Families and Teachers Doing Mathematics Tasks Together: Considering Funds of Knowledge and Positioning

Author:
Maura Varley Gutiérrez University of Arizona

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Carolina Napp-Avelli University of Maryland

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Beatriz Quintos University of Maryland

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Fany Salazar University of Arizona

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Erin Turner University of Arizona

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Marta Civil University of Arizona

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Volume/Issue:
Volume 13: Issue 1
Page(s):
31–45
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5951/MTE.2023-0026
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Keywords:
Funds of Knowledge; Mathematics and Families; Positioning; Multilingual Learners

In this article, we explore the power relationships and positioning that occurred between caregivers and teachers who engaged in mathematics tasks as a part of a year-long project involving workshops. Specifically, we explore the shifts in power and positioning that occurred when the tasks were grounded in the caregivers’ funds of knowledge, in contrast to the positioning that occurred during problem-solving tasks that were not. Our analysis indicates that using funds of knowledge in mathematics has the potential to create collaborative and not hierarchical relationships between caregivers and teachers. This result has implications for the mathematics classrooms of multilingual learners.

Footnotes

This article was edited by Kate Johnson, associate editor of MTE, because of a conflict of interest with Michael Steele, editor-in-chief. Michael Steele was not involved in the review or decision process for this article.

Contributor Notes

Maura Varley Gutiérrez, Department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721; maurav@arizona.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1831-6471

Carolina Napp-Avelli, Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742; cnapp@umd.edu

Beatriz Quintos, Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742; bquintos@umd.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9548-8456

Fany Salazar, Department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721; fanysalazar@arizona.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9527-9891

Erin Turner, Department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721; eturner@arizona.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7191-7751

Marta Civil, Department of Mathematics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721; civil@math.arizona.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8842-7409

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Copyright:
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc. All rights reserved. 2024
Page Count:
15
Article Category:
Research Article
Received:
09 Aug 2023
Accepted:
23 Apr 2024
Print Publication Date:
01 Sep 2024
Online Publication Date:
Sep 2024
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