Abstract:

In this article, we deal with mathematical literacy, especially we examine the awareness and relationship to mathematical literacy of students in the teacher training program and we assess the readiness of prospective teachers to develop mathematical literacy of their future pupils. The article responds to a current requirement to focus mathematical education on the practical use of knowledge in everyday life, i.e., on mathematical literacy. Mathematical literacy is the ability of an individual to know and understand the role that mathematics plays in the world, to make well-founded judgments and to employ mathematics to meet his or her life needs as a creative, curious and thoughtful citizen.

The objectives of the research are to find out in particular students' attitudes to the importance of developing mathematical literacy, how they perceive their readiness to develop mathematical literacy of their pupils, whether there are enough available ideas and examples for teachers and if they are interested in further education in the field of mathematical literacy. The research was conducted by a faculty-staffed project in the Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Education, Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic, in the year 2021.

Methodology employed a questionnaire survey to collect data collection for the planned research. The Faculty of Education Questionnaires were electronically distributed to students, prospective primary and lower secondary teachers. The data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed and processed by statistical methods.

Results of the study reveal that respondents are very inclined to develop mathematical literacy. It turns out that most of them would like to attend seminars on the development of mathematical literacy in children of all ages and be able to share with other educators their experience of practical mathematics teaching.

Keywords:

Mathematical literacy, mathematics teaching, prospective teachers, questionnaire.