Representations of Mathematicians in Lower Secondary Mathematics Textbooks

Apolo Castaneda; Mario Sánchez Aguilar; Ana Luisa Gómez-Blancarte; Avenilde Romo-Vázquez; Javier Lezama-Andalón; Isaías Miranda-Viramontes

doi:10.29333/ejmste/106056

Apolo Castaneda ¹ ^* , Mario Sánchez Aguilar ², Ana Luisa Gómez-Blancarte ², Avenilde Romo-Vázquez ², Javier Lezama-Andalón ², Isaías Miranda-Viramontes ²

More Detail

¹ Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politecnico Nacional, MEXICO² Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CICATA Legaria, MEXICO^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

We report on a study focused on identifying and describing the representations of mathematicians contained in Mexican textbooks of lower secondary level. We considered representations not only in the text but also in drawings, photographs, and illustrations in general. The term mathematician was understood in a broad sense: any person (or group of people) that in the textbook either (1) was explicitly referred to as a mathematician, (2) was credited with the development of a mathematical concept or tool, or (3) was displayed performing some sort of mathematical activity (such as counting, modelling, etc.). The results show that the representations that most frequently appear in the textbooks are white male mathematicians (mainly Europeans), who lived in ancient times; the representations of female mathematicians are almost nil. At the end of the paper the implications of these results are discussed, and some directions for future research are suggested.

Keywords

images of mathematicians
lower secondary education
mathematics textbooks
representations of mathematicians

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2019, Volume 15, Issue 7, Article No: em1716

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/106056

Publication date: 29 Mar 2019

Article Views: 2038

Article Downloads: 1076

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Aguilar, M. S., Rosas, A., Zavaleta, J. G. M., & Romo-Vázquez, A. (2016). Exploring high-achieving students’ images of mathematicians. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 14(3), 527–548. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-014-9586-1.
Aiken, L. R (1970). Attitudes toward mathematics. Review of Educational Research, 40(4), 551–596. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543040004551.
Beswick, K. (2012). Teachers’ beliefs about school mathematics and mathematicians’ mathematics and their relationship to practice. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 79(1), 127–147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-011-9333-2.
Brooks, K. M. (2008). A content analysis of physical science textbooks with regard to the nature of science and ethnic diversity. Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (UMI Number: 3309542).
Ceglie, R., & Olivares, V. (2012). Representation of diversity in science textbooks. In H. Hickman & B.J. Porfilio (Eds.), The New Politics of the Textbook. Problematizing the Portrayal of Marginalized Groups in Textbooks (pp. 49–68). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-912-1_4.
Chambers, D. W. (1983). Stereotypic images of the scientist: The draw-a-scientist test. Science Education, 67(2), 255–265. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.3730670213.
De Gómezgil, M. L. R. S. (1975). Mexican adolescents’ image of the scientist. Social Studies of Science, 5(3), 355–361. https://doi.org/10.1177/030631277500500306.
Dowling, P. (1998). The Sociology of Mathematics Education: Mathematical Myths/Pedagogic Texts. London: The Falmer Press.
Evans, J., Tsatsaroni, A. & Czarnecka, B. (2014). Mathematical images in advertising: Constructing difference and shaping identity, in global consumer culture. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 85(1), 3–27. doi: 10.1007/s10649-013-9496-0.
Fan, L., Trouche, L., Qi, C., Rezat, S., & Visnovska, J. (Eds.). (2018). Research on Mathematics Textbooks and Teachers’ Resources. Advances and Issues. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73253-4.
Finson, K. D. (2002). Drawing a scientist: What we do and do not know after fifty years of drawings. School Science and Mathematics, 102(7), 335–345. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1949-8594.2002.tb18217.x.
Furinghetti, F. (1993). Images of mathematics outside the community of mathematicians: Evidence and explanations. For the Learning of Mathematics, 13(2), 33–38.
Goldin, G. A. (2014). Mathematical representations. In Lerman, S. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Mathematics Education (pp. 409–413). The Netherlands: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4978-8_103.
Howson, A. G., Kahane, J.-P. & Pollak, H. (1988). The popularization of mathematics. L’Enseignement Mathématique, 34, 205–212. https://doi.org/10.5169/seals-56594.
Jankvist, U. T. (2009). A categorization of the “whys” and “hows” of using history in mathematics education. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 71(3), 235–261. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-008-9174-9.
Kim, R. Y. (2012). The quality of non-textual elements in mathematics textbooks: An exploratory comparison between South Korea and the United States. ZDM – The International Journal on Mathematics Education, 44(2), 175–187. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-012-0399-9.
Levin, J. R., & Mayer, R. E. (1993). Understanding illustrations in text. In B. K. Britton, A. Woodward, & M. R. Binkley (Eds.), Learning from textbooks: Theory and Practice (pp. 95–111). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Liu, X., & Qi, C. (2014). A comparative study of illustrations in the old and new middle school mathematics textbooks in China. In K. Jones, C. Bokhove, G. Howson & L. Fan (Eds), Proceedings of the International Conference on Mathematics Textbook Research and Development (ICMT- 2014) (pp. 563–568). UK: The University of Southampton.
Mandl, H., & Levin. J. R. (Eds.). (1989). Knowledge Acquisition from Text and Pictures. North-Holland: Elsevier.
Martin, L., & Gourley-Delaney, P. (2014). Students’ images of mathematics. Instructional Science, 42(4), 595–614. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-013-9293-2.
McComas, W. F., Almazroa, H., & Clough, M. P. (1998). The nature of science in science education: An introduction. Science & Education, 7(6), 511–532. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008642510402.
Mead, M., & Métraux, R. (1957). Image of the scientist among high-school students. Science, 126(3270), 384–390. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.126.3270.384.
Medina-Jerez, W., Middleton, K.V. & Orihuela-Rabaza, W. (2011). Using the DAST-C to explore Colombian and Bolivian students’ images of scientists. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 9(3), 657–690. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-010-9218-3.
Mendick, H. (2005). Mathematical stories: Why do more boys than girls choose to study mathematics at AS-level in England? British Journal of Sociology of Education, 26(2), 225–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142569042000294192.
Mendick, H. (2007). Mathematical images and identities: Education, entertainment, social justice. Full research report ESRC end of award report [RES-000-23-1454]. Swindon: ESRC. Retrieved from http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/190670.pdf.
Mendick, H., Moreau, M.-P., & Hollingworth, S. (2008). Mathematical images and gender identities. A report on the gendering of representations of mathematics and mathematicians in popular culture and their in influences on learners. UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology: Bradford, UK.
Ministry of Education of Mexico (2014). Libros de texto gratuitos, ciclo escolar 2015-2016, Catálogo [Free textbooks, school year 2015-2016, Catalogue]. Mexico: Secretaría de Educación Pública. Retrieved from http://www.
conaliteg.gob.mx/images/stories/libros/2015-07-21_catalogo_libros_texto_gratuitos_2015.pdf.
Ministry of Education of Mexico (2010). Geografía Sexto Grado. Mexico: Secretaría de Educación Pública.
Moreau, M.-P., Mendick, H., & Epstein, D. (2010). Constructions of mathematicians in popular culture and learners’ narratives: A study of mathematical and non-mathematical subjectivities. Cambridge Journal of Education, 40(1), 25–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057640903567013.
Piatek-Jimenez, K. (2008). Images of mathematicians: A new perspective on the shortage of women in mathematical careers. ZDM – The International Journal on Mathematics Education, 40(4), 633–646. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-008-0126-8.
Picker, S. H., & Berry, J. S. (2000). Investigating pupils’ images of mathematicians. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 43(1), 65–94. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017523230758.
Pienta, R. S., & Smith, A. M. (2012). Women on the margins. The politics of gender in the language and content of science textbooks. In H. Hickman & B.J. Porfilio (Eds.), The New Politics of the Textbook. Problematizing the Portrayal of Marginalized Groups in Textbooks (pp. 33–47). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-912-1_3.
Rensaa, R. J. (2006). The image of a mathematician. Philosophy of Mathematics Education Journal, 19, 1–18.
Rock, D., & Shaw, J. M. (2000). Exploring children’s thinking about mathematicians and their work. Teaching Children Mathematics, 6(9), 550–555.
She, H.-C. (1995). Elementary and middle school students’ image of science and scientists related to current science textbooks in Taiwan. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 4(4), 283–294. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02211260.
van Eijck, M., & Roth, W.-M. (2008). Representations of scientists in Canadian high school and college textbooks. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 45(9), 1059–1082. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20259.
van Eijck, M. & Roth, W.-M. (2013). The heroes of science. In M. van Eijck & W.-M. Roth (Eds.), Imagination of Science in Education. From Epics to Novelization (pp. 3–25). Dordrecht: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5392-1_1.
Willows. D. M., & Houghton. H. A. (Eds.). (1987). The Psychology of Illustration. Volume 1 Basic Research. New York: Springer.
Wilson, J. L., & Latterell, C. M. (2001). Nerds? or nuts? Pop culture portrayals of mathematicians. ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 58(2), 172–178.
Yacoubian, H. A., Al- Khatib, L., & Mardirossian, T. (2017). Analysis of the image of scientists portrayed in the Lebanese national science textbooks. Science & Education 26(5), 513–528. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-017-9908-0.

How to cite this article

APA

Castaneda, A., Aguilar, M. S., Gómez-Blancarte, A. L., Romo-Vázquez, A., Lezama-Andalón, J., & Miranda-Viramontes, I. (2019). Representations of Mathematicians in Lower Secondary Mathematics Textbooks. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 15(7), em1716. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/106056

Vancouver

Castaneda A, Aguilar MS, Gómez-Blancarte AL, Romo-Vázquez A, Lezama-Andalón J, Miranda-Viramontes I. Representations of Mathematicians in Lower Secondary Mathematics Textbooks. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2019;15(7):em1716. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/106056

AMA

Castaneda A, Aguilar MS, Gómez-Blancarte AL, Romo-Vázquez A, Lezama-Andalón J, Miranda-Viramontes I. Representations of Mathematicians in Lower Secondary Mathematics Textbooks. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2019;15(7), em1716. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/106056

Chicago

Castaneda, Apolo, Mario Sánchez Aguilar, Ana Luisa Gómez-Blancarte, Avenilde Romo-Vázquez, Javier Lezama-Andalón, and Isaías Miranda-Viramontes. "Representations of Mathematicians in Lower Secondary Mathematics Textbooks". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2019 15 no. 7 (2019): em1716. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/106056

Harvard

Castaneda, A., Aguilar, M. S., Gómez-Blancarte, A. L., Romo-Vázquez, A., Lezama-Andalón, J., and Miranda-Viramontes, I. (2019). Representations of Mathematicians in Lower Secondary Mathematics Textbooks. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 15(7), em1716. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/106056

MLA

Castaneda, Apolo et al. "Representations of Mathematicians in Lower Secondary Mathematics Textbooks". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 15, no. 7, 2019, em1716. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/106056