(Trans-Multi)Culturally Responsive Mathematics: (Re)Creating Spaces for Loving Kindness
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25071/1916-4467.40413Keywords:
culturally responsive education, mathematics education, loving kindness, social and ecological justice, Indigenous ways of knowingAbstract
In this paper, I relive my experiences of (un)learning, (re)learning and (re)searching mathematics in multiple cultural contexts. I begin by recounting the moments of dilemma that many students encounter in various cultural contexts, which inspired me to weave the threads of (trans-multi)culturally responsive mathematics. I share this story through the narratives, poems and digital postcards that I created in my auto-ethnographical life writing of engaging in (re)learning of and with(in) mathematics. Underlying these efforts and actions is the hope that sharing these may help in creating spaces for inviting (trans-multi)culturally responsive mathematics in contemporary diversity-rich classrooms. Informed by critical and transformational multicultural education perspectives and the insights of key curriculum scholars—Aoki, Pinar, Schwab, Leggo and Noddings—a (trans-multi)culturally responsive mathematics is a calling for teachers to acknowledge mathematics as a human endeavour. It is an initiation to invite student’s lived experiences and multiple ways of knowing in mathematics classrooms with relational caring and loving kindness. Aiming to educate diverse students in a socially-just manner, a (trans-multi)culturally responsive mathematics urges teachers to embrace wholistic teaching that not only focuses on the mind and body, but also strives for educating the heart and spirit. Thus, it is an ethical, intellectual, political and relational inquiry, which critically engages students with mathematics to discover what knowledge is most worth within and beyond the boundaries of classroom(s) and thereby empowers them to co-create mathematics that is living.
References
Abtahi, Y., & Wagner, D. (2016). Violence in un-rooted mathematics. For the Learning of Mathematics, 36(3), 39-40. https://unbscholar.lib.unb.ca/islandora/object/unbscholar%3A8130/datastream/PDF/view
Adichie, C. N. (2009, July). The danger of a single story [Video]. TEDGlobal 2009. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story
Anthony, G., & Walshaw, M. (2009). Characteristics of effective teaching of mathematics: A view from the West. Journal of Mathematics Education, 2(2), 147-164. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228743535_Characteristics_of_Effective_Teaching_of_Mathematics_A_View_from_the_West
Aoki, T. T. (1986/2005). Teaching as indwelling between two curriculum worlds. In W. F. Pinar & R. L. Irwin (Eds.), Curriculum in a new key: The collected works of Ted T. Aoki (pp. 159-165). Lawrence Erlbaum.
Aoki, T. T. (1993/2005). Legitimizing lived curriculum: Toward a curricular landscape of multiplicity. In W. F. Pinar & R. L. Irwin (Eds.), Curriculum in a new key: The collected works of Ted T. Aoki (pp. 199-215). Lawrence Erlbaum. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410611390
Archibald, J. (2008). Indigenous storywork: Educating the heart, mind, body, and spirit. University of British Columbia Press. https://www.ubcpress.ca/indigenous-storywork
Armstrong, A. (2018). The authoring of school mathematics: Whose story is it anyways? In Education: Exploring our Connective Educational Landscape, 24(2), 24-34. https://ineducation.ca/ineducation/article/view/402/966 DOI: https://doi.org/10.37119/ojs2018.v24i2.402
Ascher, M. (1991). Ethnomathematics: A multicultural view of mathematical ideas (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780203756522 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/9780203756522
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497-529. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497
Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The location of culture. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203820551 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203820551
Bishop, A. J. (1985). The social construction of meaning: A significant development for mathematics education. For the Learning of Mathematics, 5(1), 24-28. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40247873
Bishop, A. J. (1988). Mathematics education and culture. Springer Netherlands. https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789027728029 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2209-4
Bishop, A. J. (1994). Cultural conflicts in mathematics education: Developing a research agenda. For the Learning of Mathematics, 14(2), 15-18.
Bishop, A. J., Tan, H., & Barkatsas, T. N. (2015). Diversity in mathematics education towards inclusive practices. Springer International. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05978-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05978-5
Boaler, J. (1993). The role of contexts in the mathematics classroom. For the Learning of Mathematics, 13(2), 12-17.
Boaler, J. (1998). Open and closed mathematics: Student experiences and understandings. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 29(1), 41-62. https://www.jstor.org/stable/749717 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.29.1.0041
Boaler, J. (2006, February). Promoting respectful learning. Educational Leadership, 63(5), 74-78. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb06/vol63/num05/Promoting-Respectful-Learning.aspx
Cajete, G. (1994). Look to the mountain: An ecology of indigenous education (1st ed.). Kivakí .
Castellano, M. B. (2004). Ethics of Aboriginal research. Journal of Aboriginal Health, 1(1), 98-114. https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/ijih/article/view/28935/24063
Cresswell, T. (2004). Place: A short introduction (1st ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
D’Ambrosio, U. (1986). Socio-cultural basis for mathematics education. In M. Carss (Ed.), Proceedings of the fifth international congress on mathematical education (pp. 1-6). Birkhäuser. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4238-1_1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4238-1_1
D’Ambrosio, U. (2008). Peace, social justice and ethnomathematics. In B. Sriraman (Ed.), International perspectives on social justice in mathematics education (pp. 37-50). Information Age.
Duval, A. (2018, February 19). Kindness in the mathematics classroom. In M. Saul (Ed.), American mathematical society blogs: Advancing research. Creating connections. On teaching and learning mathematics. https://blogs.ams.org/matheducation/2018/02/19/kindness-in-the-mathematics-classroom/
Egbo, B. (2009). Teaching for diversity in Canadian schools. Pearson Prentice Hall.
Ellis, C. (2004). The ethnographic I: A methodological novel about autoethnography. AltaMira Press.
Ellis, C., & Bochner, A. P. (2000). Autoethnography, personal narrative, reflexivity: Research as subject. In N. Denzin, & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 733-768). Sage.
Erickson, F. (2010). Culture in society and in educational practices. In J. A. Banks & C. A. M. Banks (Eds.), Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives (7th ed., pp. 33-56). Wiley.
Esmonde, I. (2014). “Nobody’s rich and nobody's poor. . . . It sounds good, but it’s actually not”: Affluent students learning mathematics and social justice. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 23(3), 348-391. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2013.847371 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2013.847371
Ezeife, A. N. (2003). The pervading influence of cultural border crossing and collateral learning on the learner of science and mathematics. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 27(2), 179-194.
Farhat, A. (2017, December 27). “I’m not sorry that I don’t know how to please you”: Honest confessions of an Indian bahu. YKA: Youth Ki Awaaz. https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2017/12/indian-women-the-most-stressed-out-in-the-world-nielsen-survey/
Faust, M. W. (1992). Analysis of physiological reactivity in mathematics anxiety [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Bowling Green State University.
Frankenstein, M. (2013). Reading the world with math: Goals for a critical mathematical literacy curriculum. In E. Gutstein & B. Peterson (Eds.), Rethinking mathematics teaching: Social justice by the numbers (2nd ed., pp. 30-39). Rethinking Schools.
Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th anniversary ed.). Bloomsbury Academic.
Gay, G. (2003). Becoming multicultural educators: Personal journey toward professional agency. Jossey-Bass.
Gay, G. (2010a). Acting on beliefs in teacher education for cultural diversity. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(1-2), 143-152. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487109347320 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487109347320
Gay, G. (2010b). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). Teachers College Press.
Gershenson, S., Holt, S. B., & Papageorge, N. W. (2016). Who believes in me? The effect of student-teacher demographic match on teacher expectations. Economics of Education Review, 52(2016), 209-224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2016.03.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2016.03.002
Ghosh, R., & Abdi, A. A. (2013). Education and the politics of difference: Select Canadian perspectives. Canadian Scholars’ Press.
Goodenough, W. H. (1976). Multiculturalism as the normal human experience. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 7(4), 4-7. https://doi.org/10.1525/aeq.1976.7.4.05x1652n DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/aeq.1976.7.4.05x1652n
Goyal, M. (2011, June 29). Indian women most stressed in the world: Nielsen survey. ET bureau. The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/indian-women-most-stressed-in-the-world-nielsen-survey/articleshow/9031890.cms
Gruenewald, D. A. (2003). Foundations of place: A multidisciplinary framework for place-conscious education. American Educational Research Journal, 40(3), 619-654. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312040003619 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312040003619
Gruenewald, D. A. (2008). The best of both worlds: A critical pedagogy of place. Environmental Education Research, 14(3), 308-324. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504620802193572 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13504620802193572
Gutiérrez, R. (2008). A “gap-gazing” fetish in mathematics education? Problematizing research on the achievement gap. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 39(4), 357-364. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.39.4.0357
Gutiérrez, R. (2011). Beyond gap gazing: How can thinking about education comprehensively help us (re)envision mathematics education? In B. Atweh, M. Graven, W. Secada, & P. Valero, (Ed.), Mapping equity and quality in mathematics education (pp. 21-34). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9803-0_2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9803-0_2
Gutstein, E. (2006a). “The real world as we have seen it”: Latino/a parents’ voices on teaching mathematics for social justice. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 8(3), 331-358. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327833mtl0803_7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327833mtl0803_7
Gutstein, E. (2006b). Reading and writing the world with mathematics: Toward a pedagogy for social justice. Routledge.
Gutstein, E. (2007). Connecting community, critical, and classical knowledge in teaching mathematics for social justice. The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast, Monograph 1, 109-118.
Gutstein, E. (2010). Critical multicultural approaches to mathematics in urban K-12 classrooms. In S. May & C. Sleeter (Eds.), Critical multiculturalism: Theory and praxis (pp. 127-137). Routledge.
Howard, P. (2014). Affinity spaces and ecologies of practice: Digital composing processes of pre-service English teachers. Language and Literacy, 16(1), 34-52. https://doi.org/10.20360/G2S010 DOI: https://doi.org/10.20360/G2S010
Keating, A. (2007). Teaching transformation: Transcultural classroom dialogues. Palgrave Macmillan.
Khan, S., & Armstrong, A. (2019). Math-a-Polka: Mathematics as a place of loving kindness and . . . [Editorial]. Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, 17(1), pp. 1-12. https://jcacs.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/jcacs/article/view/40441
Kirkness, V. J., & Barnhardt, R. (2001). First Nations and higher education: The four Rs—Respect, relevance, reciprocity, responsibility. In R. Hayoe & J. Pan (Eds.), Knowledge across cultures: A contribution to dialogue among civilizations (pp. 1-21). Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong. https://uaf.edu/ankn/publications/collective-works-of-ray-b/Four-Rs-2nd-Ed.pdf
Kirova, A. (2008). Critical and emerging discourses in multicultural education literature: A review. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 40(1), 101-124. https://doi.org/10.1353/ces.0.0065 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/ces.0.0065
Knapp, C. (2005). The ‘I-thou’ relationship, place-based education, and Aldo Leopold. Journal of Experiential Education, 27(3), 277-285. https://doi.org/10.1177/105382590502700307 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/105382590502700307
Kovach, M. (2009). Indigenous methodologies: Characteristics, conversations and contexts. University of Toronto Press.
Ladson-Billings, G. (2001). Crossing over to Canaan: The journey of new teachers in diverse classrooms (1st ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Larnell, G. V., Bullock, E. C., & Jett, C. C. (2016). Rethinking teaching and learning mathematics for social justice from a critical race perspective. Journal of Education, 196(1), 19-29. https://doi.org/10.1177/002205741619600104 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/002205741619600104
Leggo, C. (2015, November 13). The curriculum of character. Poetic ruminations on growing old. In W. E. Doll, Jr., D. Trueit, & W. Pinar (Hosts), Diverse Perspectives on Curriculum & Pedagogy, 2015-2016 [Seminar series]. Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia.
Leonard, J., Russell, N. M., Hobbs, R. M., & Buchanan, H. (2013). Using GIS to teach place-based mathematics in rural classrooms. The Rural Educator, 34(3), 10-17. https://doi.org/10.35608/ruraled.v34i3.395 DOI: https://doi.org/10.35608/ruraled.v34i3.395
Leong, C., & Liu, J. H. (2013). Whither multiculturalism? Global identities at a cross-roads. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 37(6), 657-662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2013.09.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2013.09.004
Lyons, I. M., & Beilock, S. L. (2012). When math hurts: Math anxiety predicts pain network activation in anticipation of doing math. PloS One, 7(10), e48076-e48076. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0048076 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0048076
McLennan, D. P. (2018). Counting kindness: A food drive inspires rich mathematical thinking. Young Children, 73(1), 63-68.
Mukhopadhyay, S., Powell, A., & Frankenstein, M. (2009). An ethnomathematical perspective on culturally responsive mathematics education. In S. Nelson-Barber, B. Greer, S. Mukhopadhyay, & A. B. Powell (Eds.), Culturally responsive mathematics education (pp. 65-84). Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203879948
Mulvihill, T. M., & Swaminathan, R. (2017). Critical approaches to life writing methods in qualitative research. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315629582 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315629582
Nelson-Barber, S., Greer, B., Mukhopadhyay, S., & Powell, A. B. (2009). Culturally responsive mathematics education. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203879948 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203879948
Nicol, C., Archibald, J., & Baker, J. (2010). Investigating culturally responsive mathematics education. Canadian Council on Learning. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.664.4716&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Nicol, C., Archibald, J., & Baker, J. (2013). Designing a model of culturally responsive mathematics education: Place, relationships and storywork. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 25(1), 73-89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-012-0062-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-012-0062-3
Nicol C., & Krykorka F. (2016). The place of problems in problem based learning: A case of mathematics and teacher education. In M. Filipenko & J. A. Naslund (Eds.), Problem-Based learning in teacher education (pp. 173-186). Springer International. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.1007/978-3-319-02003-7_12 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02003-7_12
Nieto, S. (2000). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education (3rd ed.). Longman.
Noddings, N. (1994). Does everybody count? Reflections on reforms in school mathematics. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 13(1), 89-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/0732-3123(94)90040-X DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0732-3123(94)90040-X
Noddings, N. (2012). The language of care ethics. Knowledge Quest, 40(5), 52-56.
Nolan, K. (2009). Mathematics in and through social justice: Another misunderstood marriage? Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 12(3), 205-216. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-009-9111-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-009-9111-6
Pinar, W. F. (1975, April). The method of “currere” [Paper presentation]. Annual Meeting of the American Research Association, Washington, D.C. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED104766.pdf
Pinar, W. F. (1993). Notes on understanding curriculum as a racist text. In C. McCarthy & W. Crichlow (Eds.), Race, identity and representation in education (pp. 60-70). Routledge.
Pinar, W. F. (2012). What is curriculum theory? Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203836033 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203836033
Pollock, M. (2008). From shallow to deep: Toward a thorough cultural analysis of school achievement patterns. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 39(4), 369-380. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-1492.2008.00028.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-1492.2008.00028.x
Raisinghani, L. (2016a). (Re) searching (trans-multi) culturally responsive curricular conversations. Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, 14(1), 182-198.
Raisinghani, L. (2016b). Mathematics for all! Needs, prospects and possibilities. Vector: The Official Journal of the BC Association of Mathematics Teachers, 57(2), 29-33. https://www.bcamt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/572-Fall-2016.pdf
Raisinghani, L. (2018a). Teachers’ perspectives on cultural diversity and gendered cultural practices in science and mathematics classrooms. Alberta Journal of Science Education, 45(3), 14-28. https://sc.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/ASEJ/ASEJ-Vol45No3.pdf
Raisinghani, L. (2018b). Teachers’ perspectives on culturally diverse classrooms and responsive science and mathematics teaching [Doctoral dissertation]. The University of British Columbia Library Open Collections. UBC Thesis and Dissertations. https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0372169
Raisinghani, L. (2019). (Trans-multi)culturally responsive education: A critical framework for responding to student diversity. Education Canada, 59(3), 26-31. https://www.edcan.ca/articles/trans-multiculturally-responsive-education/
Ramirez, G., Chang, H., Maloney, E. A., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. L. (2016). On the relationship between math anxiety and math achievement in early elementary school: The role of problem solving strategies. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 141, 83-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2015.07.014 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2015.07.014
Ramirez, G., Shaw, S. T., & Maloney, E. A. (2018). Math anxiety: Past research, promising interventions, and a new interpretation framework. Educational Psychologist, 53(3), 145-164. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2018.1447384 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2018.1447384
Reed-Danahay, D. (1997). Auto/ethnography: Rewriting the self and the social (1st ed.). Routledge.
Reed-Danahay, D. (2009). Anthropologists, education, and autoethnography. Reviews in Anthropology, 38(1), 28-47. https://doi.org/10.1080/00938150802672931 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00938150802672931
Rubel, L. H., & Nicol, C. (2020). The power of place: Spatializing critical mathematics education. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 22(3), 173-194. https://doi.org/10.1080/10986065.2020.1709938 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10986065.2020.1709938
Satzewich, V., & Wong, L. (2014). Transnational identities and practices in Canada. University of British Columbia Press. https://www.ubcpress.ca/asset/9271/1/9780774812832.pdf
Schofield, J. W. (2010). The colorblind perspective in school: Causes and consequences. In J. A. Banks & C. A. M. Banks (Eds.), Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives (7th ed., pp. 259-283). Wiley.
Selin, H., & D’Ambrosio, U. (2001). Mathematics across cultures: The history of non-western mathematics. Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4301-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4301-1
Shim, J. M. (2013). Teacher’s viewpoints about other’s actions: Implications for multicultural education. Transnational Curriculum Inquiry, 10(2), 17-35.
Sinha, T. (2016, July 5). Here is why an Indian daughter-in-law is often labelled uncultured and rebellious. Women’s Web. https://www.womensweb.in/2016/07/an-indian-daughter-in-law-labeled-uncultured-and-rebellious/
Skovsmose, O. (2011). An invitation to critical mathematics education (1st ed.). Sense. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-442-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-442-3_1
Su, F. (2013, January 18). The lesson of grace in teaching: From weakness to wholeness, the struggle and the hope. The Mathematical Yawp. http://mathyawp.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-lesson-of-grace-in-teaching.html
Suri, R., Monroe, K. B., & Koc, U. (2013). Math anxiety and its effects on consumers’ preference for price promotion formats. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 41(3), 271-282. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-012-0313-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-012-0313-6
Wagner, D. (2002). Teaching mathematics for peace. Connections, 26(2), 9-12. https://davewagner.ca/articles/Wagner_2002_Math_for_peace.pdf
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Latika Raisinghani 
Copyright for work published in JCACS belongs to the authors. All work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
