Towards a model of social justice in mathematics education and its application to critique of international collaborations

Concerns about social justice issues in mathematics education have a long history stemming from research on gender to issues related to ethnicity and social class. However, almost non-existent in this literature is a theoretical engagement with the concept of social justice itself. This paper further develops a model of social justice elaborated in previous presentations based on writings of feminist theoreticians. It posits social justice as a multidimensional and transcategorical construct. Further, it applies the model to a discussion of social justice in international collaborations in the discipline. Issues and concerns related to social justice are not new in mathematics education. For more than fifty years now numerous researchers around the world have identified factors that may be related to the opportunity to study and achieve in mathematics. Perhaps, historically, gender was the first such identified factor. More recent publications deal with issues of ethnicity and multiculturalism and, perhaps to a lesser extent, socioeconomic factors (Atweh, Forgasz & Nebres, 2001). Much of that research and critique has led to policy changes and changes in practice that have seen the performance of members of certain groups traditionally excluded from mathematics education increasing thei