Repositioning Black Girls in Mathematics Disposition Research: New Perspectives from QuantCrit

Abstract

ABSTRACT Young Black women face dual marginality in the classroom due to longstanding racial and gender stereotypes. However, critical examinations of their academic dispositions remain relatively absent from current discourse on Black student achievement. The mathematics dispositions of Black girls (N = 1707) who completed the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009/2012 (HSLS:09/12) were analyzed through cluster analysis. The results of this study suggest that the mathematics dispositions of young Black women can be characterized in four distinct categories. Within these categories, several trends that carry direct implications for the preparation and motivation of young Black women in mathematics are provided.