Students’ resistance to learning mathematics through investigations
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21345710 |
|---|---|
| Authors | James Calleja (0000-0003-3936-6360, University of Malta, corresponding author), Michael A Buhagiar (0000-0001-8291-9528, University of Malta) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 123-146 |
| Publication date | 2022-01-02 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Curriculum Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-0272 • E-ISSN: 1366-5839 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00220272.2021.1981457 |
| OpenAlex | W3202796130 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 53 |
This paper explores students’ resistance when they were expected by their teacher to start learning mathematics through investigations, a pedagogy that emphasizes an active and agentic approach to learning in contrast to the traditional transmission-based teaching to which they were accustomed. This resistance is investigated from the perspectives of six 14-year-old girls, in a Year 10 top set all-female class of 19 students, who continued to resist this pedagogical change throughout the scholastic year. Desiring to gain insights on the implementation of mathematical investigations with this class, the teacher decided at the start of the scholastic year to draw on qualitative case study methodology and to collect data from multiple sources. The phenomenon of student resistance was consequently explored using data from: (i) the teacher’s reflective journal; and (ii) students’ learning journals and interviews. Thematic analysis of the data suggests that students could continue resisting a new pedagogical approach should they perceive it to be in conflict with their expectations, feelings and aspirations. Suggestions follow on how pedagogies that run counter to students’ encultured ways of learning, such as investigations in this study, can be introduced in class in ways that are less likely to be resisted by students
Class (philosophy) · Feeling · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Qualitative research · Resistance (ecology) · Set (abstract data type) · Social science · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Computer Science · Mathematics Education and Teaching Techniques · Psychology · Reflective Practices in Education · Social Psychology · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
Communities of Practice
Radical Constructivism
Orchestrating Productive Mathematical Discussions
The reflective practitioner
Patterns of resistance in managing assessment change
A beautiful myth? The gendering of being/doing ‘good at maths’
From Student Engagement to Student Agency
Factors that foster and deter advanced teachers’ professional development
Activist Research and Student Agency in Universities and Urban Communities
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Qualitative inquiry and research design
Mathematical Investigations for Supporting Pre-service Primary Teachers Repeating a Mathematics Education Course
On Qualitative Differences in Learning
Multiple methods in qualitative research with children
What Is Agency
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |