RUME 27
2025
Alexandria, Virginia
Underrepresented Students’ Legitimization as Peripheral Participants in the Mathematics Research Community of Practice
Page: 1314
This paper presents preliminary findings on underrepresented students’ experiences as they navigate the mathematics research community. Three undergraduate mathematics majors from underrepresented groups were interviewed regarding their experiences at their home institution, research experiences for undergraduates, and an undergraduate mathematics conference. Using communities of practice as a theoretical framework, we explore these students’ status as legitimate peripheral participants in the mathematics research community of practice. Analysis led to bridging the communities of practice framework with Gutierrez’s (2009) four dimension of equity. In this paper, we focus on the ways in which students’ real or perceived legitimacy were impacted by identity and power. In particular, students experienced de-legitimization via the power of the dominant group and via less peripheral members.