Abstract
The rapidly changing world calls for reform in mathematics education from lifelong learning perspectives. This study examines adults’ perception of mathematics by reflecting on their experiences of mathematics in and out of school in order to understand what the current needs of adults are. With the two questions: “what experiences do participants have during their learning of mathematics in schools?” and “how do they perceive mathematics in their current life?”, we analyzed the semi-structured interviews with 10 adults who have different sociocultural backgrounds using narrative inquiry methodology. As a result, participants tended to accept school mathematics as simply a technique for solving computational problems, and when they had not known the usefulness of mathematical knowledge, they experienced frustration with mathematics in the process of learning mathematics. After formal education, participants recognized mathematics as the basic computation skill inherent in everyday life, the furniture of their mind, and the ability to efficiently express, think, and judge various situations and solve problems. Results show that adults internalized school education to clearly understand the role of mathematics in their lives, and they were using mathematics efficiently in their lives. Accordingly, there was a need to see school education and adult education on a continuum, and the need to conceptualize the mathematical abilities required for adults as mathematical literacy.