Making Change With Mathematics: Youth Conceptions of the Role of Mathematics in Citizenship

dc.contributor.advisorJanine Remillard
dc.contributor.authorLim, Vivian Yuheun
dc.contributor.authorLim, Vivian Yuheun
dc.date2023-05-17T16:10:59.000
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-22T16:49:11Z
dc.date.available2016-07-20T00:00:00Z
dc.date.copyright2016-11-29T00:00:00-08:00
dc.date.issued2016-01-01
dc.date.submitted2016-11-29T13:00:08-08:00
dc.description.abstractThis study analyzes the relationship between youths’ conceptions of citizenship and their conceptions of mathematics in order to understand the role that mathematics can play in the development of youth as citizens. The study also explored the possibilities and challenges of a social justice mathematics approach in the development of youth as citizens. Individual interviews were conducted with a total of 38 students from two research settings: a middle-school mathematics class in a public school in a low-income neighborhood serving primarily Black youth, and a mathematics class at an alternative educational program for out-of-school youth obtaining their GED serving primarily a low-income Latino population. An analysis of students’ conceptions of citizenship using Westheimer and Kahne (2004)’s framework highlighted the prevalence of personally responsible conceptions of citizenship across both settings. Having students discuss issues in their communities prompted students to also suggest participatory actions, and engaging in discussions about issues of injustice specifically yielded justice-oriented responses. Personally responsible responses and even participatory responses were often coupled with a sense of powerlessness, as they focused on addressing symptoms of issues by changing or controlling individuals’ behaviors. Students’ conceptions of mathematics also reflected personally responsible conceptions of citizenship. Examining students’ conceptions of mathematics revealed that students have a limited perspective of the role of mathematics in the world, such as in applications involving money, daily tasks, and careers. Students from both settings, but especially those from the alternative education program, also expressed that the mathematics they learn in school primarily serves a credentialing role. Mathematics for social justice offers a promising means to empower youth as justice-oriented citizens by showing them how mathematics can play a key role in learning about and making change in the world. In their reflections about mathematics for social justice lessons, students expressed that mathematics validated their experiences and provided powerful evidence to use in pressing authorities to listen to their issues.
dc.description.degreeDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)
dc.format.extent237 p.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/28701
dc.languageen
dc.legacy.articleid3632
dc.legacy.fulltexturlhttps://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3632&context=edissertations&unstamped=1
dc.provenanceReceived from ProQuest
dc.rightsVivian Yuheun Lim
dc.source.issue1846
dc.source.journalPublicly Accessible Penn Dissertations
dc.source.statuspublished
dc.subject.otherCitizenship
dc.subject.otherConceptions of mathematics
dc.subject.otherEquity
dc.subject.otherMathematics for social justice
dc.subject.otherEducation
dc.subject.otherScience and Mathematics Education
dc.titleMaking Change With Mathematics: Youth Conceptions of the Role of Mathematics in Citizenship
dc.typeDissertation/Thesis
digcom.contributor.authorisAuthorOfPublication|email:viv.lim@gmail.com|institution:University of Pennsylvania|Lim, Vivian Yuheun
digcom.date.embargo2016-07-20T00:00:00-07:00
digcom.identifieredissertations/1846
digcom.identifier.contextkey9424688
digcom.identifier.submissionpathedissertations/1846
digcom.typedissertation
dspace.entity.typePublication
relation.isAuthorOfPublication30b52342-c7bb-4f61-a367-6ea22fa6274b
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery30b52342-c7bb-4f61-a367-6ea22fa6274b
upenn.graduate.groupEducation
upenn.schoolDepartmentCenterGraduate School of Education Dissertations
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