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Intersectionality as a lens for linguistic justice in mathematics learning

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Abstract

Language is a source of power that preserves the status quo in its relationships with learners and mathematics. However, there is a dearth of research that examines how multiple systems of power (e.g., racism, cisheteropatriarchy, colonialism) shape variation in structural inequality and experiences of oppression for language learners. This conceptual paper argues that intersectionality is a promising analytical lens to advance interdisciplinary research on language in mathematics education that nuances knowledge about linguistic justice for racially minoritized and Indigenous learners. To develop this argument, we present insights from a scoping review of research in language education and mathematics education. Our review shows how intersectional analyses can interrogate inequities of language in mathematics education contexts, which are entrenched in ideologies of neutrality that leave exclusionary practices of teaching and learning unchecked. The review also depicts how uptake of intersectionality extends sociopolitical research on language in mathematics education that left interplay between racism, colonialism, linguicism, and other power systems unexamined for nuanced insights on linguistic justice. Following the review, we look across three cases of research studies from our review that vary in terms of their designs and methodologies to illustrate the analytical possibilities of intersectionality in future research on language in mathematics education. We conclude with a discussion of how adopting the lens of intersectionality is necessary to advance interdisciplinary scholarship for linguistic justice.

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Notes

  1. To respect space limitations, we only cited publications throughout the paper that are representative of major themes from our review.

  2. Cisheteropatriarchy is a system of oppression at the juncture of cisheterosexism and patriarchy that marginalizes cisgender women (people assigned female at birth who identify as women) and queer people. Cisheterosexism is a system of oppression that upholds cisheteronormativity, or normativity of heterosexuality and cisgender identities.

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  1. Vanderbilt University - Peabody College of Education & Human Development, Nashville, USA

    Luis A. Leyva & Nicole M. Joseph

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  1. Luis A. Leyva
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Correspondence to Luis A. Leyva.

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Leyva, L.A., Joseph, N.M. Intersectionality as a lens for linguistic justice in mathematics learning. ZDM Mathematics Education 55, 1187–1197 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-023-01489-0

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