Power and identity in immigrant parents’ involvement in early years mathematics learning

Abstract

This study examined immigrant parents' involvement in early years mathematics learning, focusing on learning of multiplication in in-and out-of-school settings. Ethnographic interviews and workshops were conducted in an urban city in Japan, to examine out-of-school practices of immigrant families. Drawing from sociocultural theory of learning and the concept of appropriation (Wertsch, 1998), the role of power and identity was examined in relation to children's appropriation of an informal multiplication method that was taught by their parents. An intergenerational analysis, between immigrant parents and their children, revealed heterogeneous perspectives towards appropriation. Immigrant parents in this study framed their involvement in their children's early years mathematics learning in relation to their positional identities and the pressures to conform to the mainstream practices of their host country. During their early years of schooling, students in this study were already aware of academic tracking in the school and were aware of what was believed to be legitimate in school mathematics learning. The significance of diversifying mathematics curriculum and pedagogy was discussed to affirm the knowledge and identities of immigrant students and families.

Socioeconomic Status, Parental Involvement in Learning and Student’ Mathematics Achievement in Indonesian Senior High School

“…Fathers with higher education level also commonly invest their time to have a discussion with their children regarding what the children do and the problem they face during their day at school. This, according to Takeuchi (2018), can positively motivates students to achieve better at school. This father's indirect involvement potentially brings stronger influence toward students' mathematics achievement compared to father's direct involvement such as helping children to solve some mathematical problems (Cao et al, 2006).…”

“…Parents who want to be engaged and often discuss about the subject matters with their children commonly have the knowledge related to the material being discussed Takeuchi (2018). In addition, the frequency of discussion about subject matters other matters between the parents and the children indicates the harmonious communication within the family.…”

Investigating Parental Influences on Sixth Graders’ Mathematical Identity in Greece: A Case Study

“…More specifically, the students' family crucially affects their interaction with school mathematics, through the students' everyday homework and through the family's broader beliefs, attitudes, emotions and practices about mathematics as experienced in everyday mathematically related (implicitly or explicitly) activities. Moreover, research evidence has shown that the ways through which a person develops his or her 2 / 18 http://www.iejme.com mathematical competence in different social practices (for example, in school or in family daily life) are usually characterized by discontinuity and the students' school mathematical practice does not imply their performing in out of school relevant practices, especially for groups not belonging to the dominant social group, such as immigrant groups (Abreu, Gorgorio, & Boistrup, 2018;Takeuchi, 2018). On the other hand, some researchers have mentioned that such discontinuities should not be viewed as obstacles, but as a variety of practices that the students can negotiate in participating in classroom activities (Hodge & Cobb, 2018).…”

Inclusion in mathematics education: an ideology, a way of teaching, or both?

“…This because of the vocabulary used in the specific research paradigm. For instance, research has been conducted within the field of bilingualism and mathematics (e.g., Domínguez, 2011;Planas, 2014;Takeuchi, 2018) and even though the notion of inclusion is not used, the studies aim to create opportunities to include bilingual students. Another example is research with low-achieving students (Ben-David Kolikant & Broza, 2011) with the aim of promoting learning.…”