More Than Checking a Box: Creating Space in Mathematics Licensure Programs for Multiracial Identity

• In Event: Critical Hope and Collective (Re)Imaginings: Intersectional Approaches to Decentering Whiteness in an Initial Licensure Program

Abstract

Purpose/theoretical framework
In recent years, mathematics educators and researchers have begun to heed the call to rehumanize mathematics by centering the voices and experiences of students of color (Gutiérrez, 2013; Yeh et al., 2021). I argue that this research often leaves out the fastest-growing racial group in the United States: students who identify as multiracial (Jones et al., 2021). Developing culturally responsive mathematics teachers (Gay, 2002) who understand race beyond monoracial categories is imperative. Thus, the research question that guides this work is:
How do multiracial people of Asian and white descent navigate mathematics classrooms in the United States K-12 public school system?

Critical Multiracial Theory (MultiCrit) is an adaptation of Critical Race Theory designed to highlight the unique interpersonal and systemic ways multiracial people navigate and resist racism and oppression in the United States (Harris, 2016). Using MultiCrit as a framework unveils the ways that a monoracial (Johnston & Nadal, 2010) approach to mathematics education research excludes and discredits the racialized experiences of multiracial students. In elevating the mathematics education experiences of Asian and white multiracial people, I seek to reimagine mathematics initial licensure programs that prepare culturally responsive mathematics teachers beyond a monoracial paradigm of race.

Methods
Given the amount of diversity within the multiracial population, the study was narrowed to the multiracial category of Asian and white. This decision also provided space for the author to weave in their own experiences and positionality as an Asian and white mathematics educator and researcher. Participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol, which included questions about their multiracial and mathematics identities and the intersection between these experiences. The participants were all adults who had done their K-12 education in the United States.

The data for this study includes recordings and transcripts from the semi-structured interviews. The data was analyzed using a grounded theory (Corbin & Strauss, 2008).

Results
Preliminary findings suggest that the multiracial experiences of people who are Asian and white impact mathematical experiences. Several participants highlighted the external pressure from peers and society to live up to the stereotype that all Asian students are good at mathematics (Shah, 2019). However, these participants also cited times where they felt rejected by Asian communities for not being “Asian enough”. Yong (2020) discusses the ways that multiracial people develop self-esteem issues from being excluded from their chosen racial identity and not having opportunities to talk about the ways racism impacts them. If future mathematics teachers do not have a culturally responsive (Gay, 2002) understanding of multiracial students, multiracial Asian and white people will be left to navigate and resist racist stereotyping alone.

Scholarly Significance of the Study
The mathematical experiences of multiracial Asian and white people demonstrate the importance of nuanced attention to supporting multiracial students. Developing culturally responsive mathematics teachers must include elevating the experiences of multiracial people. Future research is needed that highlights the diverse voices of multiracial students.

Author

• Sophie Kasahara, University of Minnesota