Annotated Bibliography

D’Ambrosio. (2007). Peace, Social Justice, and Ethnomathematics. The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast, Monograph 1(2007), 25-34.

The authors believe in two universal ideas: that survival with dignity is the most universal problem facing mankind, and that mathematics is the most universal mode of thought. As mathematicians and math educators explore connections between these two ideas, they must pursue a civilization that values equality for all and pathways to world peace. The program Ethnomathematics is a set of tools for such a pursuit, incorporating literacy, the capacity to process information, including our modern literacies; matheracy, the capacity to infer, propose hypotheses and draw conclusions from data and to reflect about man and society; and technoracy, the critical familiarity with technology, particularly regarding the ethics and values related to technological progress. This program demystifies math, gives access to all, and demonstrates the intellectual achievement of civilizations, cultures and peoples around the world.

This article takes a very global position, viewing the connection between sociocultural issues and mathematics as a path to equality and world peace.

Garii, B., & Rule, A. (2009, April). Integrating social justice with mathematics and science: An analysis of student teacher lessons. Teaching & Teacher Education, 25(3), 490-499.

Today’s teachers are likely to teach students with different backgrounds than themselves. While most teachers are trained to foster a sense of community in their classrooms, they have little exposure to the pedagogy of social justice. Social justice is considered difficult to incorporate into math and science, and is mostly embraced by humanities teachers. This study is a qualitative analysis of the mathematics and science lessons of primary and secondary student teachers. The author concluded that preservice teachers need more knowledge of content areas, training in the integration of social justice into academic planning, and opportunities in the classroom to incorporate social justice.

It’s a great idea to look at social justice math from a starting point such as the preservice teacher’s experiences. I liked that the author emphasized the difficulty in bringing social justice into math and science classes. It takes knowledge and planning. It can’t just be applied like a band aid to a curriculum.

Sriraman, B. (2007). On the Origins of Social Justice: Darwin, Freire, Marx and Vivekananda. The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast, Monograph 1(2007), 1-6.

The author ponders the question of why we need social justice by examining the philosophies of Charles Darwin, Paolo Freire, Karl Marx and Vedanta. A strictly Darwinian explanation is that inequity is a natural mechanism in our society, and that it is natural that certain groups will perish because they cannot cope with changes in the environment. Freire believed the key to liberation is through political movements and political struggle. Karl Marx’s writings addressed issues such as exploitation of workers within a capitalistic economic system. Hindu philosopher Vivekananda belonged to a branch of Hindu philosophy called Vedana, which believes no individual could be free unless all are free.

This article was an interesting summary of the evolution of social justice philosophy. I’m not sure how useful this article is to me, but I’m fascinated by Freire, who believed pedagogies that pose problems are crucial if the goal of education is to challenge inequality.

Gutstein, E. (2006, July). The Real World As We Have Seen It: Latino/a Parents' Voices On Teaching Mathematics For Social Justice. Mathematical Thinking & Learning, 8(3), 331-358.

The author examines Latino parents’ views toward a social justice mathematics curriculum in their children’s 7th grade Chicago public school classroom. Two sets of overlapping pedagogical goals when teaching mathematics are: social justice goals such as developing sociopolitical consciousness and a sense of social agency; and mathematics goals, which include developing mathematical power to read and write the world. Recurring themes in parent interviews are: oppression and resistance are related and a part of life; and mathematics is a central part of life, utilitarian and critical views. The author emphasized that more parent-teacher collaboration is needed in the development of any social justice curriculum.

I think this article will be useful to me because it directly addresses an urban classroom’s experiences with a social justice math curriculum. I liked that the parents supported social justice math because they knew from their own experiences facing oppression and that education prepares children to face and fight social injustice.

Winter, D. (2007, Fall 2007). Infusing mathematics with culture: Teaching technical subjects for social justice. New Directions for Teaching & Learning, 97-106.

Although math tools of logic, reasoning and quantitative analysis make it possible to make sound judgments in everyday situations, social and cultural issues have not generally tackled in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). However, over the past 20 years the pedagogies of introductory math courses have begun to change, incorporating the use of math techniques to solve problems in the world outside the classroom. The author created a model of instruction based on the principles of Marilyn Frankenstein, who pioneered the use of math education through the study of sociocultural phenomena. The model intertwines technical learning characteristics of STEM disciplines with experiences and information to help students understand problems facing other peoples and cultures.

Some criticisms of social justice math are the trivialization of social content by merely attaching the issue to a math lesson in a superficial manner; the interaction with too much controversial material in the classroom; and an increased amount of class time devoted to cultural and social issues less time devoted to mathematical tasks. The author’s classroom experiment revealed that technical courses can indeed be infused with social and cultural learning without sacrificing STEM learning. Results showed significant gains in cognitive learning. Additionally, more female students and students of minority groups participated in the experiment, possibly because the model made the math class more appealing or more accessible to those who would have otherwise stayed away from such a class or failed it.

Not being a “math person,” I operate on a fairly basic mathematical level. So I was naturally unsure of how math and social problems would connect. After reading about Winter’s model, I could actually visualize how social justice math could be incorporated into the curriculum. This model is clear cut, almost an instruction manual for how to put social justice into play in a math class.