Examining the Trajectories of Black Mathematics Teachers: Lessons Learned about Race and Mathematics Teacher Education

Featuring Dr. Toya Jones Frank, Assistant Professor, George Mason University
Room 2121, Benjamin Building

Abstract: Research on race and racism with respect to Black teachers’ experiences is undertheorized in mathematics education. Martin (2000) posited that learning mathematics is a racialized experience for Black students, and I assert that Black mathematics teachers’ experiences can be similarly conceptualized. Due to social, historical, political, and cultural forces, Black mathematics teachers at particular social intersections (e.g., racial, socioeconomic, linguistic) experience teaching mathematics in ways that are unique from those in dominant communities (Clark, Johnson, & Chazan, 2009). Research on maintaining the mathematics teaching force often gives minimal attention to these forces that impede retention for Black teachers. Without a critical and racialized analysis of issues that could potentially influence the attrition of Black mathematics teachers and how they experience mathematics teaching, conversations about the Black mathematics teacher pipeline run the risk of commodifying teachers and reducing their presence to ahistorical notions of diversity for the purposes of race matching. In this presentation, I will use data from my NSF-funded mixed-methods research project Examining the Trajectories of Black Mathematics Teachersto share what my research team has learned from Black mathematics teachers about their racialized experiences and to discuss our efforts to build theory about race and racism in mathematics teacher education. Additionally, I will share how this work informs research methodology in mathematics education by integrating untapped, yet appropriate, methodologies suitable for challenging issues of recruitment, retention, and praxis of other underrepresented racial and ethnic groups across time periods and school contexts. Complementary lunch will be provided after the talk.

Bio: Toya Jones Frank is an assistant professor in the Mathematics Education Leadership (MEL) and Secondary Education and programs. Frank received a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Mathematics Education from UMD.Her research interests include issues of equity and access to advanced mathematics for underrepresented students,secondary mathematics teacherpreparation, and diversifying the STEM teacher workforce. She is the Principal Investigator of Examining the Trajectories of Black Mathematics Teachers: Learning from the Past, Drawing on the Present, Defining Goals for the Future, a 3-year research project funded by the National Science Foundation. Frank is a former high schoolmathematics teacher anddepartment chair who worked in Maryland and Florida public schools as well as a former educational consultant for clients including DC Public Schools and ACT, Inc. 
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