Turnaround Students in High School Mathematics: Constructing Identities of Competence Through Mathematical Worlds

Abstract

This analysis joins together two lines of work: research on students' mathematical identities and on curricular organization that supports equitable academic outcomes. This article conceptualizes students' sense of mathematical competence as emerging through the interaction between their extant identities and the mathematical worlds they encounter in the school. Using data from a five-year mixed-methods longitudinal study comparing students' mathematical experiences in two high schools (Boaler, 2006 Boaler, J. 2006. Promoting relational equity through complex instruction and mathematical reasoning. Theory into Practice, 45 Winter: 40–46. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), I focus on seven students who showed initial and unexpected success in mathematics. One department provided more resources for students to develop identities of mathematical competence, while the second department naturalized differential outcomes for students. An examination of two student trajectories, one from each school, illustrates how mathematical identities were constructed across, as well as within, classrooms. I argue that students' mathematical identities emerge beyond a single classroom, and to achieve equitable outcomes, we must look not only at the work of individual teachers but also at teacher collectives who support mathematical achievement.

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