Mathematics Education & Society Conference 9th April 2017 – Volos, Greece Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice: Transforming Classroom Practice This powerpoint presentation and further details about the TMSJ Research Project available from: http://maths-socialjustice.weebly.com/ Pete Wright UCL Institute of Education pete.wright@ucl.ac.uk @PeteWrightIOE

Outline of session Why is change needed? Transforming classroom practice Participatory Action Research TMSJ Research Project – selected findings Discussion – future wider-scale research?

Why is change needed? Secondary mathematics teaching tends to be teacher-led, boring, irrelevant and alienating (Boaler, 2009; D’Ambrosio, 2006; Nardi & Steward, 2003; Noyes, 2012); Disempowering and exploitative – promotes ‘prescription readiness’ (Skovsmose, 2011), compliance (Gutstein, 2006); Persistent association between mathematics attainment and family income (Boaler et al., 2011); School mathematics acts as ‘critical filter’ – limits access to higher education, future employment (Black et al., 2009); Perpetuation and reproduction of inequities – ‘cultural capital’ (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990; Jorgensen et al., 2014).

Transforming classroom practice Research/professional development needs to take account of constraints faced by teachers (Bishop, 1998), e.g. performativity, pressure to teach to the tests; Research needs to be conducted in typical classroom situations (Skovsmose, 2011); Established practice needs to be recognised as problematic – look for new ways of thinking, acting and relating to others (Kemmis, 2009); Critical reflection – driven by external input and stimulus – essential for challenging existing practice (Jaworski, 2006); Teachers need to engage critically with research findings and engage in research (BERA, 2014).

Participatory Action Research PAR is collaborative, participatory, explicitly socio-political and democratic (Brydon-Miller, et al., 2003); Involves academics (with expertise in conducting research) carrying out research ‘with’, rather than ‘on’, teachers (with detailed knowledge of the classroom situation); Resonates with critical maths education – current situation should not be taken as given (Skovmose & Borba, 2004); Aims to bring about positive social change and generate findings of greater relevance to practitioners (Torrance, 2004); Develops greater ‘understanding of theory-in-practice’ amongst teachers (Torrance, 2004)

TMSJ Reseach Project (Wright, 2016; 2017) TMSJ Research Project – small-scale PAR project, over one academic year, with 5 early-career teacher researchers. Focus on developing practice that promotes engagement and empowerment of students, greater awareness of own situation and more equitable outcomes. Selected findings: Impact (short-term) on teachers’ thinking and classroom practice: shift towards recognising structural causes of inequity; move from viewing social justice as enrichment opportunity towards seeing it as integral to teaching maths. Increase in students’ engagement (particularly amongst the previously ‘alienated’) and agency (through using mathematics to support an argument for change).

Discussion What would a research project look like that would transform classroom practice, in relation to teaching mathematics for social justice, on a wider scale? What are the essential characteristics of the TMSJ research project that would need to be retained? Is there a tension between scaling up PAR and maintaining its participatory and collaborative nature? Should participants necessarily share a pre-existing commitment towards teaching mathematics for social justice?

References BERA. (2014). Research and the teaching profession: Building the capacity for a self-improving education system. London: British Educational Research Assoc. Bishop, A. (1998). Research, effectiveness, and the practitioners’ world. In: A. Sierpinska & J. Kilpatrick, eds. Mathematics education as a research domain: A search for identity. Dordrecht: Kluwer, pp. 33-45. Black, L., Mendick, H., & Solomon, Y. (2009). Mathematical relationships in education: Identities and participation. New York: Routledge. Boaler, J. (2009). The elephant in the classroom: helping children learn and love maths. London: Souvenir Press. Boaler, J., Altendorf, L., & Kent, G. (2011). Mathematics and science inequalities in the United Kingdom: When elitism, sexism and culture collide. Oxford Review of Education, 37(4), 457-484. Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J.-C. (1990). Reproduction in education, society and culture (2nd ed.). London: Sage. Brydon‐Miller, M. & Maguire, P. (2009). Participatory action research: contributions to the development of practitioner inquiry in education. Educational Action Research, Vol 17 (1), pp. 79-93.

References (continued) D’Ambrosio, U. (2006). Ethnomathematics: Link between traditions and modernity. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Gutstein, E. (2006). Reading and writing the world with mathematics: Toward a pedagogy for social justice. New York: Routledge. Jaworski, B. (2006). Theory and practice in mathematics teaching development: Critical inquiry as a mode of learning in teaching. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, Vol. 9, pp. 187-211. Jorgensen, R., Gates, P., & Roper, V. (2014). Structural exclusion through school mathematics: Using Bourdieu to understand mathematics as a social practice. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 87, 221-239. Kemmis, S. (2009). Action research as a practice‐based practice. Educational Action Research, Vol. 17 (3), pp. 463-474. Nardi, E., & Steward, S. (2003). Is mathematics T.I.R.E.D.? A profile of quiet disaffection in the secondary mathematics classroom. British Educational Research Journal, 29(3), 345-367.

References (continued) Noyes, A. (2012). It matters which class you are in: Student-centred teaching and the enjoyment of learning mathematics. Research in Mathematics Education, 14(3), 273-290. Press. Skovsmose, O. (2011). An invitation to critical mathematics education. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Skovsmose, O., & Borba, M. (2004). Research methodology and critical mathematics education. In: P. Valero & R. Zevenbergen, eds. Researching the socio-political dimensions of mathematics education. Dordrecht: Kluwer, pp. 207-226. Torrance, H. (2004). Using action research to generate knowledge about educational practice. In G. Thomas, & R. Pring (Eds.), Evidence-based practice in education (pp. 187-200). Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press. Wright, P. (2016). Social justice in the mathematics classroom. London Review of Education, 14(2), 104-118. Wright, P. (2017). Critical relationships between teachers and learners of school mathematics. Pedagogy, Culture and Society [Online], Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14681366.2017.1285345