Anti-racist mathematics

Anti-racist mathematics is a branch of education reform theory that sees a need to form a curriculum to counter a perceived bias in mathematics. It claims there is a sociocultural context to mathematical education and suggests that the study of mathematics in Western societies has traditionally exhibited 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 considerably, and they should not be confused with one another.

Purpose

Anti-racist mathematics is primarily concerned with the way in which mathematics is taught, although it also examines the contents of the curriculum in as much as this might reasonably differ from universally acceptable mathematical education. An anti-racist approach to mathematics education could include any or all of the following:

• Discussion of the mathematical knowledge of ancient civilizations 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. For example, common non-European names, such as Sanjeev (Indian), Kumar (Indian) or C'haim (Jewish), could be used in story problems, rather than common European names, like Mary or Emily.
• Effective and unprejudiced methods of distinguishing between the merits of individuals.
• Support of notion that mathematics is a subjective discipline (i.e., answers to mathematical problems are open to interpretation based on what ethnic branch of mathematics is used).

Opposition

Former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher made reference to anti-racist mathematics in expressing opposition to "multicultural" and "anti-racist" educational approaches. In her address to the Conservative Party Conference in October 1987, she said how inner city children's opportunities for decent education were being "snatched away from them by hard-left education authorities" and that "children who need to be able to count and multiply are learning anti-racist mathematics, whatever that is."^[1] In 2005, Liza Porteus of Fox News reported that an "anti-racist mathematics" program in the Newton Public Schools district of the wealthy Newton, Massachusetts community angered some parents, who perceived the program to focus more on political correctness than mathematics itself.^[2]

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.

Notes

External links

• Book Review: Issues in Mathematics Teaching - Ed. Peter Gates
• Eurocentrism in Mathematics
• Extract from memorandum submitted by the African-Caribbean Network for Science & Technology to the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology