Illuminating the identities of mathematics teachers and mathematics teacher educators

This dissertation builds on research about teacher identities (e.g., Agee, 2004; Sumara & Luce-Kapler, 1996; Ronfeldt & Grossman, 2008), teaching mathematics for social justice (e.g., Felton, 2010; Gutstein, 2006; Skovsmose, 1985; Stinson & Wager, 2012) and learning to teach mathematics for social justice (e.g., Gau, 2005; Gonzalez, 2008). In particular, I aim to illuminate teacher identities (as human beings and as mathematics teachers or mathematics teacher educators) in discussions about teaching mathematics for social justice.;The context for this dissertation was my work with a group of three first-year mathematics teachers in a study group about teaching mathematics for social justice. I interviewed each of the teachers individually both before and after the study group sessions. The study group met four times, for two hours at each session, over seven weeks. The data for this dissertation were the audio-recordings of the interviews and sessions, the field notes I developed after the conclusion of the sessions, and the text of my own reflective journal I kept throughout the study.;The main portion of this dissertation is three manuscripts, which attend to and illuminate different aspects of the identities of three mathematics teachers and myself participating in this study group about teaching mathematics for social justice. Each manuscript presented in this dissertation is intended to be a self-contained articulation of the relevant literature, data, analysis, results, and discussion for the individual research questions posed.;The first manuscript is about mathematics teacher educator positionality and was based on an analysis of my reflections on particular questions designed to increase awareness about mathematics teacher educator positionality in the study group about teaching mathematics for social justice. The first manuscript presents a set of reflective questions (Mathematics Teacher Educator Positionality Heuristic) to be used to illuminate assumptions, beliefs, knowledge, and identities that are influencing one's work as a teacher educator.;The other two manuscripts are empirical studies. The second manuscript in this dissertation describes the identities with respect to race and class privilege that the two male teachers in the study group construed through their language in moment-to-moment interactions as well as over time (e.g., Gee's (1996) d/Discourses). I argue that each teacher's differing personal awareness with respect to racial privilege and class privilege is evident in his d/Discourses over time and in interactions. This manuscript is intended for a journal with a general teacher education researcher audience. The third manuscript in this dissertation analyzed the ways in which the teachers in the study group were able to see (or not see) themselves as teachers who teach mathematics for social justice by describing how the teachers positioned themselves either in alignment with or in contrast to the teacher presented in the text that we read. This manuscript adds to the literature on preparing teachers to teach mathematics for social justice by providing evidence about what possible issues arise for mathematics teachers as they consider themselves as this kind of teacher. This manuscript is intended for a mathematics education research journal.;The other two chapters in this dissertation (Chapters 1 and 5) provide me with an opportunity to situate the study in the context of the relevant literature that cut across the three presented manuscripts as well as to discuss important ideas across the three manuscripts.