Power and identity in immigrant parents' involvement in early years mathematics learning (original) (raw)

Preface to “Immigrant Parents’ Perspectives on Their Children’s Mathematics Education”

Advances in Mathematics Education, 2012

This paper draws on two research studies with similar theoretical backgrounds, in two different settings, Barcelona (Spain) and Tucson (USA). From a sociocultural perspective, the analysis of mathematics education in multilingual and multiethnic classrooms requires us to consider contexts, such as the family context, that have an influence on these classrooms and its participants. We focus on immigrant parents' perspectives on their children's mathematics education and we primarily discuss two topics: (1) their experiences with the teaching of mathematics, and (2) the role of language (native language and second language). The two topics are explored with reference to the immigrant students' or their parents' former educational systems (the "before") and their current educational systems (the "now"). Parents and schools understand educational systems, classroom cultures and students' attainment differently, as influenced by their sociocultural histories and contexts.

Immigrant parents' perspectives on their children's mathematics education

ZDM, 2005

This paper draws on two research studies with similar theoretical backgrounds, in two different settings, Barcelona (Spain) and Tucson (USA). From a sociocultural perspective, the analysis of mathematics education in multilingual and multiethnic classrooms requires us to consider contexts, such as the family context, that have an influence on these classrooms and its participants. We focus on immigrant parents' perspectives on their children's mathematics education and we primarily discuss two topics: (1) their experiences with the teaching of mathematics, and (2) the role of language (native language and second language). The two topics are explored with reference to the immigrant students' or their parents' former educational systems (the "before") and their current educational systems (the "now"). Parents and schools understand educational systems, classroom cultures and students' attainment differently, as influenced by their sociocultural histories and contexts.

Intersections of Culture, Language, and Mathematics Education: Looking Back and Looking Ahead

Invited Lectures from the 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education

This paper draws from a research agenda focused on the interplay of culture, language and mathematics teaching and learning, particularly in working-class Mexican-American communities in the United States. Drawing on data collected over several years, I emphasize the need for a coordinated effort to the mathematics education of non-dominant students, an effort that involves teachers and other school personnel, the students' families, and the students themselves. Through the voices of parents, teachers, and students, I illustrate the resources that non-dominant students bring to school but often go untapped, and the tensions that this may carry. Following a socio-cultural approach grounded on the concept of funds of knowledge, I argue for the need to develop stronger communication among the interested parties to develop learning experiences in mathematics that build on the knowledge, the language and cultural resources, and the forms of participation in the students' communities. Keywords Culture Á Language of learning and teaching Á Immigrant students In-school and out-of-school mathematics Á Parental engagement in mathematics That's in mom's home. Let's do it the way that we do it in the school. [Dina] Dina was a fifth-grade teacher (students are ten years old) in a Teacher Study Group focused on issues around mathematics, language, and culture. She was teaching in a school in a working-class community with a large number of students of Mexican origin, some of whom were classified as English Learners (ELs). In the excerpt below, Dina is reflecting on some of the challenges she thinks students face in regard to mathematics learning.

Centering Family Knowledge to Develop Children's Empowered Mathematics Identities

Researchers and educational leaders have long debated the appropriate roles and forms of family engagement in education. Although in recent years scholars have sought to understand how racially and linguistically diverse communities should participate in their children's education, the field has struggled to recognize and engage families' expertise and disrupt the dynamics of inequity that shape disengagement. In this conceptual paper, we highlight recent understandings regarding the development of disciplinary identities and cultural practices in learning to offer new approaches to the field of family engagement for conceptualizing the untapped potential of nondominant family knowledge and cultural practices in learning settings. By highlighting examples from mathematics learning that center families as legitimate sources of knowledge, we suggest avenues for engaging diverse family leadership in co-designing equitable learning environments that empower students' disciplinary identities and learning.

Parental engagement as a ‘boundary practice’ in a classroom community of practice : implications for Latina/o students’ mathematical learning

2007

INTRODUCTION The education of Latino students is a growing concern in urban schools in the United States. This group is the largest and fastest growing minority group in the country. Almost fifteen percent of all students are Hispanic or Latino (U.S. Census, 2005). In addition, twenty percent of the children in K-12 schools are immigrant children (Paik & Walberg, 2007) and twelve percent of the total population speak Spanish in their home (U. S. Census, 2005). The Latino population, united by the historical legacy of Spanish, comprises a diverse set of people with dissimilar history, social class, place of birth (US or foreign-born) generation (e.g., firstor second-generation), location (e.g., urban or rural), language preference and fluency, political affiliation, and years of schooling, among other diverse characteristics. Each of these factors influences their experiences and learning in school. Despite this diversity within the Latino population, the educational rhetoric often d...

ENGAGING WITH PARENTS ON A CRITICAL DIALOGUE ABOUT MATHEMATICS EDUCATION

In this paper we present a continuing effort to engage in a dialogue with parents about mathematics education. Using the technique of the unfolding matrix , a group of parents and researchers critically examined and reflected on the parents' mathematics educational efforts with their children and in the district. The dialogue expanded our understandings of the valorization of knowledge making evident power relations. We discuss mathematics as a cultural tool highlighting the need to acknowledge intellectual resources and ways of knowing present in the home. This research is particularly relevant to those working in low-income, ethnic / language minoritized communities (e.g., with immigrant parents).