On Learning and Knowing Mathematics: One African American Student’s Perception

Lecretia A. Buckley

University of Illinois - Urbana/Champaign

lawilson@uiuc.edu

It may seem surprising, but NAEP data suggests that students experiencing low achievement in mathematics often retain positive views about mathematics. Many African American students even identify mathematics as their favorite subject even though they exhibit very little understanding about the usefulness of mathematics (Martin, 2000). Martin asserts that a difference between successful and unsuccessful African American students is that the unsuccessful students fail to demonstrate “the same kind of attitudinal and behavioral investment made by their more successful peers” (p. 13). Researchers have used various evaluative tools (e.g. standardized test scores and school records) to gain perspectives on success attributions (Bempechat, 1996; Willig et al., 1983), but few have interviewed students to gain the students’ perspectives on their mathematics performance.

This presentation shares an up-close look at the perspective of a student in what teachers have designated as a low-tracked class in order to expose her reasons for her perceptions about mathematics and the level of achievement she experienced. This study examined students’ perceptions about their knowledge of mathematics, how they learn mathematics, and the barriers that hinder their learning of mathematics. The research was conducted in an Algebra I Extended class. Data collection included field notes and artifacts from several weeks of classroom observations and audio-taped interviews. Emergent themes guided subsequent observations and interviews. The results of the study showed that while the student experienced high grades in the Algebra I Extended class, she was able to identify many gaps in her understanding. She believed that her lack of understanding plagued both her continued performance in mathematics as well as her level of confidence. Moreover, the participant demonstrated limited understanding of the importance of mathematics. Analysis suggests that influences include: a decontextualized curriculum, a desire to avoid failure rather than to achieve success, and a limited understanding of foundational mathematical concepts.

References

Bempechat, J., Nakkula, M.J., Wu, J.T., & Ginsburg, H.P. (1996). Attributions as predictors of mathematics achievement: A compartive study. Journal of Research and Development in Education, 29(2), 53–59.

Martin, D.B. (2000) Mathematics success and failure among African American youth: The roles of socio-historical context, community forces, school influence, and individual agency. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Willig, A.C., Harnish, D.L, Hill, K. T., & Maehr, M.L. (1983). Sociocultural educational correlates of success-failure attributions and evaluation anxiety in the school setting for Black, Hispanic, and Anglo children. American Educational Research Journal, 20(3), 385-410.