ERIC Number: EJ801022
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Jul
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-8251
EISSN: N/A
A "Gap-Gazing" Fetish in Mathematics Education? Problematizing Research on the Achievement Gap
Gutierrez, Rochelle
Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, v39 n4 p357-364 Jul 2008
A substantial amount of research in mathematics education seeks to document disparities in achievement between middle-class White students and students who are Black, Latina/Latino, First Nations, English language learners, or working class. I outline the dangers in maintaining an achievement-gap focus. These dangers include offering little more than a static picture of inequities, supporting deficit thinking and negative narratives about students of color and working-class students, perpetuating the myth that the problem (and therefore solution) is a technical one, and promoting a narrow definition of learning and equity. (Contains 1 footnote.)
Descriptors: Mathematics Education, Equal Education, Academic Achievement, Disadvantaged, Power Structure, Low Achievement, Working Class, Minority Groups, White Students, Second Language Learning, Educational Research, Goal Orientation, Instructional Effectiveness
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. 1906 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191-1502. Tel: 800-235-7566; Tel: 703-620-3702; Fax: 703-476-2970; e-mail: orders@nctm.org; Web site: http://www.nctm.org/publications/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A