“So I don’t have to switch up who I am”: Experiences and perspectives of Black Language-speaking mathematics teachers on teaching that supports Black linguistic justice

Abstract

Black students are marginalized in mathematics education in the USA, including through their language. However, there is little research on how mathematics teachers can best serve Black Language (BL) speakers. Because BL is a significant sensemaking resource for Black students in mathematics, we investigate how BL-speaking mathematics teachers use their language to support BL-speaking students. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with ten BL-speaking mathematics teachers, we find through thematic analysis that these teachers use BL in three primary ways: (1) as access; (2) as community; and (3) as liberation. These findings provide important implications for teachers of Black students, including that teachers must familiarize themselves with BL, use language to connect with students, make space for BL in the mathematics classroom, and disrupt the marginalization that happens through language.