Rooted Beginnings: Relational and Relationally-Accountable Math Education Research with Latine Families in Portland

• In Event: Navigating Community Relations in Mathematics Education Equity Research: Insights from Early Career Scholars

Abstract

This presentation shares the early stages of a community-anchored ethnographic study designed to explore and identify math learning experiences among bilingual Latine families with preschool and kindergarten-aged children in Portland, Oregon. As part of a broader EMERG (Equity in Math Education Research Grant) initiative, this paper focuses on the early, trust-centered work of building transparent and reciprocal partnerships with local families, educators, and institutions in Portland, Oregon. This paper will discuss how mathematics education can be achieved through sustained, reciprocal engagement with communities that have been historically excluded from decision-making in research and policy.

Rooted in a critical framework of relational accountability (Wilson, 2008), the project foregrounds the relational and necessary process of cultivating community trust, particularly within bilingual Latine communities that have been historically marginalized in educational research (Paris & Winn, 2014; González et al., 2005). Rather than viewing partnership as a means to an end, this work treats relationship-building as foundational to ethical and equitable research (Fine, 2018; Cammarota & Fine, 2008). The paper highlights insights gained from initial outreach to early learning leaders and the development of a promising collaboration with Portland State University programs, as well as early learning leaders at Washington County United Way and the Portland Metro STEM Partnership. It illustrates the importance of resisting transactional engagement in favor of long-term, community-rooted commitments to design and shared power in mathematics education research. Furthermore, I will discuss the careful and time-intensive process of developing research instruments that honor the lived realities of participating families (Bang et al., 2012). I will share how pilot interviews with parents and teachers have played a critical role in shaping tools that are not only developmentally appropriate but also culturally responsive and logistically feasible (Author 1; Tuck & Yang, 2014).

This deliberate approach reflects a broader commitment to methodological integrity and community accountability, resisting rushed timelines in favor of meaningful, co-constructed research design. In conversation with fellow EMERG scholars, this presentation will explore how insider researchers navigate institutional demands while remaining rooted in the needs, rhythms, and knowledges and rhythms of their communities. The presentation concludes with a vision for mathematics education research that centers multilingual, immigrant families, not merely as participants, but as epistemic partners in shaping just, joyful futures for early math learning.

Author

• Susana Beltran-Grimm, Portland State University