Instructors' and Students' Perceptions of Calculus Instruction Through the Lens of White, Patriarchal Benevolence

• In Event: Equity-Oriented Perspectives on Undergraduate Mathematics Teaching and Learning

Abstract

Introductory mathematics courses, specifically calculus and precalculus, function as pathways into STEM majors and careers, making student success in them particularly impactful. However, the mathematical community acknowledges criticisms that calculus courses tend to cover too many topics and are taught in disengaging ways (Johnson, Ellis, & Rasmussen, 2016; PCAST, 2012). With almost 50 percent of students earning a grade of D or below nationally (Bressoud et al., 2015), instruction in introductory mathematics rooted in logics of weeding out students and mathematical ability as innate negatively impact STEM persistence (Author, accepted; Larsen et al., 2016) This is especially true for Black and Latinx students managing stereotypes of ability and feelings of isolation in mathematical spaces (Author, 2019). While prior research has importantly documented Black and Latinx students’ racialized and gendered experiences of introductory mathematics instruction (e.g., Ellis et al., 2016; Oppland-Cordell, 2014), how instructors’ perspectives on classroom practices compare to those of students has been minimally explored.

This study fills this void in the literature. We conducted individual interviews with introductory mathematics instructors (1 Black woman, 1 Latinx woman, 1 Asian woman, 3 Asian men, and 1 White man) as well as 20 Black and Latinx students enrolled in precalculus and calculus about their perceptions for a set of instructional events. The study took place in a large, public research university in the northeastern United States. This paper presents findings from a comparative analysis of instructors’ and students’ responses to specific instructional events. We focused on two events that students reported as frequently occurring: one with an instructor declining a student’s request to review a problem and one with an instructor suggesting that students drop down a course level if unable to complete a problem quickly. Ray’s (2019) theory of racialized organizations guided our analysis, particularly the tenet that racialized organizations either enhance or diminish racial groups’ agency.

Our findings characterize instructors’ perceptions of classroom practices as rooted in white patriarchal benevolence, or racial-gendered paternalism framed with good intent yet strips agency from minoritized peoples (Esposito & Romano, 2014). Instructors reflected on ensuring that students remain on schedule to engage with required course content as an explanation for not addressing students' questions during instruction. They also discussed how advising students to drop down a course level ensured that they were adequately prepared for more advanced mathematics courses. In contrast, Black and Latinx students perceived instructional behaviors as limiting their participation and access to mathematical content, all while identifying multiple ways that instructors could mitigate such racialized-gendered impacts (e.g., extending help instead of advising to drop courses). Thus, instructors raised benevolent perspectives of looking after students to justify practices that students perceived to have gatekeeping impacts.

Thus, our findings reveal points of divergence in instructor and student perceptions of instructional events. One important contribution of this work is capturing the significance of undergraduate mathematics instructors’ racial and gender consciousness for disrupting inequitable outcomes of instruction, which can be perceived as neutral and benevolent.

Authors

• Brittany Leslie Marshall, Rutgers University

• Luis Antonio Leyva, Vanderbilt University

• Taylor McNeill, Vanderbilt University