Exploring the Narratively Constructed Mathematics Identities of Latina Bilingual Middle School Students

• In Event: Research Around Issues of Equity and in Equity-Sensitive Settings

Abstract

This study involved exploring the mathematics stories of three, first-generation fluent English proficient (FEP) seventh grade Latina students who attended an urban middle school in the southwestern United States. A primary goal was to understand the factors that attributed to the formation of the young girls’ mathematics identities and how these identities informed their decisions to engage with mathematical activity.
The findings illuminated the non-academic resources the students used to make sense of classroom experiences, and how they took up or rejected opportunities to engage with mathematics because of those experiences. The findings further illuminated how the students’ relationships with their primary caregivers and mathematics teachers influenced their level of engagement and their mathematics identities.

Author

• Suzanne Elizabeth Kaplan, The University of Arizona