Social Justice Mathematics and Critical Emotional Praxis: How Privileged Students Respond to Social Justice Mathematics

• In Event: 51.080 - Sheraton Roundtable Session Nine - Osgoode Ballroom
  In Roundtable Session: 51.080-2 - Post-Truth Era: A Freirean Response

Abstract

This case study explores how students of privileged backgrounds in a sixth-grade mathematics class in an elite private school respond and react to Social Justice Mathematics. Social Justice Mathematics (SJM) aims to develop students’ sociopolitical consciousness and their mathematics understanding to take critical action (Gutstein, 2006). Previous research of affluent students’ engagement with SJM found that they solidified their negative stereotypes of less-resourced neighborhoods, the opposite of what SJM intends (Esmonde, 2014). Using Critical Emotional Praxis (Zembylas, 2015) results indicate that students felt emotional reactions of empathy for others, viewed social inequities as “unfair,” and desired to take action, aligning with the goals of Social Justice Mathematics and Critical Pedagogy.

Author

• Kari Kokka, University of Pittsburgh