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Gendered Positions and Participation in Whole Class Discussions in the Mathematics Classroom

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Book cover Inside the Mathematics Class

Part of the book series: Advances in Mathematics Education ((AME))

Abstract

This chapter examines how gendered and classed positions are co-constructed and accessed through participation in whole class discussions in the primary mathematics classroom. Using Holland and Bourdieu, we highlight how forms of participation mark out gendered and classed positions in education and how this is mediated through the exchange of capital which takes place locally in whole class discussions. We present evidence regarding the experiences of two girls, Sian and Erica, who appear to take up/enact the contrasting positions of ‘domestique’ and ‘in need of help’, which we argue, are mediated by their perceived ability and gender. Our aim is to highlight the concept of ‘position’ as a means to understand how local participation (classroom level) is structurally mediated by the educational field – thus giving more or less access to the symbolic capital that success in mathematics affords.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, Education and Development, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Laura Black

  2. Center for Mathematics Modeling, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Darinka Radovic

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  1. Laura Black
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  2. Darinka Radovic
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Correspondence to Laura Black .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Uwe Gellert

  2. Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Christine Knipping

  3. Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Hauke Straehler-Pohl

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Black, L., Radovic, D. (2018). Gendered Positions and Participation in Whole Class Discussions in the Mathematics Classroom. In: Gellert, U., Knipping, C., Straehler-Pohl, H. (eds) Inside the Mathematics Class. Advances in Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-79045-9_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-79045-9_13

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-79045-9

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