of ‘practically able’ children and prepare for the blue-collar job market. In those Bundesländer that have three streams, the third and lowest stream is said (in the public discourse) to prepare rather for unemployment and social welfare than for any job market. Berlin is one of two Bundesländer that stream their students at the age of 12 (grade seven). The other 14 Bundesländer already stream at the age of 10.
2. Excerpt from the post-videotaping interview.