Which Way Social Justice in Mathematics Education (International Perspectives on Mathematics Education)

Reviews: “This volume provides an international perspective on the impact of gender, race, ethnicity, culture, and social class in student mathematics learning and achievement. Although the main focus is on gender issues such as how girls and boys differ in classroom interactions, the ideas touch broader sociocultural issues in mathematics education....This valuable resource for mathematics education researchers is recommended for university libraries. Recommended. Graduate and research collections.” - Choice Description: This contributed volume explores equity and social justice within the field of mathematics education. In part one, Helga Jungwirth's introductory chapter provides a strong theoretical overview that is based in actual classroom behaviors and a typology that classifies the various interpretations found within this volume. Also in part one, Laurie Hart discusses developments in equity research in the United States. Part two focuses on results of studies about social justice and their impact on learning in mathematics classrooms in various parts of the world. For example, in a chapter on Peru, social justice does not just encompass gender, but also inequalities in opportunities to learn, such as problems of resources, living and social conditions, communal demands and language needs. And, part three focuses on computers as a resource to mathematics teaching. The contributors raise several important social justice issues which have previously remained unresearched. Although there are a number of chapters specifically dealing with gender, many of the authors use one of the following strategies: their gender-specific questions are set in a wider socio-cultural context, they challenge what have threatened to become false orthodoxies, or they raise other important issues. These other issues include the meaning of democratic citizenship for mathematics classrooms, the links between parents and children learning mathematics, and the preconceptions of some teachers of underprivileged students in Australia. Other chapters explore different forms of classroom communication, participation, and assessment. The pieces on computers state that there is still not enough research to conclude whether computers in the mathematics classrooms are supportive of, or detrimental to, the learning of all students. The one thing on which every author in t! his volume does agree is that social justice in mathematics education has still not been attained, but that we must strive toward it to improve educational practices and society in general. Contents: About the Authors List of Tables and Figures Preface by Series Editor Introduction by Leone Burton Setting the Scene What is a Gender-Sensitive Mathematics Classroom? by Helga Jungwirth Research on Equity in Mathematics Education: Progress and New Directions by Laurie E. Hart Teaching and Learning Mathematics: Can the Concept of Citizenship Be Reclaimed for Social Justice? by Hilary Povey Mothers Returning to Study Mathematics: The Development of Mathematical Authority through Evolving Relationships with their Children by Christine Brew What Does Social Justice Mean in Classrooms? Opportunity to Learn Mathematics Among Aymara-, Quechua-, and Spanish Speaking Rural and Urban, Fourth and Fifth Graders in Puno, Peru by Walter G. Secada, Santiago Cueto, and Fernando Andrade Teachers' Beliefs about Teaching Mathematics to Students from Socially Disadvantaged Backgrounds: Implications for Social Justice by Robyn Zevenbergen Gender-Related Differences in Working Style During Cooperative Learning in Secondary School Mathematics: A Malawian Case Study by Panji Catherine Chamdimba Choosing Maths/Doing Gender: A Look at Why There are More Boys than Girls in Advanced Mathematics Classes in England by Heather Mendick Constructing Difference: Assessment in Mathematics Education by Dylan Wiliam First Results of a Study on Different Mathematical Thinking Styles of