Using Preservice Teachers’ Math Stories to Unpack Whiteness in the Math Classroom

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 11:40 am Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Critically Examining Racializing Myths Across Disciplines and Spaces (Table 11)

Abstract

This study utilizes preservice teachers’ math stories to understand the ways in which Whiteness manifests in mathematics. A thematic analysis was conducted on students’ math stories and applied within a theoretical framework that drew on Critical Whiteness Studies and poststructuralism to explain the presence of Whiteness within these stories. The evaluation of students’ math stories demonstrated that Whiteness continues to be pervasive within education and mathematics. I conclude that mathematics educators must understand their students’ preconceived notions of mathematics and Whiteness in order to work to decenter Whiteness and support the equitable education of the next generation of teachers.

Author

• Claire Lambert, Michigan State University