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Positioning in mathematics education: revelations on an imported theory

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Abstract

We develop theory within the field of mathematics education based on analysis of an imported theory—positioning theory—and the way it is used in the field. After summarizing positioning theory, we identify some conceptual fuzziness, particularly in core terms “positioning” and “storyline.” We offer Lemke’s idea of timescales as a way to refine the theory. We then use the refined theory to analyze strong examples from mathematics education literature as a source of insight into how this theory is being and could be used in the field. We identify the need to be clear about scale in describing positioning and storyline, to recognize that multiple storylines and positionings are at play in any interaction, to be specific about the role of communication acts in development of positioning and storyline, and to differentiate among different kinds of positioning. We claim that attention to these issues will help researchers recognize narratives and relationships at play that may be outside their expectation and also underpin stronger warranted claims.

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Notes

  1. To get a sense of the range of this kind of work, see, for example, Engle and Conant (2002), Enyedy et al. (2008), Gresalfi and Cobb (2006), Herbel-Eisenmann et al. (2010), Ju and Kwon (2007), Mesa and Chang (2010), Turner et al. (2013), and Wood (2013).

  2. We include a recent article that was co-authored by two of us because revisiting our own work provides an example of the value of continuous reworking of our theoretical frames.

  3. Because some of our references are authored by a subset of the people who co-authored this article, we use “we” to refer to all of the current authors and cite our earlier work with the relevant author names.

  4. Here “reform” referred to the use of the ideas from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards documents (e.g., NCTM (1989), 1991, 2000) in the USA.

  5. It was not until recently in positioning theory that identity was discussed in depth (Moghaddam et al. 2008); however, mathematics education researchers often use positioning theory as a way to address identity. The definition of identity, the scale of identity being described, and the relationship between identity and positioning theory are typically not articulated in research. Identities might be viewed as the “positions assumed by people in their interactions with others both in moment-to-moment interaction and as accumulated over time” (Johnson, 2013, p. 22). That is, some authors conceptualize identities as related to specific contexts and others conceptualize identities as related to how positions come to “stick” (Anderson, 2009, p. 291) with people. As a result, identities might be conceptualized at a variety of scales.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation (Grant No. #0918117, Herbel-Eisenmann, PI; Cirillo and Steele, co-PIs). Opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed here are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF. We would like to thank David Pimm, Anna Sfard, and two anonymous reviewers for their insights and feedback.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University, 620 Farm Lane, 316 Erickson Hall, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Beth A. Herbel-Eisenmann

  2. Faculty of Education, University of New Brunswick, P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5A3, Canada

    David Wagner

  3. Department of Mathematics Education, Brigham Young University, 183 TMCB, Provo, UT, 84606, USA

    Kate R. Johnson

  4. Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University, 620 Farm Lane, 118D Erickson Hall, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Heejoo Suh

  5. Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Hanna Figueras

  6. Ollikantie 16 A 12, 33960, Pirkkala, Finland

    Hanna Figueras

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  1. Beth A. Herbel-Eisenmann
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Correspondence to Beth A. Herbel-Eisenmann.

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Herbel-Eisenmann, B.A., Wagner, D., Johnson, K.R. et al. Positioning in mathematics education: revelations on an imported theory. Educ Stud Math 89, 185–204 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-014-9588-5

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