Benevolence as a Way of Thinking About Difference in Mathematics Education

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

Abstract

In this project, I argue that the equity discourse in mathematics education cannot achieve its stated aims of inclusion because of its refusal to make the drastic foundational changes required to create a mathematics education that is not rooted in whiteness. I propose that a first step toward resolution is to shift focus from creating equity in mathematics education toward addressing inequities. Equity is a worthy goal, but it requires an intention toward creating an equal playing field by attempting to either equalize or neutralize privilege. This approach forecloses on nuanced strategies that bring forward the particular needs of communities that have been historically excluded from full access to mathematics and that make visible the fact that, in order for these communities to have access to mathematics, mathematics itself must be reconsidered. In contrast, a focus on inequities created and maintained by current systems of mathematics education makes visible the ways in which mathematics devalues certain bodies and minds. This visibility then creates the opportunity for de/reconstructing mathematics education in a way that allows for mathematics educators to do the work of redress and restorative justice (McCluskey et al., 2008).

The Limits of White Benevolence
White benevolence is best characterized by its limits, the places where is stops short of racial justice. The difference between white benevolence and a white person’s anti-racist action is that white benevolence poses no threat to existing systems of racial justice (Bebout, 2011). Bebout (2011) highlights that efforts of white benevolence frown upon racial discrimination “but the system of racial logic that undergirds it remains unquestioned” (p. 24). Therefore, the purpose of this discussion of white benevolence “is not to critique the effort of whites fighting for social justice, but rather their relationship to the aggrieved community” (Bebout, 2011, p. 23).

With respect to mathematics education, equity discourse frames the relationship between mathematics education and the communities that have been disconnected from school mathematics. This relationship is characterized by efforts to enculturate students into this white institutional space rather than to create a space that is welcoming and affirming of their identities. I argue that equity discourse in mathematics education is an exercise in white benevolence because these discourses “may provide a temporary reprieve, [but] they do nothing to dismantle the structures of oppression” (Bebout, 2011, p. 24).

Benevolence as a Way of Thinking
At the heart of this project is the argument that benevolence is not simply a metaphorical observation about how equity discourses operate in mathematics education. Rather, benevolence has become the expected way of thinking about difference and exclusion in mathematics education. This way of thinking positions ideas such as equity, access, and representation as priorities while taking care to avoid disruption and to maintain the structure of mathematics education that assures exclusion.

Author

• Erika C. Bullock, University of Wisconsin - Madison