Anti-racist mathematics

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Anti-racist mathematics is a branch of education reform theory in countries such as the U.S. and the UK, which attempts to form an anti-bias curriculum in mathematics. It emphasizes the sociocultural context of mathematics education and suggests that the study of mathematics (as it is traditionally known in western societies) may exhibit racial or cultural bias. While 'anti-racist mathematics' and 'ethnomathematics' scholars share the assumption that any given mathematical understanding or practice is a product of a particular culture, the forms of their scholarship differ.

1 Purpose
2 Context
3 Criticism
4 See also
- 4.1 References
- 4.2 External links

[edit] Purpose

Anti-racist mathematics is primarily concerned with the way in which mathematics is taught, although it also examines the contents of the curriculum to a lesser degree. An anti-racist approach to mathematics education could include any or all of the following:

Discussion of the mathematical knowledge of ancient civilisations outside of Europe, and non-European contributions to mathematical knowledge and discovery.
The avoidance of racial stereotyping when forming and communicating expectations of pupils' attainments in mathematics.
The avoidance of racial stereotypes or cultural bias in classroom materials, textbooks, coursework topics and examination questions.

Proponents of anti-racist mathematics believe that anti-racist education programs have the potential to correct imbalances and to have beneficial results on test scores and examination results in some minority groups.

[edit] Context

Anti-racist mathematics is part of a larger social constructivist movement in which traditional Western or scientific world views are seen as products of the Judeo–Christian and masculine assumptions of Western cultures. Anti-racist educators suggest that these assumptions are dominant because of superior political power. Anti-racist mathematics is a general approach to mathematics education, trying to shift a field created by "dead white men" into what proponents see as a more multicultural context.

Proponents find evidence in the findings of 20th century anthropology, philosophy and various social science disciplines. From this, they believe that the mental paradigms of individuals have a determinative effect on the way they interpret the origin and meaning of events and objects in the world around them.

[edit] Criticism

An early critic of anti-racist mathematics was then-current UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who said in her address to the Conservative Party Conference in October 1987:

"Children who need to be able to count and multiply are learning anti-racist mathematics, whatever that is."

Critics claim anti-racist mathematics takes relativism and postmodernism to extremes. These critics assert that mathematics and science, especially hard science fields such as physics, chemistry, and biology, accurately reflect universals, as opposed to being cultural interpretations or social constructions. For example, some critics say that Newton's formulations of the laws of gravity are neutral formulations that apply regardless of cultural, regional or ideological context. With this view, critics suggest that hard science is different from ideology because it is based on the scientific method, essentially an extremely cautious means of building a supportable, evidenced understanding of our world.

Critics also note that traditional mathematics is not essentially western. Middle-Eastern, Arab, Persian, and Indian mathematicians and astronomers from every era have made vast contributions to mathematics. The most concrete acknowledgement of this fact is the use of Hindu-Arabic numerals throughout mathematics. Indian mathematicians are also widely recognized as first developing the concept of the zero in the Old World.

Critics claim that the anti-racist approach to teaching mathematics reduces children's mathematical abilities on standardized tests (such as the MCAS)[1][2]. For example, controversy regarding anti-racist mathematics arose in January 2005 when critics blamed the plummeting mathematics scores at the Newton Public Schools in Newton, Massachusetts on its prominent anti-racist education principles. Critics believe these values were emphasized over the teaching of math skills. However, others dispute there is actual evidence to suggest Newton is practicing "anti-racist mathematics" and pointed out that Newton's eighth-graders demonstrated improved mathematical abilities on standardized tests.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Woodrow, D. (1989). Multicultural and anti-racist mathematics teaching. In P. Ernest (Ed.), Mathematics teaching: The state of the art (pp. 229-235). London: Falmer.
Cotton, A. (1990). Anti-racist mathematics teaching and the national curriculum. Mathematics Teaching, 132, 22-26.
Levidow, L. (1987). Racism in scientific innovation. In D. Gill and L. Levidow (Eds.), Anti-racist science teaching (pp. 43-58). London: Free Association.
Vance, M. (1987). Biology teaching in a racist society. In D. Gill and L. Levidow (Eds.), Anti-racist science teaching. (pp. 107-123). London: Free Association.
Young, R. M. (1987). Racist society, racist science. In D. Gill and L. Levidow (Eds.), Anti-racist science teaching. (pp. 16-42). London: Free Association.
Mears, T. (1986). Multicultural and anti-racist approaches to the teaching of science in schools. In J. Guadara, C. Jones and K. Kimberley (Eds.), Racism, diversity and education (pp. 154-166). London: Hodder and Stoughton.
The Politics of Anti-Racist Mathematics in Proceedings of the First International Conference on Political Dimensions of Mathematics Education, (Ed. R. Noss), Institute of Education Publications, University of London, 1990.
The Politics of Anti-Racist Mathematics, European Education Journal, July 1994, pp.67-74
Harding, Sandra. The Science Question in Feminism. 1986.