Abstract
This paper presents findings from a comparative analysis of three similar secondary geometry texts, one critical unit, one standards-based reform unit, and one specialist chapter. I developed the critical unit as I took the tenets of critical mathematics (CM) and substantiated them in printed curricular materials in which to teach as part of a larger study. The reform and specialist texts were both sections from commercially available textbooks. The primary goal of the textual analysis was to examine how the incorporation of critical or political themes into the required secondary mathematics curriculum transformed this curriculum. Key findings were that the CM text exchanged political for mathematical content and sent class-based messages about students’ academic potential. I conclude by arguing that the CM agenda proposed by advocates in the USA is problematic in terms of promoting equity in mathematics education.
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Notes
A complete copy of the CM text is provided in the dissertation of Brantlinger (2007) available by request to the author.
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This article is a revision of work presented in my 2007 dissertation co-chaired by Professors Carol D. Lee and Miriam G. Sherin at Northwestern University. Jim Spillane and Eric Gutstein were the third and fourth members of the committee. Arthur B. Powell at Rutgers University at Newark, Dan Chazan at the University of Maryland, and Laurel Cooley of Brooklyn College provided helpful feedback on drafts. I am also indebted to three anonymous reviewers and the editor of Educational Studies in Mathematics for their feedback.
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Brantlinger, A. Rethinking critical mathematics: a comparative analysis of critical, reform, and traditional geometry instructional texts. Educ Stud Math 78, 395–411 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-011-9331-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-011-9331-4