03/31/2022
By Lizzie Casanave

The School of Education invites you to attend an Ed.D. Dissertation Defense by Nicole Hawes on “An exploration of equity-based teaching practices in White Meadow High School mathematics classes: a case study.”

Date: April 13, 2022
Time: 10 a.m.
Location: This will be a virtual dissertation defense via Zoom. Those interested in attending should contact Iman_Chahine@uml.edu to request access to the Zoom link.

Dissertation Chair: Iman Chahine, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Dissertation Committee:

  • Anita Greenwood, Ed.D., Dean Emerita, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Kori Maxwell, Ph.D., Director of Assessment, LOMA/LL Global, Atlanta, GA

Abstract: Academic achievement in mathematics between White and non-White students has been documented across the country and discussed in depth in academic research. Ladson-Billings (2006) cited the “education debt” that the nation has allowed to grow as a source for this disparity. Anderson (2017) and Battey and Levey (2016) identified the effects that “whiteness” has on students of color and cited this as one reason for the disparity in academic achievement. Boston’s Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) program was established as an opportunity for students from Boston to leave their racially imbalanced schools in the city and to seek improved learning opportunities in the wealthier suburbs. While these students may have found more success than if they attended a school in the city, they were not achieving at quite the same rate as their White peers. This study explored the prevalent equity-based mathematics teaching practices in the math classroom at the high school level from the teachers’ perspectives. It further investigated how the high school math teachers perceived factors helping or hindering equity-based mathematics teaching practices. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews guided by open ended questions that allowed for expansion of ideas and perceptions and for follow-up questions that were specific to each participant. Data was triangulated using two classroom observations of each participating teacher. Both exhaustive and structured observations were conducted and guided by an observation checklist that combined the elements of two sources. Using Saldana’s steps for coding, all interview data was subjected to an initial round of coding, categorization of these codes, a second round of coding and then the identification of seven themes that emerged from the data. These themes fell into one of three categories: teachers’ perceptions of equity, teachers’ perceptions of hinderances to ensuring equity in education and teachers’ practice aimed at addressing issues of equity within their classes.