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Construction of Racial and Math Learner Identities in Eight African American Adolescents at Flower Academy

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Construction of Racial and Math Learner Identities in Eight African American Adolescents at Flower Academy ABSTRACT Title of Document: EMBRACING MATHEMATICS IDENTITY IN AN AFRICAN-CENTERED SCHOOL: CONSTRUCTION AND INTERACTION OF RACIAL AND MATHEMATICAL STUDENT IDENTITIES Farhaana Nyamekye, Ph.D, 2010 Directed By: Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, Daniel Chazan, Curriculum and Instruction This dissertation is a report of a multiple case study of eight seventh grade African American students attending an African-centered school. This African-centered school is attended solely by children of African descent and adheres to a system of African cultural values, focusing on culture, relationships, and academic excellence. The report provides in depth case analyses of two of these students as they navigate their multiple identities. The foci of the analyses are on the students‟ construction of their math learner identities and racial identities and on their construction of both of these identities taken together. Phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory illuminates the challenges and supports that these students encounter in constructing their identities. The mathematics and racial socialization practices within the school and within the students‟ home environments are documented within this report as support mechanisms that provide opportunities for the students to construct identities as African American mathematics learners. The findings suggest that academic spaces that reduce the stress of racism and help students to value their racial identity may be particularly important spaces for other African American mathematics learners. The findings also have positive implications for the implementation of African and African American cultural practices and programs that can help other African American learners to positively construct identities as both African Americans and math learners. The documented findings raise critical questions about whether other African American learners, despite the heterogeneity within this population, would benefit from African-centered schooling. EMBRACING MATHEMATICS IDENTITY IN AN AFRICAN-CENTERED SCHOOL: CONSTRUCTION AND INTERACTION OF RACIAL AND MATHEMATICAL STUDENT IDENTITIES By Farhaana Nyamekye Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2010 Advisory Committee: Professor Daniel Chazan, Chair Professor Steven Selden Professor Lawrence Clark Professor Maria Hyler Professor Danny Martin © Copyright by Farhaana Nyamekye 2010 Dedication To my loving parents, Andwele and Safiya Nyamekye. Thank you for inspiring this work and helping me to become the woman that I am today. I love you. ii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my Creator, the Universal Supreme Being, for helping me through this journey. I would like to thank my mother and father for supporting me throughout the years, setting high academic expectations, preparing me for success, and never accepting “I don‟t know” as a legitimate answer. Thank you to James Gaines my dear friend and love, for helping me to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and for providing a shoulder to lean on. To my dissertation committee, thank you for believing in me, pushing me to think critically, and encouraging me endlessly. I could not have done this without you. To Aisling Leavy, Whitney Johnson, Toya Jones, Jill DePiper, Steven Jones, Emily Yanisko, and Carolina Napp, thank you for allowing me to explore my research interests during one-credit seminar. Thank you to Andrew Brantlinger, Julius Davis, Grace Benigno, Kadian Howell, Beatriz Quintos, Tommy Totten, Alycia Marshall, and Nancy Tseng, for your encouragement. To Aileen Hentz, Jiyeun Sung, and Sarah Hensler, thank you for all your support during the tough times. Thank you to the Learning Assistance Service staff and the rest of my University of Maryland family for your guidance and support. iii Table of Contents Dedication ..................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... iv List of Tables .............................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................ viii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Statement of the problem .......................................................................................... 3 Rationale ................................................................................................................... 8 Conceptual framework .............................................................................................. 9 Purposes of this study ............................................................................................. 11 Research questions .................................................................................................. 11 Significance of the study ......................................................................................... 12 Definition of terms .................................................................................................. 12 Chapter 2: Theorizing math success and failure of African American learners ......... 14 Four competing explanations .................................................................................. 15 Ability based explanations .................................................................................. 16 Minority status explanations ............................................................................... 20 Cultural values explanations ............................................................................... 23 Summary of single factor explanations ............................................................... 24 A PVEST oriented multi-faceted explanation for mathematics success and failure of African American learners .................................................................. 27 Summary ............................................................................................................. 33 African-centered school environments ................................................................... 35 What is an African-centered school: Key factors ............................................... 35 Reactions to African-centered schooling ............................................................ 43 Revisiting PVEST: Examining identity-based theories for mathematics success and failure in an African-centered school environment ...................................... 46 Chapter 3: Methodology and research design ............................................................. 49 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 49 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 49 Research site ........................................................................................................... 50 School employees, focal students, and parents ....................................................... 55 Role of researcher ................................................................................................... 69 Data collection procedures ...................................................................................... 69 Data analysis ........................................................................................................... 77 Chapter 4: Mathematics identities and Flower Academy‟s figured world of mathematics learning .................................................................................................. 81 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 81 Authored identities .................................................................................................. 87 The figured world and mathematics socialization practices ................................. 107 Mathematics socialization practices ................................................................. 114 How three students negotiated perceived positional mathematics identities ........ 132 iv Terrell ................................................................................................................ 133 Shanika .............................................................................................................. 140 Robert ................................................................................................................ 149 Discussion and Conclusion ................................................................................... 157 Chapter 5: Racial identities and African-centered pedagogy at Flower Academy .. 161 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 161 Understandings and negotiations of race and racism: Embracing and escaping blackness ..............................................................................................................
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