ABSTRACT

Background

Calculus instruction is underexamined as a source of racialized and gendered inequity in higher education, despite research that documents minoritized students’ marginalizing experiences in undergraduate mathematics classes. This study fills this research gap by investigating mathematics faculty’s perceptions of the significance of race and gender to calculus instruction at a large, public, historically white research university.

Methods

Theories of colorblind racism and dysconsciousness guided a critical discourse analysis of seven undergraduate calculus faculty’s perceptions of instructional events.

Findings

Our analysis revealed two dominant discourses: (i) Race and gender are insignificant social markers in undergraduate calculus; and (ii) Instructional events can be objectively deemed race- and gender-neutral. We illustrate how calculus faculty varyingly engaged these colorblind discourses as well as discourses that challenged such conceptions of instruction. We also highlight how faculty dysconsciousness in reports of instructional practices reflect potential operationalization of dominant discourses that reinforce colorblind racism.

Contribution

With limited research on faculty perspectives on racial equity in mathematics, our study documents how color-evasive, gender-neutral discourses among mathematics faculty shape orientations to instruction that reinforce the gatekeeping role of calculus in STEM higher education. Implications are provided for race- and gender-conscious undergraduate mathematics instruction and faculty development.

中文翻译：

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“他们只是学生。没有明显的区别”：对本科微积分教学中回避色彩、性别中立的教师话语的批判性话语分析

摘要

背景

尽管研究记录了少数民族学生在本科数学课程中的边缘化经历，但微积分教学作为高等教育中种族化和性别不平等的根源未得到充分审查。本研究通过调查数学教师对种族和性别对一所大型、公立、历史悠久的白人研究型大学微积分教学的重要性的看法来填补这一研究空白。

方法

色盲种族主义和意识障碍理论指导了对七名本科生微积分教师对教学事件的看法的批判性话语分析。

发现

我们的分析揭示了两个主导话语：(i) 种族和性别在本科生微积分中是微不足道的社会标记；(ii) 教学活动可以被客观地视为种族和性别中立。我们说明了微积分教师如何不同地参与这些色盲话语以及挑战此类教学概念的话语。我们还强调了教师在教学实践报告中的意识障碍如何反映出强化色盲种族主义的主导话语的潜在运作。

贡献

由于对教师对数学种族平等观点的研究有限，我们的研究记录了数学教师中回避色彩、性别中立的话语如何塑造教学方向，从而加强微积分在 STEM 高等教育中的守门作用。为具有种族和性别意识的本科数学教学和教师发展提供了启示。