PROCEEDINGS OF THE 18TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2015
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Conceptualizing equity in undergraduate mathematics education: Lessons from K-12 research
Page: 60
Research on equity in mathematics education has been one of the primary foci among K-12 researchers. However, in research on undergraduate mathematics education, equity research has yet to establish and maintain the presence and consistency that aligns with issues of inequity related to fairness, access and opportunity. In K-12 research, the focus has shifted from individual context to socio-cultural context and now to understanding the social and political aspects of power and identity in mathematics education research. In RUME, the use of theories related to socio-cultural contexts has been increasing but there has not been a major shift in the focus of the research toward addressing issues of equity. In this paper, Gutiérrez’ (2009) four dimensions of equity: access, achievement, power and identity are used as a conceptual framework to interpret insights from K-12 equity research and apply them to existing studies in RUME. The report ends with open questions and directions for equity research at the postsecondary level.