Dismantling a "White Institutional Space": Developing Antiracist Practices in Mathematics Teacher Candidates

• In Event: Unearthing and Disrupting White Supremacy in STEM Education

Abstract

Drawing from Martin (2013), this project begins with status quo mathematics education as a white institutional space. For example, mathematics curricula have a “historical construction…based upon the thinking of White elites” and assert mathematics content as “neutral and impartial” (Martin, 2013, p. 323). Mathematics classrooms purport to deliver universal content devoid of culture yet it remains impossible to divorce classroom practice from the white supremacist context of public education in the United States, as noted by Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995. In light of this, mathematics teacher educators that embrace the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics equity principle must go above and beyond in developing anti-racist teaching practices in their teacher candidates.

Developing socially just practices in mathematics teacher candidates is an active field of inquiry. De Freitas (2008) describes an action research project in her mathematics methods classroom seeking to challenge teacher candidates’ notions of privilege and success in mathematics, with some attention to whiteness as a contributing factor to the privilege afforded to some. More recently, Turner et al (2012) describe a multitude of coursework experiences for mathematics teacher candidates that engender equitable teaching practices according to race.

My paper reports out an action research project I conducted in my own secondary mathematics methods course before their student teaching experience in multi-racial schools. The research was conducted at a public regional university, a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) with partnerships in urban schools. The project focuses on the following teaching interventions: readings from philosophy of mathematics that trouble the notion of mathematics as a neutral content area, data analysis projects that unearth structural aspects in schools that result in unequal opportunities students of color have to learn mathematics when compared to white students, and implicit biases housed within teachers that contribute to mathematics classrooms as a white institutional space. To the latter, the project also includes classroom roleplaying and improvisation to improve practices related to inclusive communication strategies, elimination of racial microaggressions, and enhancement of the use of culturally relevant techniques in mathematics teaching and learning. As a theoretical framework, the multi-faceted approach used in the action research project for addressing white supremacy in the mathematics classroom draws from Rosiek & Kinslow’s (2016) assertion that a white supremacy triad includes 1) structural inequities, 2) individual implicit bias, and 3) discursive reification through language.

Data collected from the teaching intervention include teacher candidates’ journaling from class, transcripts from class discussions, and observations from classroom teaching in the urban context. At this time, findings from data include shifts in teacher candidate perceptions about mathematics, shifts in understanding about white supremacy and public education’s role in it, and some new practices observed in the classroom. Specific to the latter, data indicate greater attention to employing bias-free communication in the classroom. However, data also indicate a hesitancy to respond to students who commit racial microaggressions to other students. The project will continue with another round of data collection for the 2019-2020 academic year.

Author

• Mark Wolfmeyer, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania