Mathematics learner identity and releva...

Mathematics learner identity describes the way in which students talk and think about the self in relation to mathematics. They can significantly influence students’ learning and their relationship to the subject. For teacher-centred mathematics teaching, previous studies showed that the relevance attributed to mathematics learning is a truncated and contradictory discourse, that teacher explanations monopolise possibilities of understanding, and that often few opportunities are seen to bring one’s personality into the classroom. These barriers stand in the way of participation in mathematics education for many students. Other studies, however, indicated that student-centred mathematics teaching can reduce these barriers. In the interview study reported here, students from two student-centred classes in secondary education were interviewed. One of the classes used individualised instruction. The results were evaluated along the poststructuralist concept of identity work. On the one hand, even for the student-centred classes, a truncated discourse of relevance emerged, which could, however, be broken up by appropriate follow-up questions. On the other hand, advantages for identity work in student-centred mathematics lessons were confirmed with regard to the role of teacher explanations and personal contributions.