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1. Detailing Racialized and Gendered Mechanisms of Undergraduate Precalculus and Calculus Classroom Instruction

   https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2020.1849218  

   Leyva, Luis A.; Quea, Ruby; Weber, Keith; Battey, Dan; López, Daniel (January 2021, Cognition and Instruction)

   null (Ed.)

   Undergraduate mathematics education can be experienced in discouraging and marginalizing ways among Black students, Latin
   students, and white women. Precalculus and calculus courses, in particular, operate as gatekeepers that contribute to racialized and gendered attrition in persistence with mathematics coursework and pursuits in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). However, student perceptions of instruction in these introductory mathematics courses have yet to be systematically examined as a contributor to such attrition. This paper presents findings from a study of 20 historically marginalized students’ perceptions of precalculus and calculus instruction to document features that they found discouraging and marginalizing. Our analysis revealed how students across different race-gender identities reported stereotyping as well as issues of representation in introductory mathematics classrooms and STEM fields as shaping their perceptions of instruction. These perceptions pointed to the operation of three racialized and gendered mechanisms in instruction: (i) creating differential opportunities for participation and support, (ii) limiting support from same-race, same-gender peers to manage negativity in instruction, and (iii) activating exclusionary ideas about who belongs in STEM fields. We draw on our findings to raise implications for research and practice in undergraduate mathematics education. 

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2. Detailing the Potentially Marginalizing Nature of Undergraduate Mathematics Classroom Events for Minoritized Students at Intersections of Racial and Gender Identities

   Leyva, L. A. (January 2019, Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education)

   A. Weinberg, D. Moore-Russo (Ed.)

   Undergraduate mathematics instruction contributes to marginalization among women and racially minoritized individuals’ experiences. This report presents an analysis from a larger study that details variation in minoritized students’ perceptions of potentially marginalizing events in undergraduate mathematics instruction. With past research on undergraduate mathematics experiences largely focused on students’ post-hoc reflections and one or two race-gender intersections, this analysis extends prior work by attending to variation in students’ in-the-moment perceptions of mathematics instruction across various race-gender intersections. Findings highlight how issues of underrepresentation, stereotypes, and instructor care contributed to interpretations of instruction-related events as potentially marginalizing. The report concludes with implications for teaching practices in undergraduate mathematics that academically support and socially affirm students from historically marginalized backgrounds. 

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3. Examining interactions between dominant discourses and engineering educational concepts in teachers' pedagogical reasoning

   https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20563  

   De Lucca, Natalie; Watkins, Jessica; Swanson, Rebecca D.; Portsmore, Merredith (November 2023, Journal of Engineering Education)

   N/A (Ed.)

   Background:Engineering's introduction into K–12 classrooms has been purported to support meaningful and inclusive learning environments. However, teachers must contend with dominant discourses embedded in US schooling that justify inequitable distributions of resources. Purpose:Drawing on Gee's notion of discourses, we examine how teachers incorporate language legitimizing socially and culturally constructed values and beliefs. In particular, we focus on the discourse of ability hierarchy—reflecting dominant values of sorting and ranking students based on perceived academic abilities—and the discourse of individual blame—reflecting dominant framings of educational problems as solely the responsibility of individual students or families. We aim to understand how these discourses surface in teachers' reasoning about teaching engineering. Method:We interviewed 15 teachers enrolled in an online graduate program in engineering education. Utilizing critical discourse analysis, we analyzed how teachers drew on discourses of blame and ability hierarchy when reasoning about problems of practice in engineering. Results:Teachers drew on engineering education concepts to reinforce dominant discourses (echoing specific language and preserving given roles) as well as to disrupt (utilizing different language or roles that [implicitly] challenge) dominant discourses. Importantly, teachers could also retool discourses of ability hierarchy (arguing for a more equitable distribution of resources but problematically preserving the values of ranking and sorting students). Conclusions:K–12 schooling's sociohistorical context can shape how teachers make sense of engineering in ways that implicate race, gender, disability, and language, suggesting a need to grapple with how discourses from schooling—and engineering culture—maintain marginalizing environments for students. 

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4. Faculty allyship: Differences by gender, race, and rank at a single U.S. University

   https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12988  

   Ro, Hyun Kyoung; Campbell‐Jacobs, Blaze; Broido, Ellen M.; Hanasono, Lisa K.; O’Neil, Deborah A.; Yacobucci, Margaret M.; Root, Karen V. (March 2023, Gender, Work & Organization)

   Abstract Within the growing literature about allyship in the workplace, few studies have specifically addressed faculty allyship for faculty colleagues. Previous studies on faculty allyship for inclusive academic environments address only men's contributions as allies. Using an expansive definition of faculty allyship and including any faculty members with membership in at least one dominant social group, we sought to better understand how faculty members perceive allyship, their concerns about allyship, and how those perceptions vary by gender, race, and rank. We examined the responses of faculty who participated in an allyship training program that was offered at a university in Ohio, USA as part of a National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant intended to reduce gender inequity among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics faculty. We framed this study by employing Hardiman et al.'s (2007) three‐dimensional matrix of oppression and used a mixed‐method research design. Participants' primary concerns about engaging in allyship related to their academic rank. We offer several implications for policies, practices, and future research on faculty allyship for faculty colleagues by considering positional power and rank as well as race and gender. 

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5. “Looking Outside of my Bubble”: Whiteness-at-Work in Mathematics Faculty Sensemaking about Serving Latin* Students

   McNeill, R. T.; Leyva, L. A.; Byrne, M. H.; Mitchell, N. D.; Lewis, R.; & Abreu-Ramos, E. D. (February 2023, Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association of America on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (SIGMAA on RUME))

   Cook, S.; Katz, B.; Moore-Russo, D. (Ed.)

   Professional development (PD) is often recommended to equip faculty to serve racially minoritized students through instruction. However, limited work has examined equity-oriented PD for mathematics faculty, who often hold views of instruction as race-neutral. This contributed report explores the influence of a two-year PD for faculty in a mathematics department engaged in equity-oriented reform at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. We present two cases of white faculty members who demonstrated a limited ability to interrogate their white racial identities in relation to their instructional impact, despite their engagement in a sustained PD designed to promote racial equity. Implications are provided for equity-oriented PD for mathematics faculty. 

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