Date of Award
Spring 5-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Kris T. De Pedro
Second Advisor
Cathery Yeh
Third Advisor
Brian R. Lawler
Abstract
This critical phenomenological study employs a disabilities studies in education and critical race theory (DisCrit) lens to unpack the learning experiences of seven dis/abled students of color in the secondary mathematics classroom. Based on data collected from individual and group interviews, the counter-stories presented in this study highlight the implicit and explicit ways that the normative forces of ableism and racism circulate in the secondary mathematics classroom. Through their education journey maps, the participants described forms of hyper-labeling, experiences of implicit and explicit biases from teachers and peers, and rigid conceptions of mathematics that constrained their success. The counter-stories are, more importantly, stories of resilience and resistance as participants successfully navigated the normalizing forces of racism and ableism in secondary mathematics education and eventually pursued learning in higher education.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Mahmood, D. (2022). “I just learn differently”: The experiences of dis/abled students of color interpreting and resisting normalizing forces in the mathematics classroom [Doctoral dissertation, Chapman University]. Chapman University Digital Commons. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000343