Political Conocimiento in Teaching Mathematics: mathematics teacher candidates enacting their ethical identities

Abstract

The sanctioned language around “mathematics teacher knowledge” in the US centers pedagogy, content (mathematical knowledge), and students. Yet, this teacher learning approach often promotes (explicitly or implicitly) teaching and learning of mathematics that operationalizes mathematics as rigid, as a gatekeeper, and only useful for global competition in STEM-related fields. These tacit capitalist goals result in teachers being expected to convey “clear and useful” mathematical information to students, not question why mathematics is being taught, who benefits, and/or how to intervene if the learning environment is harmful for students who are Black, Indigenous, students of Color, multilingual, dis/abled, queer, nonbinary, and/or of immigrant backgrounds. In this article, we build upon a form of relational knowing that intertwines mathematics, pedagogies, students, and politics called Political Conocimiento in Teaching Mathematics. Focusing on political knowledge brings the margins to the center by recognizing political issues cannot be separated from other dimensions or added on, as if politics are not already present in mathematics teaching and learning. As three women of Color, we present empirical results from three teacher education programs in the USA with teacher candidates (n = 55) who range in intersectional identities. Using scenario-based activities that support their development of political knowledge, we apply the lens of “The Mirror Test” to highlight how teacher candidates’ intersectional identities influenced the ethical identities they enacted. Some candidates focused more on “accountability” while others focused on “performativity.” We offer implications for future research on ethical identities in mathematics education with teachers and teacher candidates of various intersectional identities.