Mathematics Teachers' Perspectives on How Culture and Power Influences Their Pedagogy

Students from marginalized and underserved groups have historically faced difficulties in learning mathematics. It is crucial to tap into the skills and creativity of such learners as it would positively impact our society. To cater to the needs of these learners, different mathematical pedagogies and initiatives are being implemented. Understanding teachers' perspectives and beliefs about each student's potential to learn advanced mathematics is critical. This study involves a case study design used to comprehend the teachers' beliefs on the influence of learner cultural capital, social capital, habitus, and the impact of power dynamics on the selection of curriculum materials and their implemented instructional practices. The study consisted of five mathematics teachers who taught in Title I schools in Florida and Maryland. Of the five teachers, two were Black females, one was a Hispanic female, one was a Hispanic male, and one was a Black male. To ensure confidentiality, pseudonyms were assigned. After obtaining IRB approval, data was collected over 16 weeks using two semi-structured interviews conducted over Zoom. A research diary, a Florida district-mandated textbook, as well as task and activity worksheets from a third-party vendor, and task and activity samples created by the teachers participating in the study. All curriculum materials' titles and publishers were changed to ensure confidentiality. There were two rounds of data collection: round one involved interviewing the participants. Round two involved member- checking efforts for the interviews and curriculum sample collection. Transcription, coding, and analysis of collected data occurred on an ongoing basis. The researcher maintained a research diary to include reflections and to maintain the integrity of the participants' perspectives versus the researcher's perspectives. The research data was analyzed using the Braun and Clarke Reflexive Thematic Approach, which involves six steps: (1) getting familiar with the data, (2) generating initial codes, (3) identifying themes, (4) reviewing potential themes, (5) naming and defining the themes, and (6) producing a report. During the repeated reading of the transcripts, the researcher used split- text tables to note informal interpretations and organize the data. The researcher utilized classroom teaching vignettes and task and activity samples submitted by participants to assess the implementation of culturally responsive teaching principles during instruction. Due to COVID and district restrictions on classroom visits. The data was initially analyzed manually and then reanalyzed using Lumivero NVIVO. Findings from the modified UCLA Culturally Responsive Teaching Checklist (CURT) showed that there was a gap between what teachers described as implemented instructional practices and the amount of culturally responsive and relevant teaching they used to design and deliver lessons and the researcher's CURT rating. The NVIVO data analysis revealed twelve unifying themes which can be categorized into four themes related to cultural capital, two themes related to social capital, three themes related to habitus, and three themes that did not align with the study's theoretical and conceptual cornerstones. The cultural capital themes were deficit perspectives, traditional stance in mathematics instruction and delivery (hegemonic views), missing fundamentals, and immigrant learners. The social capital themes included barriers that inhibit increased social capital and weak relationship building. The habitus themes were barriers that impede habitus, necessary dispositions, and skills. Finally, the other themes were making assumptions, limited teacher autonomy, and unrealistic pacing and content coverage. The findings of this study suggest specific recommendations to enhance the education, training, and professional development of teachers and pre-service teachers. It is suggested to consider the adoption of a culturally relevant responsive pedagogy (CRRP) framework, make changes to educational policies to support the reform of mathematics curriculum, and implement Bush, Huinker, and Graham's (2024) four steps for creating equitable, inclusive, and diverse mathematics classrooms. These steps include adopting a strengths-based perspective, prioritizing conceptual understanding, dismantling student ability grouping and tracking, and dismantling teacher tracking. Future research related to this study should aim to reexamine teacher perspectives and learner-teacher interactions in the classroom through discourse and language. Conducting critical ethnographic studies in the classroom setting can enrich and deepen our understanding of this issue. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]