Does That Count?

How Mathematics Education Can Support Justice-Focused Anti-Racist Teaching and Learning

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21423/jume-v14i1Ba444

Keywords:

mathematics education, social justice

Abstract

Many mathematics educators feel that their work is not amenable to questions of diversity, equity, or justice. However, this article argues that “numbers” are not neutral. What we count and how we count are directly related to basic issues of human difference and social disparity. It also argues that mathematics knowledge and skills are fundamental to civic participation and engagement. Mathematics educators do have a stake in helping us achieve equitable social outcomes.

References

Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

Commission on Mathematics and Science Education. (2009). The opportunity equation: Trans-forming mathematics and science education for citizenship and the global economy. Car-negie Corporation of New York & Institute for Advanced Study.

Gutstein, E. (2013). Home buying while Brown or Black: Teaching mathematics for racial justice. In E. Gutstein & B. Peterson (Eds.), Rethinking mathematics: Teaching social justice by the numbers (2nd ed., pp. 61–66). Rethinking Schools.

Morrison, N. (2020, June 18). Black graduates twice as likely to be unemployed. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorrison/2020/06/18/black-graduates-twice-as-likely-to-be-unemployed/?sh=5157d47377eb

Mos Def. (1999). Mathematics [Song]. On Black on Both Sides. Rawkus; Priority.

Moses, R., & Cobb, C. E., Jr. (2002). Radical equations: Civil rights from Mississippi to the Algebra Project. Beacon Press.

National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics & TODOS: Mathematics for ALL. (2016). Mathematics education through the lens of social justice: Acknowledgement, actions, and accountability. https://www.todos-math.org/assets/docs2016/2016Enews/3.pospaper16_wtodos_8pp.pdf

Tate, W. F., Ladson-Billings, G., & Grant, C. A. (1993). The Brown decision revisited: Mathe-matizing social problems. Educational Policy, 7(3), 255–275.

Downloads

Published

2021-11-18

Similar Articles

1 2 3 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.