Smart Girls,Black Girls,Mean Girls,and Bullies: At the Intersection of Identities and the Mediating Role of Young Girls' Social Network in Mathematical Communities of Practice
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online January, 2014
Smart Girls,Black Girls,Mean Girls,and Bullies: At the Intersection of Identities and the Mediating Role of Young Girls' Social Network in Mathematical Communities of Practice
By taking an intersectional and emic view to studying a group of African American girls in a third-grade class, we attempt to capture the complexity of mathematics learning for these girls. Traditionally, children's social networks in school are framed as external to students' mathematics content learning. Our preliminary analyses of student interviews and classroom interactions reveal that social networks are instrumental in shaping learning opportunities and the development of academic, mathematical, and racial identities of girls in this third-grade class. To conclude, we use this study to discuss our view of researching African American girls in learning contexts.
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