“It has nothing to do with math, but…”: White Elementary Teachers Discuss Race, Power, and Mathematics

• In Event: Addressing Race and Culture in Teachers' Work With Students

Abstract

This study examines interviews with four white elementary teachers about race and power in classroom mathematics discussions. I analyze transcripts from semi-structured interviews, including video-based reflections following classroom observations. Using tools of critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 1989; Gee, 2011; Rogers, 2004a) and an understanding of mathematics teaching and learning as racialized forms of experience (Martin, 2006), I explore teachers’ responses about race and power in mathematics, including the silences, contestations, and pedagogical openings in their discourse. I found that participants often diverted from explicit race talk, suggested inequities were less prevalent in mathematics than in other school disciplines, and located power dynamics primarily among students. While in part reflective of color-evasive (Frankenberg, 1993) and negotiated (Crowley, 2016) discourse, teachers’ responses also illuminated possibilities for further critical inquiry and learning.

Author

• Ada Okun, Boston University