Quantitative civic literacies: “Let’s talk about election 2020” and youth use of numbers in digital civic media

Abstract

Amid global turmoil, the mathematical demands of civic life and the civic demands of mathematics education are greater than ever. International goals of mathematics education include preparation for civic life. Curricula focused on receptive analytic activities, however, positions youth as underdeveloped civic actors needing preparation for responsible future participation rather than treating them as civic actors today. To better understand how youth use mathematics in their civic participation today, we conceptualize quantitative civic literacies as the practices of reinscribing quantitative information into civic participation. We investigate quantitative civic literacies in youth digital civic media about racial justice, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the climate crisis, drawing data from a US-based, public radio-hosted, digital media platform called Let’s Talk about Election 2020. Findings identified six quantitative civic literacies engaged by youth; youth used quantitative forms including counts and locations, relationship and change, and uncertainty in making civic arguments to (1) communicate the magnitude of an issue, (2) situate an issue in space or time, (3) reason about causation or propose a theory of change, (4) provide specificity through narrative detail, (5) make claims about identity, and (6) reveal injustice. Beyond providing logical argumentation and legitimacy, numbers were used by youth to activate empathy and mobilize ethical calls in attempts to move others to action. With these insights, we provide inroads for a mathematics education for civic life that builds on a more expansive understanding of the rhetorical potential of numbers and of youth as civic actors to nurture youth quantitative civic literacies.