Exploring Newcomer Teenagers' Identity As Learners of Mathematics

Teenagers at a crossroad: Exploring newcomer teenagers’ identity as learners of mathematics and English as an additional language Olga Osnat Fellus A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy Faculty of Education University of Ottawa © Olga Osnat Fellus, Ottawa, Canada, 2018 ii Abstract This PhD thesis was set to examine newcomer teenagers’ identity as learners of mathematics and English as an Additional Language (EAL) in the context of their transition into the Canadian educational system. Drawing on Ivanič (1998) who suggests a four-part model for the conceptualization of identity as a co-constitutive multi-dimensional framework, and addressing Ricoeur’s (1992) etymological distinction between idem and ipse (identity as sameness and identity as selfhood), a research design was set up to allow for an exploration of newcomer teenagers’ identity as learners of mathematics and of English as an Additional Language (EAL). The theoretical framework of this study draws on Ivanič’s (1998) four identity-related dimensions of (a) autobiographical identities, (b) authorial identities, (c) discoursal identities, and (d) socioculturally available selfhoods. The research design comprised three sets of data collection through family and individual interviews and focus group discussions. Following a dissemination of a Call for Participants, six families who have recently emigrated from Israel to Canada expressed interest to participate in the research. In total, six sessions of 90-minute family-unit interviews, 16 sessions of 90-minute individual interviews, and two sets of all-parent and all-teenage focus groups lasting 90-minute each yielded 26 interviews of over 39 hours. Data were organized according to the four identity-related dimensions that are developed in the theoretical framework of this study. Multiple, iterative rounds of analyses were conducted to first examine how identity is formulated in and through each of the four dimensions identified in the research literature and later explore the inter-relationship between the four identified dimensions and emergent themes. Findings reveal that teenage newcomers’ identity as learners of mathematics and EAL is multifarious, multidirectional, and inter-animated. While the teenage newcomers struggle with their developing identities as speakers of EAL and learners of mathematics in a new educational system, their collective identity as Israelis who make it against all odds, their developing stances in relation to EAL and mathematics, and the socioculturally available selfhoods draw a complex picture that depicts identity work in its making. Given the findings, the study adds to our understanding of the multifaceted and multidirectional nature of identity as crucial in the learning of EAL and mathematics among teenage newcomers. TEENAGERS AT A CROSSROAD iii Acknowledgements This work would not have been possible without the support, guidance, and inspiration I received from people I worked with during my studies. I would like to begin with Professor David Trumpower with whom I worked on students’ naïve conceptual understanding of analysis of variance that can potentially be used to alleviate learners’ anxiety of statistics. Professors Doug Fleming and Francis Bangou have rekindled my love and passion for the intricacies of teaching English as an additional language. Professor Richard Maclure with whom I worked on his important book Children’s rights and international development. Last but not least, Professor Elena Polotskaia who has invited me to join her in the research on the legacy of the Russian psychologist Vasily Davydov in mathematics education. These research projects provided me with opportunities to hone my research skills, to crystalize my knowledge of learning theories and practice, and to bask in the work of inspiring scholars. Thank you to my thesis committee that included Professor Raymond Leblanc, Professor Richard Barwell, and Professor Christine Suurtamm. Thank you for your availability and for your guidance. Thank you for suggesting readings that have deepened my understanding of what it is exactly that I want to do in my own research. You have both collectively and individually pushed my work further. To my cohort of former fellow doctoral students—Dr. Amy Ying-Chaun Chen, Dr. Julie Comber, Dr. Eric Duku, Dr. Maria Gordon, Dr. Nathalie Gougeon, Dr. Joan Harrison, Dr. Jeela Jones, and Dr. Shari Orders—thank you for your support and just-at-the-right-time sense of humour. We promised each other to stick together and stick around to the very end of our PhD work to ensure constant stream of support and encouragement—and I am glad we did. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to my research participants. Thank you for coming forward and for sharing your experiences, insights, and dugri talk (straight talk) during the family interviews, one-to-one interviews, and focus group conversations. To my soul mate and the love of my life, Youcef Maarabi Fellus, thank you for your belief in me and for your unrelenting support. To my children Daniel, whose love for words and wittiness help me see the funny side of life; Ilan, who has taught me what perseverance looks like; Sapir, whose resilience, sense of responsibility, words of wisdom, and clarity of thought are inimitable; and Rotem, whose sense of justice and commitment to making this world a better place for all are an inspiration to me. To my mother, who has raised six children by herself fighting like a lioness to provide for us and make us who we are today. To my siblings, Robik TEENAGERS AT A CROSSROAD iv Navé, Michal Grossvald, Aliza Zur, Ilanit Kleiman, and Nerya Lahav, for not hesitating to go the extra mile when needed. To my brothers in law, Shaul Grossvald and Gil Kleiman, for your insightful perspectives on how the world works. Last but not least, Professor Barbara Graves whose inspiring words, extensive knowledge about education, teaching, and learning, and unquenched love for books and the written—and spoken—word have become a beacon in my thinking about the issues I have chosen to focus my research on. Throughout my more-than-two-decades of teaching in high schools and post- secondary institutions, I was always interested in how students talk about themselves as learners, how they describe themselves as capable—or not—of learning some things and not others, and how this talk shapes their engagement in learning and affects their academic achievements. These were some of the topics we discussed. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Professor Barbara Graves for the hours of inspiring conversations in her office, for her uncompromising push for deep understanding of the relationship between conceptualization and operationalization of identity, and for her immaculate words of wisdom. TEENAGERS AT A CROSSROAD v Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. v List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1 – Research Background and Context ............................................................................... 1 THE CANADIAN CONTEXT ..................................................................................................................................... 1 RATIONALE AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................. 3 Research design. ........................................................................................................................................... 4 The researcher. ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Chapter 2 – Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 8 IDENTITY IN VOGUE ............................................................................................................................................... 8 Theorizing identity: A shift from idem to ipse identity. ....................................................... 9 A shift in epistemologies. .......................................................................................................................... 15 EXPLORING IDENTITY IN EAL ............................................................................................................................ 17 EXPLORING IDENTITY IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION ..................................................................................... 23 TOWARD A NETWORK FRAMEWORK OF IDENTITY ........................................................................................... 29 Authorial identity. ........................................................................................................................................ 35 Authorial identity in EAL. ...................................................................................................................

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