National Science Foundation gave Alabama A&M $343,789 grant to study ‘systemic racism’ in math education

The National Science Foundation gave Alabama A&M University a $343,789 grant in 2023 to study systemic racism in mathematics teacher education.

According to usaspending.gov, the National Science Foundation, a federal agency, gave the grant to Alabama A&M in October 2023. The study ends in September 2028.

According to a description of the study, ”This project will make significant contributions to racial equity in STEM by identifying and describing forms of systemic racism inherent in mathematics teacher education programs (MTEPS).” 

“Racialized mathematics teaching practices are systemic in elementary mathematics classrooms, and the impacts of systemic inequities in K-12 mathematics education both deter students from diverse backgrounds from becoming interested in math, reducing their likelihood of engaging in STEM; and affect students’ identities by devaluing or erasing their diverse cultural backgrounds and perspectives. Since teachers are the key to ensuring racial equity in classrooms, identifying racialized mathematics experiences must begin with mathematics teacher education programs,” the grant description states. “In this innovative study, a project team comprised of mathematics teacher educators of color (MTECS) will collaborate with 12-15 preservice teachers of color (PTOCS), in authentic partnership, from three unique MTEPS (at an HBCU, an HSI, and a PWI) to form a cross-site critical mathematics professional learning community (CMPLC). By documenting PTOCS racialized mathematics experiences across three sites, The project will: (1) Gather fundamental knowledge on the racialized mathematical learning and teaching experiences of PTOCS, (2) Build knowledge of racialized mathematics experiences and their overall impact on the preparation of PTOCS, and (3) Inform teacher education programs across content and contexts.”

The grant description continues, “By attaining a deeper understanding of PTOCS mathematics learning experiences, we advance racial equity by exposing racist teaching practices that disadvantage historically marginalized students and identifying changes in teacher education that will identify and address practices that obstruct racial equity in STEM.”

Don’t miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.