Understanding mathematics teachers' constructions of equitable mathematics pedagogy

This study described three secondary mathematics teachers' constructions of equity pedagogy enacted in mathematics education, equitable mathematics pedagogy (EMP), and proposed educational change toward EMP. Data collection took place during a two-week summer professional development course for teachers at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis in 2007. A pedagogical approach woven from problem-posing and constructive listening was utilized to encourage the participants to reflect upon, deconstruct, and explicate their beliefs about equity enacted in commonplace mathematical teaching situations. Analysis of data was grounded in a process of building a model of each participant's constructions of EMP and change toward EMP while considering those constructions through a sensible systems framework emphasizing consistency and coherence. The results indicated that these three teachers' constructions of EMP tended to focus on actions and decision-making in their own classrooms, an arena they felt was within their power to control. Additionally, findings point to two central concepts driving the participants' constructions of EMP in their classrooms: their view of the nature of mathematics as well as of the students as reasoners. The significance of the findings for equity professional development in mathematics education, including environments that are productive in supporting teachers' inquiry into their beliefs, is discussed.