Sorting Out Equity: The Q-Sort Method in Mathematics Education Research

Liza Bondurant; Jamaal Rashad Young

doi:10.21423/jume-v17i1a651

Authors

Liza Bondurant Mississippi State University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8069-2382
Jamaal Rashad Young Texas A&M University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7277-1072

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21423/jume-v17i1a651

Keywords:

Q sort, Equity, Pre-service Teachers, Research Methods

Abstract

In this research commentary, we review the current utilization of the Q-Sort methodology (QM) in mathematics education and provide an example of how Q-Sort can support a more accurate assessment of PSTs' equity beliefs.

Author Biographies

Liza Bondurant, Mississippi State University

Liza Bondurant, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Mississippi State University; email: lb2206@msstate.edu. Her research centers on bridging the gap between theory and practice in mathematics teacher education. She uses an equity-focused lens to study simulations, noticing, embodied cognition, and math action technology.
Jamaal Rashad Young, Texas A&M University

Jamaal Young, Ph.D., focuses his attention on preparing pre-service teachers to meet the needs of all their students. His particular research interest is the uses of education technologies to develop teacher's knowledge of mathematics. Other emphases in his work are culturally responsive STEM education and mathematics achievement of children of color. His doctorate from Texas A&M University is in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in mathematics education. He joined the UNT faculty as an assistant professor in 2011. Jamaal's research interests include: (a) Technology integration and utilization in mathematics classrooms, (b) Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) for mathematics teachers, and (c) Culturally Relevant Pedagogy for STEM education.

References

Ansalone, G., & Biafora, F. (2004). Elementary school teachers' perceptions and attitudes to the educational structure of tracking. Education, 125(2), 249–259. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124504264232

Battey, D. (2013). “Good” mathematics teaching for students of color and those in poverty: The importance of relational interactions within instruction. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 82, 125-144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-012-9434-7

Boaler, J. (2006). How a detracked mathematics approach promoted respect, responsibility, and high achievement. Theory into Practice, 45(1), 40-46. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4501_6

Boaler, J. (2011). Changing students’ lives through the de-tracking of urban mathematics classrooms. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, 4(1), 7-14. https://doi.org/10.21423/jume-v4i1a14

Brown, M. (2004). Illuminating patterns of perception: An overview of Q methodology (CMU/SEI-2004-TN-026). Retrieved June 22, 2023, from the Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University website: http://resources.sei.cmu.edu/library/asset-view.cfm?AssetID=6975

Burke O'Connell, N., Dempsey, M., & O'Shea, A. (2019). An investigation of students' attitudes to science, mathematics and the use of technology in lower secondary education. International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology, 7(4), 319-334. https://doi.org/10.18404/ijemst.548956

Chen, T. L., & Chen, L. (2017). Utilizing wikis and a LINE messaging app in flipped classrooms. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 14(3), 1063-1074. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00649a

Darling-Hammond, L. (2007). Race, inequality and educational accountability: The irony of ‘No Child Left Behind’. Race Ethnicity and Education, 10(3), 245-260. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613320701503367

Ellis, M. (2008). Leaving no child behind yet allowing none too far ahead: Ensuring (in)equity in mathematics education through the science of measurement and instruction. Teachers College Record, 110(6), 1330-1356. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9620.2008.01177.x

Flores, A. (2007). Examining disparities in mathematics education: Achievement gap or opportunity gap?. The High School Journal, 91(1), 29-42. https://doi.org/10.1353/hsj.2007.0016

Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. Teachers College Press.

Gutiérrez, R. (2002). Enabling the practice of mathematics teachers in context: Toward a new equity research agenda. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 4(2-3), 145-187. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327833MTL04023_1

Gutiérrez, R. (2013). The sociopolitical turn in mathematics education. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 44(1), 37-68. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.44.1.0037

Hock, T. T., Tarmizi, R. A., Yunus, A. S. M., & Ayub, A. F. (2015). Understanding the primary school students’ van Hiele levels of geometry thinking in learning shapes and spaces: A Q-methodology. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 11(4), 793-802. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1380a

Jackson, K., Garrison, A., Wilson, J., Gibbons, L., & Shahan, E. (2013). Exploring relationships between setting up complex tasks and opportunities to learn in concluding whole-class discussions in middle-grades mathematics instruction. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 44(4), 646-682. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.44.4.0646

Ladson-Billings, G. (2014). Culturally relevant pedagogy 2.0: a.k.a. the remix. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 74–84. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.84.1.p2rj131485484751

Lim-Ratnam, C. T. L., Tay, L. Y., Tan, J. Y., Ong, M. W. L., & Aiyoob, T. B. (2022). Applying Q methodology to understand priorities in profiles of teacher reflections. Teaching and Teacher Education, 109, 103535. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103535

Lundberg, A., de Leeuw, R., & Aliani, R. (2020). Using Q methodology: Sorting out subjectivity in educational research. Educational Research Review, 31, 100361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100361

NCTM. (2014). Principles to actions: Ensuring mathematical success for all. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Paris, D., & Alim, H. S. (Eds.). (2017). Culturally sustaining pedagogies: Teaching and learning for justice in a changing world. Teachers College Press.

Renkly, S., & Bertolini, K. (2018). Shifting the paradigm from deficit-oriented schools to asset-based models: Why leaders need to promote an asset orientation in our schools. Empowering Research for Educators, 2(1), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.21423/ije.548956

Saultz, A., Lyons, A. I., Aronson, B., Sander, S. A., & Malin, J. R. (2021). Understanding preservice teacher dispositions. Teacher Education Quarterly, 48(1), 7-32. https://doi.org/10.5296/ije.v10i4.16913

Schmidt, W. H., Cogan, L. S., & Houang, R. T. (2011). Equality of educational opportunity: Myth or reality in U.S. schooling? American Educator, 34(4), 12–19.

Wheeler, D. L., & Montgomery, D. (2009). Community college students’ views on learning mathematics in terms of their epistemological beliefs: A Q method study. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 72, 289-306. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-009-9182-x

Wilburne, J., Polly, D., Franz, D., & Wagstaff, D. A. (2018). Mathematics teachers' implementation of high-leverage teaching practices: A Q-sort study. School Science and Mathematics, 118(6), 232-243. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.12261

Young, J., & Young, J. (2023). Before we let go!: Operationalizing culturally informed education. Multicultural Perspectives, 25(2), 96-111. https://doi.org/10.1080/15210960.2023.2212719