Counting the Experiences and Beliefs of Teachers Committed to Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice

• In Event: 46.086 - Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: 46.086-13 - Toward Social Justice in Mathematics Education: Bridging Multiple Perspectives to Advance Critical Mathematics Praxis

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the perspectives that secondary mathematics teachers committed to teaching mathematics for social justice (TMfSJ) bring to their work. Interviews with fifteen diverse high school teachers from urban cities across the U.S. were conducted to address the following research questions: 1) What are the experiences of teachers striving to teach mathematics for social justice?; 2) What are their beliefs regarding the teaching of mathematics; and 3) What are their visions for improving mathematics education?

Duncan-Andrade and Morrell (2008) argue that “very little empirical work has been done that theorizes the possible translation of principles of critical pedagogy into practices, and even less work has been done that evaluates the outcomes of these practices” (2008, p. 105). Furthermore, little work has been done to understand teachers’ perspectives on translating ideas about critical pedagogy into practice, especially in mathematics. Gutstein (2003, 2006) and Brantlinger (2013) examine their own practices TMfSJ. Scholarship that centers the voices of fulltime teachers is essential for deepening our understandings of opportunities, challenges, and new directions for TMfSJ.

To conduct this study, I utilized a critical, qualitative approach (Steinberg & Cannella, 2012; Kincheloe & McLaren, 2002). I recruited teacher participants by networking one-on-one with teachers at a conference and emailing teachers who have published pieces on TMfSJ. After posing questions to teachers about social issue-related units they have taught, barriers and challenges they face, and what they believe about mathematics education, including the Common Core, I conducted a focused life history. I developed a coding scheme to build ideas and facilitate posing questions from my data (Bazeley, 2013).

Analysis revealed that teachers express a commitment to connecting rigorous mathematics content to social (in)justice issues. For these teachers, TMfSJ involves pushing back on the status quo within the classroom by striving to create spaces for critical, creative, real-world inquiry and moving away from teaching routine procedures. They feel that connecting mathematics to real-world issues – sometimes related to social inequity issues and sometimes related to areas such as the arts and music – as being part of a larger project to have mathematics classes that are more meaningful. Some of these teachers also push back on the status quo outside of the classroom by being involved in educational justice organizing. Another theme of the study is that teachers feel that there can be more joy in mathematics classrooms and that there are tensions between high-stakes reform and TMfSJ. Teachers feel that finding ways to connect math to the world will ultimately be important for creating equitable classes for Students of Color from economically marginalized backgrounds.

To support practicing mathematics teachers as well as teachers preparing to enter the profession with a passion for social justice, we need to understand what teachers face in the classroom and what they believe about their practice and the education system. We need to understand teachers as experts who wrestle daily with many elements of teaching to try to create socially just, equitable, and democratic classrooms.

Author

• Mary Candace Raygoza, Saint Mary's College of California