Amplifying Latinx Voice through Interview Study: Highlighting Mathematics Identity as a Pathway to Student Self-Empowerment and Academic Agency

Nationally, the percentage of high school students taking higher-level mathematics courses (beyond Algebra 2) has increased from the late 20th century to the present. However, as compared to White high school students enrolled in advanced math classes, the rate is lower among students of color, specifically students who identify as Latinx, African American, or Native American. My school district (a suburban district in the Northwestern United States) is working to address this problem by implementing several district-wide initiatives that focus on increasing students\u27 engagement in mathematics, which focuses teacher pedagogy on leveraging mathematics communities to support collaborative mathematics dialogue. The problem addressed in this study is whether these district-led initiatives are successfully supporting student mathematics identity, self-empowerment, and academic agency in ways that are culturally sustaining. The purpose of this interview study is to amplify the voices of several Latinx high school students identified by their mathematics teachers as being strong mathematics learners. The students can give essential insight into how the initiatives have supported their mathematics identity, self-empowerment, and academic agency, as well as detail what teaching strategies need to be enhanced to further support student mathematics learning. These students\u27 voices are critical to the school district as we can learn from these students\u27 mathematics experiences to holistically improve mathematics pedagogy