Date of Award

8-8-2023

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Middle and Secondary Education

First Advisor

David W. Stinson, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Pier A. Junor Clarke, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Caroline C. Sullivan, Ph.D.

Abstract

Within the U.S. education system, and particularly within mathematics education, there is and always has been a standardization of knowledge that more times than not reveres and perpetuates dominant hegemonic perspectives of whiteness, patriarchy, Christianity, ableism, English-speaking, and so on (Battey & Leyva, 2015; Joseph,1994; Martin, 2009; Stinson, 2004). The perpetuation of this hegemonic ideology has too often resulted in those who are positioned at the margins of U.S. society (e.g., women, people of color, English-Language Learners, immigrants, the working poor, people with disabilities, and so on) to not benefit from mathematics curriculum and instruction to the extent of those who are privileged. Although there exists a growing group of critical mathematics education researchers who identify forms of hegemony and suggest practices that might support equity for traditionally marginalized and minoritized students (e.g., de Freitas, 2008; Frankenstein, 1990; Gutiérrez, 2002, 2009; Gutstein, 2003; Leyva et al., 2021a, 2021b; Seda & Brown, 2021), too often issues of inequity and injustices in research are addressed in isolation or in parallel manner rather than in a compounding and intersecting manner. Bullock (2018), however, argued that intersectionality could offer a way for critical mathematics educators to address the complexities of inequities and injustices in a multilayered, compounding, and intersecting manner.

Therefore, informed by Collins and Bilge's (2020) intersectional inquiry and praxis, this qualitative case study investigated the ways that four high school mathematics teachers’ engagement with intersectionality as a method of critical inquiry and praxis via participation in a critical friends group book club (Curry, 2008; Jacobs et al., 2011; Mensah, 2009) influenced their curriculum and instructional decisions. Primary data collection included group book club discussions and individual exit interviews. My analysis of collected data revealed how four mathematics teachers–– through engagement with chosen texts and subsequent critical inquiries––came to their own unique understandings and implications of equity and intersectionality for their classrooms. Furthermore, my analysis showcased how participation in the critical friends group book club either reaffirmed or enhanced the participating teachers’ curriculum and instructional praxis. Implications of these findings for stakeholders of mathematics education are outlined and discussed.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57709/35873043

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