There is a significant body of research in mathematics education suggesting that historically excluded learners (Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and poor) experience devaluation, inequities, exclusion, and violence (Berry, 2008; Gutiérrez, 2002; Gutstein, 2003; Martin, 2015; McGee & Martin, 2011). Research, policies, and reforms in education “[have] been violent to marginalized peoples who are represented by perspectives that are neither kind to their cultural worldview nor accurate regarding their priorities” (Leonardo, 2013, p. 603). This commentary unpacks how the four articles in this special issue prioritize historically excluded learners’ cultural worldviews. Specifically, this commentary focuses on practices across the four articles that respond to historically excluded learners’ mathematical, social, and cultural needs.
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BatteyD.LeyvaL. A. (2016). A framework for understanding whiteness in mathematics education. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, 9(2), 49–80.
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BerryR. Q.III. (2008). Access to upper-level mathematics: The stories of successful African American middle school boys. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 39(5), 464−488.
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GutiérrezR. (2002). Enabling the practice of mathematics teachers in context: Toward a new equity research agenda. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 4(2–3), 145–187. doi:10.1207/S15327833MTL04023_4
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GutiérrezR. (2008). A “gap gazing” fetish in mathematics education? Problematizing research on the achievement gap. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 39(4), 357–364.
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GutsteinE. (2003). Teaching and learning mathematics for social justice in an urban, Latino school. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 34(1), 37–73.
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LeonardoZ. (2013). The story of schooling: Critical race theory and the educational racial contract. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 34(4), 599–610.
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MartinD. B. (2007). Beyond missionaries or cannibals: Who should teach mathematics to African American children?The High School Journal, 91(1), 6–28.
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MartinD. B. (2015). The collective Black and principles to actions. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, 8(1), 17–23.
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McGeeE. O.MartinD. B. (2011). “You would not believe what I have to go through to prove my intellectual value!” Stereotype management among academically successful Black mathematics and engineering students. American Educational Research Journal, 48(6), 1347–1389. doi:10.3102/0002831211423972
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