Learning together with immigrant students: differences as resources in mathematics classes to fight racism (original) (raw)
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Brock Education Journal, 2017
Schools, as social systems, may knowingly or unintentionally perpetuate inequities through unchallenged oppressive systems. This paper focuses on mathematics as a subject area in school practices in which inequities seem to be considered normal. Issues of racism and racialization in the discipline of mathematics are predominantly lived through the practice of streaming where students are enrolled in courses of different levels of difficulty. Such practice denies marginalized groups of students the full benefit of rich learning experiences. These issues should be of concern for activists, advocates, and allies as well as individuals and groups who are systematically and directly affected. The purpose of this paper is to make visible issues of racism and racialization in school mathematics to a range of stakeholders that include: school administrators, teachers, students, parents, education advocates, academics, educational researchers, and politicians. The ultimate goal is that the knowledge gained through this call to action will contribute toward eliminating social injustice in all school systems, particularly as it relates to skin colour, country of origin, culture, language, customs, and religion.
Mathematics Learning and Diverse Students
2015
This literature review synthesizes the research on issues of mathematics teaching, learning, and achievement for students from marginalized groups, including Black students, Latina/o students, English language learners, and poor students. In Part 1, we outline national trends in mathematics achievement and learning for students in these groups. In Part 2, we describe what we know about the extent to which students in these groups are provided access to high-quality mathematics instruction and we detail some of the challenges these students face. In Part 3, we summarize what existing research tells us about effective instruction for equity in mathematics, and the necessary conditions at the district, school, and department levels to support such instruction. We also consider the implications for schools; what can schools do to better support equity in mathematics learning outcomes? Throughout, we will consider the case of one school that developed an equity pedagogy in mathematics, R...
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ZDM, 2005
In this paper we present and exemplify our interpretation of some theoretical constructs that have proved useful to our understanding of the complexity of multicultural mathematics classrooms. Constructs such as culture, cultural distance, cultural conflict and identities-in-construction have oriented our study of the complexity of highly multicultural mathematics classrooms in Barcelona. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how cultural distance arising from the different meanings that students, being local or immigrant, inevitably bring to the mathematics classroom may turn into cultural conflicts when cultural interaction is not facilitated through classroom discourse. The lack of cultural interaction and communication may give rise to strong negative feelings and refusal to participate on the side of the students. Students' nonparticipation can be understood as an active response to cultural distance and negative opinions in order to safeguard the identities they (wish to) construct within a context that they perceive as hostile.
The Nuances and Complexities of Teaching Mathematics for Cultural Relevance and Social Justice
Journal of Teacher Education, 2010
Mathematics is not a race-neutral subject. Access and opportunity in mathematics for students of color in the United States continue to be limited. While a great deal of attention has been given to increasing the number of underrepresented minority students in the mathematics pipeline, there is little consideration of who they are as learners or the context in which their mathematics learning takes place. We argue that culturally relevant instruction coupled with teaching for social justice can motivate marginalized students to learn mathematics. Throughout this conceptual article, we (a) explore the theoretical frameworks underlying culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) and social justice pedagogy (SJP), (b) present illustrative cases of mathematics teaching that reveal the possibilities and challenges associated with these pedagogical approaches, and (c) offer to the field of teacher education recommendations related to the successful use of CRP and SJP within today's classrooms.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2017
In this paper I introduce critical realism to investigate the relationship between a mathematics classroom and the broader social context in which it is inserted. To ground the new approach, I focus on race and racism, and use critical race theory to guide the use of critical realism in this investigation. This is a report in an ongoing study about the work of teaching and social change with respect to race and racism in the United States. Data comes from a laboratory mathematics classroom held every summer by a large research university in the United States. Although more analysis is still necessary, initial results reveal how broader social context can influence and be influenced by broader structures of race and racism. Moreover, the framework shows potential to illuminate the relationship between classroom interactions and social systems of inequality.
Although urban Latinas/os have participated in mathematics workshops in urban universities for over three decades as part of the Emerging Scholars Program (ESP), few studies have explored Latina/o students' perspectives of how and why these learning environments support them in attaining mathematical success. This article presents an in-depth case study of how Vanessa, a Latina undergraduate student from an urban community, simultaneously constructed her mathematics and racial identities as she engaged in a culturally diverse, collaborative ESP Calculus I workshop situated within broader sociopolitical contexts. Vanessa's story was selected because she offered a unique perspective of how encountering identity-affirming workshop spaces aided her in constructing a strengthened self-perception as a Latina mathematics learner. Her counter-story challenges dominant ideologies that disregard the importance of viewing Latina/o students' mathematics participation and learning as racialized forms of experience.