Analysing the relationships between students and mathematics: a tale of two paradigms

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Author(s)
Jorgensen, Robyn
Larkin, Kevin
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2017
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Show full item recordAbstract
In this article, we argue the need to use inter-disciplinary paradigms to make
sense of a range of findings from a research project. We developed a methodology
using iPad diaries to uncover young students’ thinking—mathematical, social and
affective—so as to better understand their experiences of mathematics. These students,
predominantly from year 3 to year 6, were drawn from economically and socially
distinct schools in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. This article builds on
previous research, where we outlined the unique methodology that we developed over
three iterations to collect student attitudinal comments ...
View more >In this article, we argue the need to use inter-disciplinary paradigms to make sense of a range of findings from a research project. We developed a methodology using iPad diaries to uncover young students’ thinking—mathematical, social and affective—so as to better understand their experiences of mathematics. These students, predominantly from year 3 to year 6, were drawn from economically and socially distinct schools in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. This article builds on previous research, where we outlined the unique methodology that we developed over three iterations to collect student attitudinal comments regarding mathematics. The comments we collected gave significant insights into the experiences of, and possibilities for, the mathematics education of young learners. Here, we use these findings to explore the value of two paradigms to explain student experiences towards mathematics among primary school students from different social backgrounds. In so doing, we develop an explanatory model for the socially differentiated outcomes in students’ responses and then use this explanatory model to analyse student responses from the two most socially disparate schools in our research.
View less >
View more >In this article, we argue the need to use inter-disciplinary paradigms to make sense of a range of findings from a research project. We developed a methodology using iPad diaries to uncover young students’ thinking—mathematical, social and affective—so as to better understand their experiences of mathematics. These students, predominantly from year 3 to year 6, were drawn from economically and socially distinct schools in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. This article builds on previous research, where we outlined the unique methodology that we developed over three iterations to collect student attitudinal comments regarding mathematics. The comments we collected gave significant insights into the experiences of, and possibilities for, the mathematics education of young learners. Here, we use these findings to explore the value of two paradigms to explain student experiences towards mathematics among primary school students from different social backgrounds. In so doing, we develop an explanatory model for the socially differentiated outcomes in students’ responses and then use this explanatory model to analyse student responses from the two most socially disparate schools in our research.
View less >
Journal Title
Mathematics Education Research Journal
Volume
29
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2017 Springer Netherlands. This is an electronic version of an article published in Mathematics Education Research Journal (MERJ), Volume 29, Issue 1, pp 113–130, 2017. Mathematics Education Research Journal (MERJ) is available online at: http://link.springer.com/ with the open URL of your article.
Subject
Curriculum and pedagogy
Curriculum and pedagogy not elsewhere classified