Current Changes in Primary Education: The issue of “different” in a primary school mathematics classroom

Ioannis Papadopoulos,Esperanza López Centella,Jana Slezáková,Darina Jirotková

doi:10.14712/23362189.2020.1668

Abstract

In the setting of the transformation of our societies to become multicultural ones, we intend in this paper to examine situations in a mathematics classroom where respect for, and exclusion of, the ‘different’ co-exist. Conducting an instrumental case study, we follow two Grade 4 groups while they are solving a mathematics generalization task. We examine how the interaction that took place between the members of the teams mirrors the two faces of the same coin (i.e. the culture of the classroom) and at the same time reflects the change in the primary classroom that necessitates openness and genuine respect for the ‘different’. On the one hand, we will demonstrate the dynamic of the harmony that was apparent between the members of one of the groups since the ‘different’ was not a barrier but a source of mathematical ideas that contributed to the solution. On the other hand, the lack of openness in the other group resulted in good opportunities for ‘doing mathematics’ being missed and put the self-confidence of one of its members at risk. Keywords: classroom diversity and conflict, multicultural mathematics classroom, collaborative problem-solving

Highlights

Globalization has resulted in the gradual transformation of our societies from monocultural to multicultural ones
We would like to shift the attention to the challenge posed for the mathematics classroom
Group A demonstrated an implicit understanding of the significance of diversity which provided them with opportunities for learning, while group B chose explicitly to exclude one of its members, allowing the emergence of a conflict that had an impact on the way the mathematical ideas of the problem were negotiated

Summary

Introduction

Globalization has resulted in the gradual transformation of our societies from monocultural to multicultural ones. This poses a challenge to, among others, the school systems in each country to understand the potential of this change for the enrichment of teaching practice (Kostelecká, Hána, & Hasman, 2017). We would like to shift the attention to the challenge posed for the mathematics classroom. Most of the research on the learning of mathematics in multicultural classrooms has highlighted language as a dominant aspect (see, for example, the work of Kaiser (2003) or the research of Møller (2001) on the problems of bilingualism).

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion