Curricular redesign and equitable mathematics education: A case study of one mathematics department's efforts.

摘要

I conducted a case study of one high school mathematics department's efforts to redesign its curricula for targeted courses in response to high failure rates of students in lower level mathematics classes. Utilizing field notes from observations of classes and department meetings; a focus survey administered to the teachers, interviews with teachers, students, the principal, and a guidance counselor; and school documents, I examined the teachers' beliefs about the nature of mathematics, the teachers' expectations of their students, and how their beliefs and expectations influenced the department's curricular redesign efforts. I also examined how the redesigned curricula influenced students' access to advanced mathematics courses.; The department which could be characterized as an environment open to change with teachers who invested a great deal of time to execute the changes, implemented four major curricular redesign efforts. I identified impetuses, aids, and challenges to the department's curricular redesign efforts. The efforts were influenced by the teachers' static and sequential view of mathematics and the teachers' low and bounded expectations of the students in the targeted courses. Two of the efforts increased students' likelihood to take a geometry course. However, the policies related to the sequencing of courses restricted students' access to courses beyond geometry. Other policies that restricted students' access to advanced mathematics course were also identified.