Girls' experiences in learning school mathematics.

Girls' experiences in learning school mathematics. During the past few decades, gender issues in mathematics educationemerged as a controversial topic. Researchers found that femalestudents, at both elementary and secondary levels, perform less wellthan their male counterparts on standardized tests A standardized test is a test administered and scored in a standard manner. The tests are designed in such a way that the "questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent" [1] (Ansell & Doerr,2000; Beaton et. al., 1996). In other studies, female students, comparedto their male counterparts, exhibited lower self-confidence inapproaching mathematics and, as a result, were more likely to avoidtaking advanced math courses in high school (Eccles et. al, 1983; Meece,Wigfield, & Eccles, 1990). Researcher s have argued that femalestudents' lower self-confidence and lack of motivation in schoolmathematics constitute a complex phenomenon in which varioussociocultural so¡¤ci¡¤o¡¤cul¡¤tur¡¤al?adj.Of or involving both social and cultural factors.soci¡¤o¡¤cul forces are dynamically involved. For example, Reyes andStanic (1988) argued that different sociocultural factors influencefemale students' experiences with school mathematics, affectingtheir self-confidence in and motivation for pursuing advancedmathematical knowledge.Recent national reports and professional studies have underlinedthat early adolescence is the critical time for female students todevelop their motivation and academic identities (Bruner, 1996; Dick& Rallis, 1991; Marlow & Marlow, 1996; National ResearchCouncil, 1989; Sadker & Sadker, 1994). However, relatively fewstudies have explored the first-hand experiences of young adolescentgirls with school mathematics. Furthermore, the majority of previousstu dies on students' motivation have been based on individualpsychology that tends to separate students' consciousness from itssociocultural context (Pajares & Graham, 1999; Seegers &Boekaerts, 1996; Wigfield, 1994; Wigfield & Eccles, 1992). As aresult, as Atweh and his colleagues (1998) argued, it is hard to findstudies that seriously investigate the sociocultural context ofstudents' mathematical learning and their experiences with schoolmathematics. Similarly, the overall picture of girls' experienceswith school mathematics, as well as the dynamic and complex relationshipbetween their motivation and its sociocultural milieu mi¡¤lieun. pl. mi¡¤lieus or mi¡¤lieux1. The totality of one's surroundings; an environment.2. The social setting of a mental patient.milieu[Fr.] surroundings, environment. , has not beensufficiently explored.Therefore, it is important to investigate the everyday experiencesof young adolescent girls with school mathematics from a new perspecti vethat does not separate their motivation from its sociocultural context.Such studies will enrich educational researchers' understanding ofthe nature of students' motivation, including the complexities anddynamics of young adolescent girls' thoughts and attitudes towardsschool mathematics, in relation to various sociocultural factorssurrounding them.The following cross-case study of four young adolescent girlsilluminates their experiences with school mathematics and the impact ofsociocultural context on their motivation. In particular, the researcherhas examined girls' motivation, based on an innovative concept fromBahktin's circle, "multiple voices and multiple selves."This new theoretical standpoint enables the researcher to exploreseveral significant aspects of girls' experiences with schoolmathematics and to deconstruct de¡¤con¡¤struct?tr.v. de¡¤con¡¤struct¡¤ed, de¡¤con¡¤struct¡¤ing, de¡¤con¡¤structs1. To break down into components; dismantle.2. their voices and selves in relation tovarious sociocultural forces that dynamically constitute aspects oftheir identity and motivation for learning school mathematics.Conceptual Framework For the concept in aesthetics and art criticism, see .A conceptual framework is used in research to outline possible courses of action or to present a preferred approach to a system analysis project. This study is based on two different but interrelated in¡¤ter¡¤re¡¤late?tr. & intr.v. in¡¤ter¡¤re¡¤lat¡¤ed, in¡¤ter¡¤re¡¤lat¡¤ing, in¡¤ter¡¤re¡¤latesTo place in or come into mutual relationship.in theoreticalframeworks: Feminist theory Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, or philosophical, ground. It encompasses work done in a broad variety of disciplines, prominently including the approaches to women's roles and lives and feminist politics in anthropology and sociology, economics, and sociocultural approaches to the mind aselaborated by Bakhtin's circle. These two different streams ofthe ory have significantly contributed to our understanding of genderissues in mathematics education during the last few decades.Feminist TheoriesFeminism feminism,movement for the political, social, and educational equality of women with men; the movement has occurred mainly in Europe and the United States. It has its roots in the humanism of the 18th cent. and in the Industrial Revolution. is "both a theory of women's position in societyand a political statement focused on gaining equal rights andopportunities for women and changing existing power relations betweenmen and women" (DeMarrais & LeCompte, 1998, p. 35). In the areaof education, feminists concentrate on how school curriculum andpractices contribute to maintaining the unequal distribution of powerbetween men and women.Fundamentally based on a feminist perspective, gender studies inmathematics education emerged from an awareness of the mathematicsachievement gap between male and female students, which often preven tedwomen from advancing to more professional occupations and, as a result,from accessing power in a patriarchal pa¡¤tri¡¤ar¡¤chal?adj.1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a patriarch.2. Of or relating to a patriarchy: a patriarchal social system.3. society. One of the most importantcontributions made by feminist scholars concerns women's uniqueapproaches to self-development and academic leaming (Belenky, Clinchy,Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986; Brown & Gilligan, 1992). Belenky andher colleagues (1986) argue that women's method of learning can bequalitatively different from that of men. Women, as the authors explain,tend to develop and value a connected mode of learning, while men aremore likely to pursue a separated mode based upon a Cartesian view ofthe world and individuals. More interestingly, in their book, Belenkyand her colleagues present the concept of voice as a critical aspect ofone's identity formation. To them, voice is not mere vocal soundthrough which w e communicate with each other. Instead, having orspeaking one's own voice holds inexorable existential ex¡¤is¡¤ten¡¤tial?adj.1. Of, relating to, or dealing with existence.2. Based on experience; empirical.3. Of or as conceived by existentialism or existentialists: andepistemological e¡¤pis¡¤te¡¤mol¡¤o¡¤gy?n.The branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge, its presuppositions and foundations, and its extent and validity.[Greek epist meaning: Voice is conceived as the process ofconstructing self, personality, and identity, as well as one's wayof knowing.However, previous research also suggested that for many women andgirls, keeping and speaking their own voices is not an easy endeavor.Brown and Gilligan (1992) revealed that young adolescent girls graduallysilence their voices as they move through adolescence. Brown andGilligan explain that young adolescent girls begin to suppress their ownindividual voices as they learn, through experience, that expressingthe ir real thoughts and feelings can damage their relationships withothers. They understand, at least intuitively, the "good littlegirl" image prevalent in our society. In their efforts to conformand fit in--by pleasing others--they silence themselves.The phenomenon of "losing one's own voice" amongadolescent girls also appears in many other studies, showing their innerconflicts and the distorted development of their academic and personalidentities in a male-dominated society (Rogers, 1993). Harter, Waters,and Whitesell (1997) theorize the¡¤o¡¤rize?v. the¡¤o¡¤rized, the¡¤o¡¤riz¡¤ing, the¡¤o¡¤riz¡¤esv.intr.To formulate theories or a theory; speculate.v.tr.To propose a theory about. that young adolescent girls' loss oftheir own voices in a school setting reflects their falseself-manifestation. The researchers argue that girls, as they becomemore aware of social expectations and pressures, gradually develop andmanifest false self-identities by silencing themselves.Sociocultural Ap proaches to MindSociocultural approaches to the mind are derived from the work ofVygotsky and Bakhtin's circle, focusing on cultural psychology thatstresses the primary role of communication and social life in ourconstruction of meaning and cognition cognitionAct or process of knowing. Cognition includes every mental process that may be described as an experience of knowing (including perceiving, recognizing, conceiving, and reasoning), as distinguished from an experience of feeling or of willing. itself (Wertsch, 1991).Sociocultural approaches to the mind begin with the assumption that"action is mediated me¡¤di¡¤ate?v. me¡¤di¡¤at¡¤ed, me¡¤di¡¤at¡¤ing, me¡¤di¡¤atesv.tr.1. To resolve or settle (differences) by working with all the conflicting parties: and that it cannot be separated from the milieuin which it is carried out" (Wertsch, 1991, p. 18). Theseapproaches emphasize the importance of the sociocultural, as well as thehistorical, environment in the formation of an ind ividual's mind.They argue that the origins of human consciousness can be found not in aseparated individual entity, but in the external processes of its sociallife, in the social and historical aspects of human existence.Bakhtin's entire work, including the conception of self, isbased on criticism of the individualism individualismPolitical and social philosophy that emphasizes individual freedom. Modern individualism emerged in Britain with the ideas of Adam Smith and Jeremy Bentham, and the concept was described by Alexis de Tocqueville as fundamental to the American temper. and dualism dualism,any philosophical system that seeks to explain all phenomena in terms of two distinct and irreducible principles. It is opposed to monism and pluralism. In Plato's philosophy there is an ultimate dualism of being and becoming, of ideas and matter. that were prevalentin Western society during his era. He argues that human consciousness isnot a self-sufficient and pre-constituted enti ty, but is formed throughthe dialogic di¡¤a¡¤log¡¤ic? also di¡¤a¡¤log¡¤i¡¤caladj.Of, relating to, or written in dialogue.dia¡¤log struggle between contending voices and discourses."The entire gamut See color gamut. gamut - The gamut of a monitor is the set of colours it can display. There are some colours which can't be made up of a mixture of red, green and blue phosphor emissions and so can't be displayed by any monitor. of social and cultural phenomena, including'self-ness' is profoundly inter-subjective or dialogic innature" (Voloshinov, 1973, p. 34), even though it seems to happenonly within an individual's mind. Therefore, one's identityand motivation, as part of the "self-ness" phenomenon, areconstructed through the operation of dense and conflicting discourses,cultural and social practices, and institutional structures.One of the most important contributions made by Bakhtin and hiscolleagues is that their theory enables educational researchers torecognize the multipl e sociocultural layers embedded Inserted into. See embedded system. in one'sspeech: There are more than one voice and one identity in anindividual's spoken word. Bakhtin (1981) states: As a living, socio-ideological concrete thing, language, for the individual consciousness, lies on the borderline between oneself and the other. The word in language is half someone else's. It becomes 'one's own' only when the speaker populates it with his own intention, his own accent, when he appropriates the word, adapting it to his own semantic and expressive intention. Prior to this moment of appropriation, the word does not exist in a neutral and impersonal language, but rather it exists in other people's mouths, in other people's contexts, serving other people's intentions: it is from there that one must take the word, and make it one's own. And not all words for just everyone submit equally easily to this appropriation, to this seizure and transformation into private proper ty: Many words stubbornly resist, others remain alien, sound foreign in the mouth of the one who appropriates them and who now speaks them; they cannot be assimilated into his context and fall out of it; it is as if they put themselves in quotation marks against the will of the speaker. Language is not a neutral medium that passes freely and easily into the private property of the speaker's intentions; it is populated-- overpopulated--with the intentions of others. Expropriating it, forcing it to submit to one's own intentions and accents, is a difficult and complicated process. (p. 114)Acknowledging the sociocultural nature of language, the incessanttensions and dynamics among different intentions and powers deeplyembedded in it, Bakhtin believes that subordinate groups can generate adifferentiated incomplete set of knowledge, which is at least partiallyresistant to dominant discourses and ideologies. Influenced byBakhtin's idea of language as a discursive dis¡¤cur ¡¤sive?adj.1. Covering a wide field of subjects; rambling.2. Proceeding to a conclusion through reason rather than intuition. practice of social life,some feminist theorists and critical theorists See also Critical theory (Frankfurt School)A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZATheodor Adorno Giorgio Agamben Louis Althusser Michael W. have developed theconcept of "language (voice) of possibility" and"language (voice) of resistance" (Bauer & McKinstry, 1991,p.4; Giroux, 1991, p. 53). They view discursive practices throughlanguage as the method of dismantling dis¡¤man¡¤tle?tr.v. dis¡¤man¡¤tled, dis¡¤man¡¤tling, dis¡¤man¡¤tles1. a. To take apart; disassemble; tear down.b. the oppressive social reality inwhich people are situated.Unfortunately, few researchers have applied this new concept,"girls' voices of possibility and resistance," to theexploration of gender issues in mathematics education. However, it islikely to become an extremely valuable, highly pro mising perspectivefrom which to study gender issues in mathematics education, since itenables us to examine the complex and dynamic process of femalestudents' consciousness, including their motivation for mathematicslearning, within various sociocultural contexts. This perspective alsohelps researchers in their search for a way to ultimately help femalestudents break the repeating cycle of gender inequity in mathematicseducation. Most significantly, it emphasizes the voices of femalestudents. In doing so, it promises to open the only avenue--i.e.,reclaiming For the neopagan organization of this name, see Reclaiming (neopaganism). For the reclaiming of land, see land reclamation. To reclaim is to bring a word back to a more acceptable course. and practicing their own voices--to developing their new,empowered identities in the domain.Voice, Motivation, and Sociocultural ContextMotivational researchers, influenced by Bakhtin's theory, haveredefined the concept of motivation in a holistic way, acknowledging theconstant tension and confluence confluence/con¡¤flu¡¤ence/ (kon¡äfloo-ins)1. a running together; a meeting of streams.con¡äfluent2. in embryology, the flowing of cells, a component process of gastrulation. of intrapersonal in¡¤tra¡¤per¡¤son¡¤al?adj.Existing or occurring within the individual self or mind.intra¡¤per , interpersonal in¡¤ter¡¤per¡¤son¡¤al?adj.1. Of or relating to the interactions between individuals: interpersonal skills.2. , andcultural aspects of the individual's learning and motivation.Social constructivists also believe that language is at the heart of allof these socialization socialization/so¡¤cial¡¤iza¡¤tion/ (so?shal-i-za¡äshun) the process by which society integrates the individual and the individual learns to behave in socially acceptable ways. so¡¤cial¡¤i¡¤za¡¤tionn. and learning processes. As insiders in classroomculture, students' perspectives are crucial in providing keys tounderstanding these transactive motivat ional processes (Oldfather &Dahl dahl?n.1. See pigeon pea.2. or dal A thick creamy East Indian stew made with lentils or other legumes, onions, and various spices. , 1994; Oldfather & McLaughlin, 1993).Oldfather (1992) has proposed a redefinition Noun 1. redefinition - the act of giving a new definition; "words like `conservative' require periodic redefinition"; "she provided a redefinition of his duties"definition - a concise explanation of the meaning of a word or phrase or symbol of intrinsicmotivation for literacy learning called the Continuing Impulse to Learn(CIL (Common Intermediate Language) The ECMA version of the Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL). See CLI. 1. (project) CIL - Component Integration Laboratories.2. (language) CIL - Common Intermediate Language. ). Explicitly linked to learners' social construction ofmeaning, CIL, a form of motivation, originates in and is defined by thecognitive, affective affective/af¡¤fec¡¤tive/ (ah-fek¡ätiv) pertaini ng to affect. af¡¤fec¡¤tiveadj.1. Concerned with or arousing feelings or emotions; emotional.2. , and social processes that learners experience asthey engage in the construction of meaning. Oldfather explains threeaspects of CIL--classroom culture, interpersonal domain, andintrapersonal domain--and argues that the quality of student-teacherrelationships, students' perceptions of cognitive ownership oftheir own learning process, and generative gen¡¤er¡¤a¡¤tiveadj.1. Having the ability to originate, produce, or procreate.2. Of or relating to the production of offspring.generativepertaining to reproduction. literacy curriculum in classare all factors that support or fail to support students' CIL(Oldfather & Dahl, 1994). Other educational researchers lendcredence to Oldfather's argument. For example, Duckworth (1987)reported the importance of classroom environment to supportstudents' own intellectual pursuits. Wood, Bruner, and Ross'searlier study (1976) also emphasized t he importance of social supportfrom peer interaction in students' learning process, reinforcingthe arguments of Oldfather and Duckworth.Focusing on mathematics education, Erchick (1996) argues that inmathematics classrooms many students who feel unheard un¡¤heard?adj.1. Not heard: unheard pleas for help.2. Not given a hearing; not listened to: unheard objections.3. , who recognize adis-synchronicity between their voice and the dominant voices, find no"place" for themselves. She contends that many adolescentgirls may fail to develop a positive academic identity in mathematicsbecause the culture of these classrooms, which reflect mathematics as amale domain, discourages them from expressing their own voices, therebydepriving them of the means to develop their positive identity in thediscipline.Research QuestionsThis study centers around two primary research questions. First,what kinds of sociocultural factors or forces exert positive or negativeinfluences on young adolescent girls' motivation for learningschool mathematics? Furthermore, how do these sociocultural factors orforces contribute to or undermine young adolescent girls'motivation? Second, how do young adolescent girls react, respond to, orresist these sociocultural influences and develop their own identity inthe mathematics domain?MethodsThe following is a cross-case study based on in-depth interviewswith four young adolescent girls, attending fifth, sixth, and seventhgrades in their elementary or middle schools. As a research design, casestudy is often used to investigate complex social units consisting ofmultiple components that are potentially important in understanding aphenomenon. Merriam (1998) argues that, in case study design, theresearcher's main "interest is in process rather thanoutcomes, in context rather than a specific factor, in discovery ratherthan confirmation" (p. 19).Participant SelectionFour young adolescent girls, each attending a different elementaryor middle sch ool located around a medium-sized university town in theSoutheast, participated in this study. In selecting the participants,consideration was given to their status in five sociocultural factors:age, ethnicity ethnicityVox populi Racial status–ie, African American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic , socioeconomic so¡¤ci¡¤o¡¤ec¡¤o¡¤nom¡¤ic?adj.Of or involving both social and economic factors.socioeconomicAdjectiveof or involving economic and social factorsAdj. 1. background of the family, schoolenvironment, and level of mathematics performance. The four participantsincluded one Asian-American girl in fifth grade, one Caucasian girl andone African-American girl in sixth grade, and one Hispanic girl inseventh grade. Their mathematics achievement levels varied, ranging fromenrollment in an advanced mathematics class for gifted students throughplacement in a Title I mathematics class. Their family backgrounds andschool environments varied widely as well. Therefore, the type ofpar ticipant selection for this study can be categorized cat¡¤e¡¤go¡¤rize?tr.v. cat¡¤e¡¤go¡¤rized, cat¡¤e¡¤go¡¤riz¡¤ing, cat¡¤e¡¤go¡¤riz¡¤esTo put into a category or categories; classify.cat as either apurposeful pur¡¤pose¡¤ful?adj.1. Having a purpose; intentional: a purposeful musician.2. Having or manifesting purpose; determined: entered the room with a purposeful look. sampling (Patton, 1990) or a criteria-based sampling(LeCompte, Preislee, & Tesch, 1993).Data Collection MethodIn-depth interviews were conducted with each participant, with eachinterview based on a loosely organized interview protocol that allowsthe interviewer to modify open-ended questions A closed-ended question is a form of question, which normally can be answered with a simple "yes/no" dichotomous question, a specific simple piece of information, or a selection from multiple choices (multiple-choice question), if one excludes such non-answer responses as dodging a during the interviewprocess. Each in terview took at least one and a half hours and wasconducted by the researcher at the participant's home. Allinterviews were audio-taped and later transcribed. All of the studentsexcept one had been involved in a previous research project conducted bythe same researcher. For this reason, the researcher had alreadyestablished a good working relationship with three of the participantsand had maintained close attention to their family and schoolenvironments for an extended period of time. However, data analysis inthe present study focused primarily on their interview data.Data Analysis MethodThe data analysis of this study was based on the constantcomparative method frequently used in grounded theory studies (Glaser& Strauss, 1967). This method was used because this study proposedto illuminate il¡¤lu¡¤mi¡¤nate?v. il¡¤lu¡¤mi¡¤nat¡¤ed, il¡¤lu¡¤mi¡¤nat¡¤ing, il¡¤lu¡¤mi¡¤natesv.tr.1. To provide or brighten with light.2. To decorate or hang with lights.3. the commonality com¡¤m on¡¤al¡¤i¡¤ty?n. pl. com¡¤mon¡¤al¡¤i¡¤ties1. a. The possession, along with another or others, of a certain attribute or set of attributes: a political movement's commonality of purpose. and variation across four young adolescentgirls' experiences in learning school mathematics in order todevelop small theories pertaining per¡¤tain?intr.v. per¡¤tained, per¡¤tain¡¤ing, per¡¤tains1. To have reference; relate: evidence that pertains to the accident.2. to the participants. First, theresearcher read through interview transcripts and identified severalrepeating themes in the data. Based on these tentative themes, theresearcher developed categories with which the entire data set was thencoded. Categories and properties were compared and networked with eachother, generating small theories and themes pertaining either to aparticular participant or all four participants in the study. Throughoutthis process, the researcher actively sought out different points ofviews from colleagues t o ensure the quality of data analysis. Forexample, initial codes for data analysis and supporting excerpts wereshared with the researcher's colleagues on a regular basis. Also,the researcher shared the first draft of findings with colleagues andmade revisions incorporating their feedback.Portraits of Participants(Names of participants, school, and town are pseudonym pseudonym(s`dənĭm)[Gr.,=false name], name assumed, particularly by writers, to conceal identity. A writer's pseudonym is also referred to as a nom de plume (pen name). ). Seran, afifth-grade girl at Hartford elementary school elementary school:see school. , is an Asian American A¡¤sian A¡¤mer¡¤i¡¤canalso A¡¤sian-A¡¤mer¡¤i¡¤can ?n.A U.S. citizen or resident of Asian descent. See Usage Note at Amerasian.A ,born and brought up in another university town in the Midwest. Herfamily moved south to Springfield five years ago because both parentswere offered faculty positions at the University of Springfield. In Seran's family environment, education has always been the firstpriority. Though both parents expressed a strong interest in theirchildren's academic progress in school, Seran frequently referredto her father as the most important figure supporting her educationalachievement and her motivation in learning school mathematics.Nisha, an African-American sixth-grader at Warton Middle School,lives with her grandmother in a public housing project in Springfield.Even though Nisha has lived in Springfield, a university town, fortwelve years, she has no close relatives who attend the university orany other institutions of higher learning higher learningn.Education or academic accomplishment at the college or university level. . Since Nisha does not livewith her parents or have regular contact with either of them, the amountof parental support available to her is very limited. At present,Nisha's primary caregiver care¡¤giv¡¤ern.1. An individual, such as a physician, nurse, or social w orker, who assists in the identification, prevention, or treatment of an illness or disability.2. is her maternal grandmother, who is over65 years old and has very little formal education.The third participant, Kristin, is in seventh grade at SpringfieldMiddle School. Her father's family was originally from Peru, andher mother grew up in a traditional, lower middle-class, very religioussouthern family. Although Kristin looks like a Hispanic girl, most ofher friends in school and in church are Caucasian. Her father works fora private company; her mother is a secretary at the university. Kristinhas an older sister (a high-achieving student at the local high school)and a younger brother Wiki is aware of the following uses of "'Younger Brother": Younger Brother (music group) Younger Brother (Trinity House) - a title within the British organisation, Trinity House in second grade.Abby, the final participant, is a sixth-grade Caucasian girloriginally from a middle-class background . However, for several yearsher family has been experiencing financial difficulty. Her father hasundergone three back surgeries during the last five years, during whichtime he has been totally unable to work. Her mother, a nurse in a localhospital, is now working sixteen hours a day to support the family. Inelementary school, Abby was a good student. Now, however, she feelsreally insecure in¡¤se¡¤cureadj.1. Lacking emotional stability; not well-adjusted.2. Lacking self-confidence; plagued by anxiety.in about the possibility of achieving academic success.Though she still believes that she "has the brain," Abbysuffers constantly from intense anxiety in her mathematics classroom.Findings and DiscussionsThe overall data analysis generated five overarching o¡¤ver¡¤arch¡¤ing?adj.1. Forming an arch overhead or above: overarching branches.2. Extending over or throughout: "I am not sure whether the missing ingredient . . . themes:interrelationship in¡¤ter¡¤re¡¤late?tr. & intr .v. in¡¤ter¡¤re¡¤lat¡¤ed, in¡¤ter¡¤re¡¤lat¡¤ing, in¡¤ter¡¤re¡¤latesTo place in or come into mutual relationship.in among participation, motivation, and learning; theculture of school mathematics and its impact; gender issues; reproducingothers' voices; and resistance and establishing one's ownvoice.Interrelated Phenomena: Participation, Motivation, and LearningOverall data analysis revealed an interesting confluence amongparticipation, motivation, and learning in the participants'experiences with school mathematics. As the girls explicated theirexperiences with school mathematics, it became clear that their activeparticipation in learning activities could not be separated from theiractual mathematical learning. Students who have actively participated ina learning activity in their mathematics classroom strongly believe thatthey learned the course content and, at the same time, improved theirself-confidence and motivation. Their positive experience with previouslearning activ ities supports their motivation and leads to fullparticipation in the ensuing en¡¤sue?intr.v. en¡¤sued, en¡¤su¡¤ing, en¡¤sues1. To follow as a consequence or result. See Synonyms at follow.2. To take place subsequently. mathematical learning situation. This kindof intertwined relationship among students' participation,learning, and motivation is quite conspicuous in the data (Lave &Wenger, 1991). Equally significant, at the outset, motivation formastering mathematics appears to be a product of learning orenjoyable/fruitful participation in a mathematical activity rather thana cause for learning or participation. Later, this developed motivationleads the student to still more active participation that ultimatelygenerates a deeper level of learning. For example, Kristin recollectsthe time when she was a "really good math student," eagerlyparticipating in math activities and "learning everything."She recalls, "Then, I liked math because my teacher gave usactivities or gam es. I like it (activity-based mathematics lessons)because I learn math in that way (by active participation).... Welearned everything while we were actually playing with the stuff he gaveus." Seran also describes how social recognition plays a major rolein the development of her motivation. "I get excited because I knowI already knew it (math content) ... and everybody else asks me,'how do you know that all?' "Then, I have a big mouth ...That's why I like mathematics." Social construction of acompetent self-image, supported by her family and friends, has emergedas an important process in Seran's strong motivation to learnschool mathematics.The Culture of School Mathematics and Its ImpactData analysis has revealed that the traditional views ofmathematics knowledge and how it is taught are still prevalent in theparticipants' mathematics classes. To these four young adolescentgirls, school mathematics is perceived as a set of very abstract andstatic knowledge that has little me aning in "real life." Notonly is school mathematics as a whole decontextualized from theireveryday lives, but also each part of the subject is partitioned par¡¤ti¡¤tion?n.1. a. The act or process of dividing something into parts.b. The state of being so divided.2. a. offfrom the other parts, hardly creating a holistic, consistent picture ofmathematics as a discipline. Kristin describes her confusion when shewas forced to "just warm up" her brain working on meaninglessoperations: Sometimes, his morning warm-up activity doesn't even have to do with what we learn that day. Like we maybe have something to do with integers or learning about regular fractions or graphs. I think how these match up.As a result, the most important value or motivation for learningmathematics, to these girls, is more related to its instrumental orexchange values in their school lives such as "feeling good aboutmyself," "being in a smart class," or "getting intocollege" (Lave & Wenger, 1 991). Yet, to them, mathematicallearning often means involvement in boring and repetitive work, such as"adding, multiplying, and subtraction subtraction,fundamental operation of arithmetic; the inverse of addition. If a and b are real numbers (see number), then the number a−b is that number (called the difference) which when added to b (the subtractor) equals ," with more concern forthe speed at which such operations are performed than for thestudents' genuine understanding of the content (Boaler, 1997).The authoritative and competitive culture of the mathematicsclassroom was found to be the primary source of the pervasive anxiety orself-alienation among the participants. These girls confess confessv. in criminal law, to voluntarily state that one is guilty of a criminal offense. This admission may be made to a law enforcement officer or in court either prior to or upon arrest, or after the person is charged with a specific crime. theirendless anxiety and even anger t oward the mathematics class that seemsto undervalue or threaten their self-worth. The majority of participantsbelieve that their mathematics classroom is not a safe place to try outtheir voices. They are well aware of the labeling practice that isprevalent in the class, and they voluntarily decide to silencethemselves. Researcher: OK. You may have some reasons for not asking the teacher questions, right? Why? Abby: Because ... sometimes I get nervous because to me it seems like if you ask a teacher the question, it seems like you aren't paying attention or something. But then again I know that's not true because, I mean, I pay attention during math class. Researcher: Could you give me a kind of example? .... Abby: Like I said, she (her math teacher) keeps her anger in. But she does tend to get a little mad if you ask something when she just went over it. And she can tell that you weren't paying attention. Then she sort of gets a little bit ma d at you, but, um, because you should have been paying attention the first time. But then usually the people that ask questions are the people that were listening.It is not surprising that these young adolescent girls'motivation for learning school mathematics is significantly damaged whenthey intuitively grasp the inexorable tension between their desire to berespected as active learners and the repressive re¡¤pres¡¤siveadj.Causing or inclined to cause repression. characteristics ofinstructional culture in their mathematics classrooms. Kristin, whodescribes her mathematics class as "just another class you have togo in, sit, learn, and work," expanded on how she could motivatestudents if she were the mathematics teacher. Above all, she called forrespect--respect for students' own ways of learning--from teachers: Kristin: Uhm ... First, I have to go to them because, you know, or I look back at their stuff to see if there are more hands on people or if they (stud ents) are more likely to listen? And if my class is more hands-on, I will try games and activities and the stuff that they enjoy. Or, I might have a survey or something, saying, you know, what would you like? You like more hands-on stuff? Or, do you like me standing in the front of the room and preaching? So, and then if they like me standing up in the room and preaching then I will tell my lessons standing up in the room, but if they want me to do games and have fun in the class I will try to be using the stuff to do. Researcher: Then, you seem to believe that the teacher's way of teaching does matter to students' motivation. Kristin: Yeah. Actually I do. I think that if you have more what they like, it will be more fun for them and they will enjoy it more. While you were in front of the room and they want to have more hands-on stuff and do all that and they are hardly learning anything. But, saying, when you have hands on stuff they are learning a lot more than (when you) bring them test very driven stuff. When you are standing in the front of the room and that's not what they're, you know, that's not how they learn, then they will make low test grades, you know. You think you need to change something.However, these girls scarcely see the possibility of having theirown thoughts and voices respected and heard in their mathematicsclasses. Instead, they perceive mathematics as just "another classyou just have to sit through." Their helplessness and deep-seatedanger prevent them from achieving a genuine understanding ofmathematical knowledge.Power issues are another important factor that shape these youngadolescent girls' experiences with school mathematics. These girlssense the disparity dis¡¤par¡¤i¡¤ty?n. pl. dis¡¤par¡¤i¡¤ties1. The condition or fact of being unequal, as in age, rank, or degree; difference: "narrow the economic disparities among regions and industries"in power between their teachers and themselves. Theyunderstand that they are constantly evaluated and "monitored"in their schools (Foucault, 1975/1995) while being classified withdifferent labels that "keep some people up and others down."Abby projects a sense of helplessness in her response to theresearcher's question about her mathematics class next year.Clearly, she believes it is the "teacher's decision," not"ours." Researcher: Do you think you are going to be with the same students in the seventh grade mathematics class next year? Abby: It depends, because some of them might not make really good grades and might get placed in a lower class than me. Or I might be placed in a lower class than some of my friends. And there's really nothing we can do about it because that's the teacher's decision, not ours.Nisha and Kristin strive to preserve their self-worth through theirown interpretation of ability grouping ability groupingn.1. The practice of placing students with others with comparable skills or needs, as in classes or in groups within a class.2. See tracking. , saying "It's OK.Anyway, we're leaming everything that sixth-graders have tolearn," or "There's not much difference between my classand others." They are trying to close their eyes to what is goingon around them, even though they're already well aware of what ishappening to them.Gender in PlayIn these young adolescent girls' mathematics classrooms, malecharacters are dominant while girls are almost invisible. The majorityof participants' previous and current math teachers are males, andthe majority of excellent students in and out of their mathematicsclasses appear to be males as well. Even though girls do not believethat boys are better than girls in mathematics, they admit that malestudents are active people who are able to occupy the center of theirmathematics classroom, regardless of their level of understandingmathematical knowledge. For example, Kristin talks about her mathem aticsclass in which male students enjoy the privilege of teaching otherstudents, even though their way of teaching is not always effective forothers. In contrast, male students seem to exert a negative influence ongirls' self-confidence in learning school mathematics (Issacson,1990). Boys' voices are so aggressive and loud that they often,whether intentionally in¡¤ten¡¤tion¡¤al?adj.1. Done deliberately; intended: an intentional slight.See Synonyms at voluntary.2. Having to do with intention. or inadvertently, damage girls' fragileidentity in mathematics, especially girls who are vulnerable to outsideinfluences. Boys toss off negative remarks that reflect their arbitraryjudgment and belittling be¡¤lit¡¤tle?tr.v. be¡¤lit¡¤tled, be¡¤lit¡¤tling, be¡¤lit¡¤tles1. To represent or speak of as contemptibly small or unimportant; disparage: a person who belittled our efforts to do the job right. of girls' ability to learn mathematics.They say: "You're not good at this," and"You're n ot smart," or "You'll never dothat." Seran, a high-achieving girl in this study, confrontedrejection by peers who said, "You'll never be my friend."Less confident girls often respond helplessly: "Everybody sees menot being good at math" or "put six (a wrong answer) onpurpose" on a math test.Reproducing Others' VoicesNot surprisingly, when these young adolescent girls address powerissues in school, instead of using their own voices, they frequentlyrepeat the voices of authority, voices they have heard, learned, andinternalized. Speaking in others' voices often undermines theirfeeling of self-worth and causes deep self-alienation, as the thoughtsof Kristin and Abby demonstrate. Abby believes that "mean teachersare better teachers" because "they really push you" tolearn, even though she suffers greatly in the classroom of "a meanbut good mathematics teacher." Her ideal of having "a nice andgood teacher" exists only in her imagination; in her real world ofschool mathematics, she considers that situation an impossible dream.Although they do not like the criteria their teachers use, the girlsoften apply the same criteria to themselves causing a deeper level ofself-alienation. In such event, they feel hurt and uncomfortableacknowledging who they are, and tend not to see the potentials theypossess. Kristin, who criticizes her teacher's unfair treatment ofstudents based on their scores, laments, "You know, sometimes Ilook at my score (on a math test) I got, and think, gosh! How could Iget this? (a deep sigh)." Often, these young adolescent girlsappropriate the devices used by the teacher and apply them to theirpeers, producing a delicate and unequal power relationship amongthemselves. For example, to Seran, helping her friend with math meanspushing the friend to complete the same type of simple operations asquickly as possible by limiting the time allowed for those questions.She says, "I'll help my friend learn math ... so I'll askmy teacher if I can bo rrow her timer timer,n radiographic timing device that functions as an automatic exposure timer and a switch to control the current to the high-tension transformer and filament transformer. The face of the timer is calibrated in seconds and fractions of seconds. . I'll see if my friend canfinish all the questions in time." This acceptance of the need to"push" us so that we "get [y]our stuff done" emergedclearly from the data, reflecting these girls' previous experiencesand current understanding of school mathematics, which they see not as ajoyous joy¡¤ous?adj.Feeling or causing joy; joyful. See Synonyms at glad1.joyous¡¤ly adv. learning opportunity but rather as a bitter experience theysimply have to accept.Resistance and Creating One's Own VoiceOn a more positive note, however, these young adolescent girls arenot merely passive victims of the culture of their mathematics classesand their peers influences. Rather, they actively resist such outsideinfluences, constructing and expressing their own ideas regarding anideal mathematics class. Their resistance assumes various forms. Forexample, sometimes they develop their voices to assert their own ideasabout what constitutes an ideal relationship between students andteachers, as well as how mathematics should be taught. Kristinelaborates her idea about "a good way of teaching math.""First, I will go to them (students) to see if they like to learnwith hands on stuff or games, or want me to preach preach?v. preached, preach¡¤ing, preach¡¤esv.tr.1. To proclaim or put forth in a sermon: preached the gospel.2. in front ofthem." Some of the girls may insist that the teaching authorityhear their voices. Kristin rejects one of the commonly accepted schoolideologies that define her as lacking the ability to learn mathematics,and she expresses her own counter ideology: "If you teach math andyour students don't understand, you have to go back and think aboutthe ways you teach because there must be something wrong with your wayof teaching math."Abby defines an effective mathematics teacher as one who"understands a lot about people" and "helps kids a lottoo." A good mathematics teacher, as Abby remarks, is one whoobserves the ethic of caring, who is eager to offer her help to the mostvulnerable people in the class, and who refrains from judging studentsfor "not paying attention Noun 1. paying attention - paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people); "his attentiveness to her wishes"; "he spends without heed to the consequences"attentiveness, heed, regard ."These young girls also strive to become agents, not pawns Pawn(s) may refer to: Pawn (chess) Pawns (Polish: Pionki) - a town in Poland in Masovia Voivodeship in radomski county in Pawns commune , in theirown mathematical learning. To that end, they strive to create aclassroom situation in which they can feel themselves as activeparticipants capable of controlling the outcome of their own learning.Seran has succ essfully persuaded herself that her participation inlearning school mathematics is fundamentally her personal choice."I can do it because I did believe that I can do it." It isinteresting that Seran, a high-achieving girl who acknowledges theimportance of the student's agency in learning school mathematics,tries to help other girls listen to their inner voices as a way ofrecovering their own agency in their mathematics learning. Encouraging afriend who had lost her confidence in mathematics and was constantlyharassed by boys, Seran said, "Don't listen to what others sayto you ... They never know what you like or what you actually can....it's your feeling."Clearly, cooperative learning cooperative learningEducation theory A student-centered teaching strategy in which heterogeneous groups of students work to achieve a common academic goal–eg, completing a case study or a evaluating a QC problem. See Problem-based learning, Socratic method. , along with consistent mutual supportfor one another, emerged as a central element in the girls'experiences with school mathematics (Boaler, 1997; Fennema &Peterson, 1987; Leder, (1992). All four girls described the joy theyfelt when helping their friends with a math problem, and alsorecollected the moments when their peers offered them kind, life-savingassistance. It is not surprising that the participants, including Seran,the most confident participant, tended to sit close to their friends intheir mathematics classrooms. Some did so because they knew that theirfriends needed their help, while others depended on their friends to behelpers. To these girls, cooperation appears to be a naturalresponsibility to be accepted and acted upon rather than an option theycan choose or refuse. Working together, they elaborate user-friendlystrategies that help them learn, understand, or sometimes simply passtheir mathematics exams and classes. The girls' cooperation intheir mathematics classes is not limited to a cademic help; it alsoincludes emotional and social support for one another. For example, Abbyexplains how she and her friends helped each other cope with stress whenany of them received a bad grade: "When they make a bad grade theysort of show it to one of their friends and say, man, this is bad, but Ican make it up. Just so they're not building up all this anger intheir body and then take it out on somebody else.... I know one time Imade a really bad grade, and it was only like a 40 something on a test.It was a 49 on a test, and I felt really bad. I felt like, OK, maybe ifI show it to one of my best friends that I think will not tell anybodywhat I made. Maybe it'll just take off all the stress from my bodyand just sort of make it leave." Three out of four participantsperceived the mathematics classroom as an insecure place that implementsvarious labeling practices and threatens their self-worth and confidenceas learners. For this reason, they tend to act, through their inti matesocial network, as mutual caretakers of both their academic needs andtheir emotional well-being.Despite the repeated disheartening dis¡¤heart¡¤en?tr.v. dis¡¤heart¡¤ened, dis¡¤heart¡¤en¡¤ing, dis¡¤heart¡¤ensTo shake or destroy the courage or resolution of; dispirit. See Synonyms at discourage. experiences with the labelsattached to their classes and themselves, young adolescent girls showgreat resilience resilience (r·zilˑ·yens),n in dealing with the unfavorable social circumstancesthat surround them. Sometimes, these girls accept the competitive andauthoritative culture of their mathematics classes; at other times,however, they raise serious questions about themselves and the roles oftheir teachers. They want their voices heard and their existencesacknowledged in their mathematics classrooms. Ultimately, they challengeone of the most commonly accepted ideologies and practices embedded inteaching mathematics in our schools--ability-based streaming. The gi rlsprotest, "(T)hey (highly achieving students in math) are maybeolder or smarter or whatever. But if they can (succeed), I think we cando it too."ConclusionIn general, to the participating young adolescent girls, the worldof school mathematics is neither a comfortable nor a desirable place inwhich to reside. Various types of apparatus threaten these girls'feelings of self-worth, undermining their rights as individuals andtheir freedom to learn. One of these is a teaching authority whosepurported pur¡¤port¡¤ed?adj.Assumed to be such; supposed: the purported author of the story.pur¡¤ported¡¤ly adv. responsibility is to help students learn, but which rarelylistens to or respects the voices of the learners themselves. Equallyimportant, male figures dominate the center of the mathematicsclassroom, while young adolescent girls are marginalized, scattered ScatteredUsed for listed equity securities. Unconcentrated buy or sell interest. around the edges, saying nothing and feeling a lmost invisible. Althoughthese girls recognize their vulnerability in such classes, they searchconstantly, intuitively, for more effective and exciting ways to learnmathematics. They share the insight and wisdom that they have acquiredfrom their personal experiences with school mathematics to reinforce oneanother's learning and self-confidence. To counteract the manynegative voices they hear from outside, they strive to awaken oneanother's inner voices. Unfortunately, at times their ways ofhelping each other prove to be ineffective, even resulting in misguided mis¡¤guid¡¤ed?adj.Based or acting on error; misled: well-intentioned but misguided efforts; misguided do-gooders.mis¡¤guid practices that generate further self-alienation and increase the"othering process" among themselves (Popkewitz, 1999).Unfortunately, giving up and just "sifting through" theminimum number of required classes seems to be the easiest option forgirls who are losing their voices and confidence in their ability tolearn school mathematics. They do not want to fail, of course, but theunfavorable culture of their mathematics classes, including adeep-seated disrespect for each student's different ways oflearning and denial of their agency in their own learning process, failsthem. Situated in this kind of sociocultural context, these youngadolescent girls speak in multiple voices. Some essentially echo theideologies they have learned from their schools, parents, peers, andmany other sources. Others, however, clearly reflect their hopes andcritical consciousnesses that spring from their existential conditionsin school and in society at large. Their own words and voices resist theimpact of various school practices and ideologies that repudiate TO REPUDIATE. To repudiate a right is to express in a sufficient manner, a determination not to accept it, when it is offered. 2. He who repudiates a right cannot by that act transfer it to another. theiragency and aptitude for learning mat hematics. Both individually and insupport groups composed of friends, they struggle to reclaim their ownagency and self initiative in their learning processes and school lives.What they confront everyday, however, is a patriarchal schoolingsystem that functions with its own rules and processes and processes andrarely listens to the voices of some of the most vulnerable learners whoare deeply disturbed "Deeply Disturbed" is a CD single by the Israeli psychedelic trance duo Infected Mushroom, realeased in July 2003 on the label Absolute. by the system's rules and processes. Thereseems to be little hope for these unheard voices--unless we, aseducators, reconceptualize various school practices and become advocatesfor these ignored and undervalued UndervaluedA stock or other security that is trading below its true value.Notes:The difficulty is knowing what the "true" value actually is. Analysts will usually recommend an undervalued stock with a strong buy rating. students. If we can reinforce thesevulnerable young adolescent girls' motivation for learning schoolmathematics by critically examining many unquestioned practices in ourschools, as well as our roles within the system, these girls will beeager to say much more about their ways of learning mathematics.Inevitably, they will be much louder, much more assertive as¡¤ser¡¤tive?adj.Inclined to bold or confident assertion; aggressively self-assured.as¡¤sertive¡¤ly adv. , as theyreclaim their voices, rebuild their self-confidence, and reestablishagency in their own learning process. This attempt may lead to a"politicized mathematics class (Noddings, 1993, p. 156)," inwhich the learning and teaching of mathematics are deeply interwoven in¡¤ter¡¤weave?v. in¡¤ter¡¤wove , in¡¤ter¡¤wo¡¤ven , inter¡¤weav¡¤ing, inter¡¤weavesv.tr.1. To weave together.2. 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