Revitalizing Math Education: An Instructional Approach to Addressing Socioeconomic Disparities in Grades 9 and 10 Classrooms

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2024-02

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Abstract

The spring of 2020 has been historically marked by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing a substantially unique change to education by a rapid shift to remote learning. Simultaneously, several families across Ontario became impacted by financial insecurity, creating income inequalities that have continued to impact many. This qualitative study aims to explore the socioeconomic inequalities in the post-pandemic Grades 9 and 10 mathematics classrooms and their impacts on students' learner identities within mathematics education. Data was collected via two semi-structured interviews with mathematics educators from Grades 9 and 10 public secondary schools in the Greater Toronto Area. The findings suggest that educators have noticed prominent changes in the post-pandemic classroom regarding socioeconomic disparities in mathematics academic achievement and their impacts on student engagement and continued motivation within the subject, even considering the 2020 changes to the upper-intermediate curricula. Educators suggest instructional strategies to mitigate the achievement gap and create an equitable mathematics classroom to elevate student learning. Implications for education stakeholders are discussed, facilitating essential suggestions for future research to rectify the socioeconomic mathematics achievement gap in secondary classrooms.

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Mathematics, Socioeconomic status (SES), Curriculum, De-streamed, Learner Identity

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Creative Commons

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