Case stories of mathematical and racial identity among Black girls in a small urban school district

This research investigated aspects of the developing mathematical identity and racial identity of two Black adolescent girls attending middle and high school in a small urban school district.;The study was guided by the following research questions:;1. What can be inferred from 7th grade and high school interview data about the development or co-construction of two African-American girls' mathematical and racial identities in a small urban school district? In particular, in what ways do they see themselves as effective mathematical learners, and how do they perceive their school experiences having contributed to this? How do they perceive themselves as Black girls, in their own eyes and in the eyes of others? Do they see any relationships between their developing mathematical identities and their racial identities? What light is shed on these questions by information gathered from peers with whom they interact?;2. What "critical events" identified in 7th grade retrospective interview videotapes support these inferences? A "critical event" is an affective, social, and mathematical interaction pertaining to identity that occurred during 7th grade.;3. What stable dimensions of the girls' mathematical and racial identities can be documented in data concerning their experiences since 7 th grade, particularly experiences during 8th, 9 th, and 10th grades, described by the girls themselves?;Evidence was gathered from 7th grade and high school mathematics affect surveys, 7th grade retrospective interviews on classroom activities, a multidimensional inventory of Black identity (MIBI-t, Sellers et al. 1998), and high school interviews. Case stories for two focus girls were developed with additional data from three girls, all of whom were in the same 7th grade mathematics class and attended the same high school. The study gives evidence that all of the girls perceived themselves as capable mathematics learners -- Black girls who are able to "do math". Evidence from 7th grade "critical events" indicates complex relationships among mathematics activities, affective and social interactions, and the classroom environment. From 7th grade on, all of the girls believed that a good mathematics teacher creates a supportive mathematics learning community for students of all abilities. Stable dimensions of three girls' mathematical identity include belief in their own ability, and the belief that they have experienced both opportunities and barriers to their mathematics learning. Stable dimensions of racial identity among three girls include high Private Regard (I am proud to be Black), and low Public Regard (Most people think that Blacks are as smart as people of other races). The two focus girls do not, however, perceive relationships between their own racial and mathematical identities. Rather, for these girls, the most important reported influences on their mathematics identity were a) classroom opportunities to work together on fun but challenging mathematics tasks, b) classroom environments in which both mistakes and correct answers are valued, and c) respect and value as members of classroom mathematics learning communities.