Questioning Authority: Mixed-Methods Investigation of Authoritarian and Decentralized Teaching Practices in Urban Mathematics Classrooms

• In Event: Division C Section 1C: Equity Topics in Mathematics Education

Abstract

Students of color often encounter authoritarian teaching practices, or those that marginalize their agency, expertise, or social and cultural identities in mathematics classrooms. They seldom encounter decentralized practices, or those that honor students’ sociocultural identities and center their mathematical agency and expertise. Little research has explored how authoritarian and decentralized practices affect students of color specifically, especially in ways that honor their own perspectives. In this exploratory sequential mixed methods study, we explored patterns in how marginalized students are affected by authoritarian teaching through a phenomenological analysis of student interviews. Regression analyses then examined if decentralized practices predict outcomes students identified as being affected by authoritarian practices. Findings have implications for educational stakeholders working towards equitable mathematics pedagogy.

Authors

• Kyle Matthew Boomhower, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Tiana Crystal Victor, Montclair State University

• Jingyun Wu, Indiana University - Bloomington

• Jamaal Matthews, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• DeLeon Gray, Black and Belonging