The Role of Language Ideologies in Reimagining a Culturally Sustaining Mathematics Education for Multilingual Learners

• In Event: Reimagining Mathematics Education

Abstract

This paper examines the language ideologies of caregivers and teachers in a co-designing effort that used lesson study to transform mathematics learning opportunities for multilingual learners. Mathematics education research highlights the critical role of language ideologies in reproducing inequities within classrooms and opening opportunities for change. This study addresses how English-only ideologies, intermingled with deficit perspectives, position multilingual learners’ and their families’ languages as a problem to be fixed. The findings reveal the pervasiveness of these ideologies, among some teachers and multilingual caregivers. By including caregivers as co-designers, this study contributes valuable insights into challenging common power asymmetries and into potential pathways for change. This research advances our understanding of the complexities involved in co-designing culturally responsive mathematics lessons.

Authors

• Luis Alejandro Royo Romero, University of Maryland

• Astrid Sierra, Metropolitan State University of Denver

• Beatriz E. Quintos, University of Maryland

• Melinda E. Martin-Beltran, University of Maryland

• Claudia L. Galindo, University of Maryland

• Michael W. Krell, University of Maryland

• Victoria Nicole Fernandez, University of Maryland