An Exploration of the Interaction between ERI and Math Sense of Belonging among Black Girls

• In Event: Reconceptualizing the Role of Racialized Identities in Black and Latinx STEM Achievement

Abstract

Facilitating opportunities to belong is particularly important for Black students who often experience racialized barriers within their STEM classes (Evans et al., 2011; Faircloth & Hamm, 2005; Matthews et al., 2014). Belonging has been found to help thwart the adverse effects of negative racialized experiences and increase academic engagement (Brooms, 2019; Gray et al., 2022). This study examines how 7th-grade Black girls understand the role their Ethnic Racial Identity (ERI) plays in their perception and experience with a sense of belonging within the context of the mathematics classroom.

Rooted in an Axiom of Black Brilliance (Gholson et al., 2012) and drawing on frameworks such as belonging, race-reimaging (DeCuir-Gunby & Schutz, 2014; 2024), and PVEST (Spencer, 2006), this phenomenological study explores the experiences of ten 7th-grade Black girls as they share their conceptualizations of belonging and how their ERI interacts with their experiences with the math curriculum, their math teachers, and their peers within the math classroom. Drawing from multiple data sources, including math autobiographies, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations, the 7th-grade Black girls in this study illuminated how belonging is understood by highlighting the construct's dynamic nature and the role of student’s perceptions of their ERI and its importance to their math experiences.

According to prior literature on ERI development across the lifespan, the salience of one’s ethnic-racial identity will vary during adolescence (Sellers et al. 1998; Umaña-Taylor et al. 2014; Williams et al. 2020). This variety in salience was evident when participants were invited to reflect on how they believed their ERI impacted their experiences of belonging within their math classrooms. When asked, most participants (nine out of ten) stated that they did not see their ERI impacting their sense of belonging in their math classes. Yet, as the interviews continued, half of the participants identified examples of when their ERI was highlighted (negatively) in their math classes. In contrast, the remaining participants shared examples of their ERI impacting their experiences at school more broadly. Therefore, the answer to this research question varies along a developmental continuum: the degree to which the participants have language to identify and express how their ERI affects their lives, the participants’ prior experiences, the math classrooms' ethnic-racial setting, and the strength of the relationship between the teacher and themselves.

This study adds to the literature by centering the educational experiences of 7th-grade Black girls by focusing specifically on their stories. Intentionally avoiding deficit language, narratives, and framings, this study reiterates the importance of studying Black girls through an asset-oriented lens (Gholson & Martin, 2019; Joseph et al., 2017; Young et al., 2017). Additionally, this study draws out the nuance in the experiences of Black girls related to their views of their ERI and their experiences with belonging to the mathematics space. The implications for researchers and educators alike reminds us that Black girls’ needs within the mathematics classroom will vary, therefore tailoring the support to how they articulate their needs will help these efforts be more effective in supporting their overall academic achievement.

Author

• Brooke Harris-Thomas, University of Michigan - Dearborn