Blacks' Mathematics Education Before Brown: An Examination of Mathematics Curriculum in Industrial Schools in the Segregated South, 1866–1954

• In Event: 35.020 - Excellence in Education Research: Early-Career Scholars and Their Work

Abstract

Mainstream mathematics education research and policy is dominated by social science orientations that primarily rely on traditional theories, models, and interpretations of the mathematical competence of African Americans (AA) or Blacks. Contemporary scholarship and national discourse surrounding the mathematics education of Blacks often center on the notion of pathology, a view largely supported by deficit perspectives (Martin, 2009; Stinson 2006). Some researchers point to factors such as inequitable distribution of quality teachers (Adamson & Darling-Hammond, 2012).Others position Black parents negatively, blaming them for placing low value on early education (Jencks & Phillips, 1998). Still other scholars contend the U.S. does not have an achievement gap at all, but an educational debt (Ladson-Billings, 2006).
The rise in national focus on the achievement of Blacks using state and national summative assessments can be marked by important legal decisions beginning with Brown vs. Board of Education; but also the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. What did the mathematics education and achievement of Blacks look like before these legal decisions? We know very little about the mathematics education of Black pre-Brown; however, what we do know is that new narratives describing the segregated schooling of Blacks, mainly in the South have challenged the master narrative that reduced all Black schools and students to “unilateral inferiority” (Siddle-Walker, 2009, p. 1). Siddle-Walker (2000) concluded that although traditional accounts of segregated schools document the inequalities caused by inadequate facilities and funding, other accounts demonstrate a “cohesion of ideas and practice” (Siddle-Walker, 2009, p. 1) which encompassed cadres of committed and well-trained teachers, principals, and professors; curricular and extracurricular programs that reinforced the values of the school and the community; and a strong base of parental support (Siddle-Walker, 2000). Using archival data (i.e. catalogs, bulletins, textbooks, syllabi) from 25 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), this study extends this extant research by looking specifically at the mathematics education of Blacks and aims to answer the research question: What type of mathematics education experiences did African Americans living in the South have during de jure segregation? Preliminary findings suggest three important themes: (1) Black students were trained in applied mathematics and mathematics education which focused on trades and teaching; and (2) The applied mathematics curriculum provided Black students opportunities to engage in mathematical tasks and learning opportunities that required them to problem solve; and (3) Focusing on an a real-world mathematics curriculum promoted the relevance of mathematics beyond school.

Author

• Nicole Michelle Joseph, Vanderbilt University