RUME 28
2026
Alexandria, Virginia
If (Critical) Love is an Answer, What is the (Research) Question?
Page: 806
Research in math education calls upon “love” more and more, but rarely with careful theoretical development. Hence we offer a theory of “critical love” here, drawing upon pedagogy scholarship, activist writing, and queer theory. Critical love calls us beyond a superficiality of knowing in our minds to a deeper knowing in our beings and actions. We elucidate the theory by identifying its essential components, organized along four horizontal frames: change, power, connection, and practice. We conclude with implications of critical love as an orientation in mathematics classrooms, teacher professional development, and pedagogy research.