Centering the Experiences of Students of Color With Dis/abilities in Secondary Mathematics Classrooms

• In Event: Reconceptualizing Ability, Normativity, and Equity: Methodologies in Mathematics Education Resistance and Justice

Abstract

Objectives
African American and Latinx students who receive special education services are less likely to earn a college preparatory diploma (Tabron & Ramlackhan, 2019) than their non-disabled counterparts. As mathematics education in the United States continues to act as a gatekeeper to graduating high school with a diploma and accessing higher education (U.S. Department of Education, 2008; National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008; Shapka, et.al., 2007), this study aims to identify how students of color with dis/abilities interpret and resist the normative processes of ableism and racism in the mathematics classroom.

Theoretical Framework
This paper draws from the work of Disabilities Studies in Education and Critical Race Theory, (DisCrit) as a guiding theoretical framework. Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) is a theoretical framework that examines the constructs of ableism and racism that work in conjunction to oppress students of color with dis/abilities (Annamma, et. al., 2016, p. 14). Attending DisCrit tenets 2 – valuing the multidimensional identities that individuals hold; tenet 4 – privileging the voices of marginalized populations; and tenet 7 – requiring resistance and activism, this study attempts to answer the following research questions: (1) how do students of color labeled with a dis/ability interpret being raced and disabled in the mathematics learning environment? and (2) What are the ways students of color with dis/abilities resist the normalizing process of racism and ableism in the mathematics classroom?

Methods
Using a critical phenomenological study design (Salamon, 2018) to collect and analyze interview data from 7 self-described students of color with dis/abilities who graduated from public high school and currently attend post-secondary institutions. Individuals in the study participated in three 90-minute interviews - an individual interview and two focus groups - in addition to creating an Education Journey Map (Annamma, 2018) that detailed their experiences in K-12 mathematics classrooms. The data compiled from the interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis (Van Manen, 2014) where emerging structures of meaning and patterns were identified and validated using constant comparison of the findings with existing research.

Findings
Thematic analysis revealed the following preliminary findings: (a) all of the participants described mathematical learning environments that treated them as “the other”, “a burden”, or a “problem child” because of their dis/ability or race label (b) students resisted the normalizing processes of ableism by demanding and advocating for access to resources that allowed them to overcome constraining conceptions of mathematical ability (c) experiences of shame and embarrassment were amplified in individuals who multiply marginalized as the only student of color in their learning environment.

Significance
The study highlights the ways that students of color with dis/abilities successfully navigated implicit and explicit ableist and racist structures in the mathematics classroom. Findings contribute to efforts to dismantle inequitable learning environments that place the burden of providing access to learning on individual students rather than on the system.

Author

• Dina Mahmood, Chapman University