Immigrant parents' perspectives on their children's mathematics education (original) (raw)
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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.
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.
Power and identity in immigrant parents' involvement in early years mathematics learning
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My aim in this article is to explore 3 perspectives on bilingual mathematics learners and to consider how a situated and sociocultural perspective can inform work in this area. The 1st perspective focuses on acquisition of vocabulary, the 2nd focuses on the construction of multiple meanings across registers, and the 3rd focuses on participation in mathematical practices. The 3rd perspective is based on sociocultural and situated views of both language and mathematics learning. In 2 mathematical discussions, I illustrate how a situated and sociocultural perspective can complicate our understanding of bilingual mathematics learners and expand our view of what counts as competence in mathematical communication.
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The purpose of this paper is to reconfigure the functions and effects of ‘play ’ as a developmental tool. We describe how researchers can apply sociocultural theory in order to better understand, and ultimately address issues related to Latinos ’ development in mathematics. The discussion draws on work conducted in an after-school, non-remedial mathematics club and focuses on the nature and role of ‘play ’ in understanding the cultural and linguistic resources Latino students utilize as they do mathematics. One purpose of this work is to create an alternative pedagogical model that challenges today’s dominant perspective of learning environments, which have proven ineffective for minority populations in the U.S. In framing our research, we maintain that students develop most efficiently through dialogues and interactions with others (Vygotsky, 1978; Cole, 2006) in order to make meaning of mathematics. “Some persons have contended that mathematics ought to be taught by making the ill...