Using an Equity Survey to Assess the Mind-Sets of Mathematics Teachers of African American Students

• In Event: Formative Intervention Research to Enhance Equitable Mathematics Teaching: Lesson Learned From Multiple Data Sources

Abstract

Objectives. The objective of this presentation is to describe the development and initial analysis of a survey entitled, Assessment of Equity in Beliefs and Practices of Teaching Mathematics to African-American Students. The purpose of the survey is to provide an indication of: 1) teachers’ mindsets that may be productive or unproductive in supporting the mathematical learning of African-American students, 2) teachers’ awareness of and attribution for success and challenges in African-American students’ learning of mathematics; and 3) teachers’ feelings of self-efficacy and/or support in enacting equitable instruction.
Theoretical Framework. Seminal literature from experts in the field was used to develop categories and items within the survey (e.g., Jackson & Wilson, 2103; Ladson-Billings 2009, 2013; Martin, 2007; Milner, 2010). The literature supported the fact that mindsets of teachers have a significant impact on the success or failure of students in the mathematics classroom (Ladson-Billings, 2009; Martin, 2009). The survey contains eight categories of items highlighted in the literature: Beliefs about Student Achievement and Motivation, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Perceptions of Challenges of African-American Students, Perceptions of Success of African-American Students, Mathematics as a Civil Right, Missionary Beliefs, Beliefs about Critical Thinking, and Student Behavior.
Methodology and Data Sources. The instrument was administered in Spring 2015 to 23 matheamtics teachers, prior to the 4-week summer professional development (PD) focusing on mathematics and culturally responsive/relevant pedagogy. The second administration will occur fall 2015 following the summer PD, with the final administration at the end of teachers’ participation in all project activities (Spring 2016).
For the initial administration, coefficient alpha was obtained for each dimension to determine its internal consistency, and dimension scores were obtained. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis were conducted to compare results within and across dimensions.
Results. Results (see Table 1) indicate moderate to strong consistency in all survey dimensions except Civil Rights. Results of teachers’ responses indicate the need to influence the practices of the teacher in creating an “equitable” learning environment in order to optimize the opportunity for success to all students. For example, two patterns in the “Perceptions of Challenges of African-Americans Students” section of the survey were particularly striking. First, approximately half (50-65%) of teachers agreed with items attributing challenges and lack of success to students (e.g., “disinterest in matheamtics”). Second, teachers overwhelmingly disagreed (85-90%) with items attributing challenges facing African American students to teacher, classroom, or school characteristics (e.g., “low teacher expectations”). These results, indicative of deficit perspectives, will inform future PD experiences.
Scholarly Significance. This research seeks to address the “deficit mindset” often present in classrooms. It is imperative to recognize the talents and gifts that students of all cultural backgrounds bring to the classroom and to use these strengths as foundations to build strong mathematical content knowledge. The survey can support teachers to reflect and refocus their mindsets, and focus less on perceived deficits and “achievement gaps”. Through on-going work, we hope to contribute to the field a validated survey that can foster critical reflection and awareness on a personal, school, program, or district level.

Author

• Carmen Thomas-Browne, Duquesne University