ABSTRACT
In this reflective essay, a BlackCrit lens is used to explore new and evolving possibilities for Black teachers, families, leaders, and students in ways that highlight and honor parents' agency, expand notions of digital equity in mathematics, and preview new and re-prioritized approaches which aid liberatory mathematics, teaching, and learning spaces that resurfaced in the pandemic. Several actions reimagine the work of mathematics as building blocks for engaging the flourishing for Black communities: (1) expanding and amplifying direct networks for Black parents to share, communicate, and advocate for their own needs and spaces around mathematics; (2) making visible and amplifying our advocacy for racial justice in the content creation and representation found in current digital platforms for meeting the needs of Black communities; and the need to (3) invest in, prioritize usage of, and illuminate mathematics commercial and academic entities focused solely on creating content and centering Black (and other people's) knowledge and experiences in mathematics for Black families.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented situation that influenced all aspects of society, including education. Millions of students found themselves adjusting to a new medium of mathematics instruction, not to mention the teachers who had to provide instruction through remote sources. Considering students' diverse social, economic, and academic background, this study sought to examine teachers' perspectives on factors that support or hinder how equity is attended to in mathematics during remote instruction and the extent it differed from practices utilized when instruction was provided in a face-to-face setting. We also sought to document teachers' perspectives on how they attended to equity in mathematics to support students with language barriers. We interviewed nine teachers to explore their perspectives of factors that support or hinder equity in mathematics teaching and learning during remote instruction compared to face-to-face instruction and how they support the diverse needs (inclusive of language barriers) of students. There were salient factors in this study that supported or hindered equitable mathematics instruction, such as teachers' beliefs, expectations for students, access to resources, students' socioeconomic status, and language barriers. Hence, it is recommended that policymakers, school administrators, and teachers need to collaborate to systematically plan to ensure that all students have access to quality mathematics.