Examining Marginalizing Acts of Social Positioning in Mathematical Group Work: Towards a Better Understanding of how Microaggressions and Stereotype Threat Unfold in Intergroup Interactions

Mathematics learning is documented as being racialized and gendered. Power dynamics between students from various social groups can become particularly problematic during collaborative group work when students from dominant social groups position group members from stereotyped social groups in ways that hinder their opportunities to learn. The present study seeks to investigate how marginalization unfolds during everyday interpersonal interactions within mathematical group work and how students from stereotyped social groups talk about these experiences. Employing an interdisciplinary theoretical framework that cuts across the fields of the learning sciences and social psychology, this qualitative study aims to further understand not only the sociohistorical stereotypes and systems of power that are entrenched within mathematics classrooms, but also how power is constructed through the ways students position one another in their moment-to-moment interactions. Drawing from six episodes of videotaped collaborative group work wherein students from stereotyped social groups are working with students from dominant social groups, the study examines the microdynamics of marginalizing acts of social positioning. Using a stimulated recall interview technique, the study also explores how six focal students from stereotyped social groups, identify, interpret, and discuss their experiences with marginalization. The findings demonstrate the verbal and non-verbal dimensions of marginalization; highlight the intersectionality of race and gender and pinpoint racialized and/or gendered patterns in social positioning; and acknowledge the different interpretations and observations of the researcher versus the focal students. The findings also demonstrate how the focal students responded to potential threats to their identity and pushed back against marginalization: While two of the focal students appeared to adopt silence as a means of resistance to marginalization; two of the other focal students verbally contested marginalizing acts of positioning; and the remaining two focal students pretended to agree and get along with group members in an attempt to maintain group cohesion. The study’s theoretical contributions include a synthesis of sociocultural theories of learning with social psychological theories that foreground race and gender. Implications for mathematics education are also raised, including suggestions for the design and implementation of collaborative group work as well as incorporating video methods into professional development initiatives.Ph.D