BACKGROUND. Calculus instruction is underexamined as a source of racialized and gendered inequity in higher education, despite research that documents minoritized students’ marginalizing experiences in undergraduate mathematics classes. This study fills this research gap by investigating mathematics faculty’s perceptions of the significance of race and gender to calculus instruction at a large, public, historically white research university. METHODS. Theories of colorblind racism and dysconsciousness guided a critical discourse analysis of seven undergraduate calculus faculty’s perceptions of instructional events. FINDINGS. Our analysis revealed two dominant discourses: (i) Race and gender are insignificant social markers in undergraduate calculus; and (ii) Instructional events can be objectively deemed race- and gender-neutral. We illustrate how calculus faculty varyingly engaged these colorblind discourses as well as discourses that challenged such conceptions of instruction. We also highlight how faculty dysconsciousness in reports of instructional practices reflect potential operationalization of dominant discourses that reinforce colorblind racism. CONTRIBUTION. With limited research on faculty perspectives on racial equity in mathematics, our study documents how color-evasive, gender-neutral discourses among mathematics faculty shape orientations to instruction that reinforce the gatekeeping role of calculus in STEM higher education. Implications are provided for race- and gender-conscious undergraduate mathematics instruction and faculty development.
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Faculty and student perceptions of instructional servingness in gateway mathematics courses at a Hispanic-Serving Institution
Research exploring how Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) serve Latin* STEM students has largely focused on features of organizational structures (e.g., support programs), but minimally examined instruction and classroom experiences. This is an important gap to fill, especially in gateway mathematics courses, where faculty relationships and quality of instruction impact Latin* students’ persistence and identities in STEM. To advance such research, this report presents findings from an analysis of how perspectives from HSI mathematics faculty and students about instruction in introductory statistics converged and diverged in terms of serving Latin* populations. We present two illustrative cases of dissonant and resonant perspectives on serving Latin* students through instruction that frames mathematical ability expansively (e.g., not limited to being fast or correct). We conclude with research and practice implications.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1953472
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10403092
- Editor(s):
- Lischka, A.; Dyer, E. B.; Jones, R. S.; Lovett, J. N.; Strayer, J.; & Drown, S.
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the 44th Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 444-452
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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