Visible and socially-just pedagogy: implications for mathematics teacher education

ABSTRACT

In this paper I consider the notion of ‘visible pedagogy’ in refining a conceptualization of ‘socially-just pedagogy’ in the mathematics classroom. I explore reasons why the recent focus on promoting formative assessment and metacognition, embodied in Hattie’s ‘visible learning’, has failed to bring about the fundamental shift in pedagogic approaches that was hoped for. I draw on three sociocultural theories, Brousseau’s ‘didactic contract’, Bourdieu’s theory of ‘reproduction’ and Bernstein’s theory of ‘pedagogic discourse’, to explain the continued predominance of teacher-centred pedagogies in mathematics education. I highlight concerns raised by some equity-minded researchers that a ‘socially-just pedagogy’, which incorporates collaborative, discursive, problem-solving and inquiry-oriented teaching approaches, might further disadvantage marginalized students due to its relative lack of structure. I argue for an alternative interpretation of Bernstein’s ‘visible pedagogy’ that rejects teacher-centred approaches, as a way of making the instructional and regulative discourse more explicit, in favour of a ‘socially-just pedagogy’ in which the teacher’s ‘pedagogic rationale’ is made more explicit to learners. I highlight the potential for such an approach, and exemplify what it might look like in practice, by drawing on my extensive experience as a teacher educator in analysing a vignette of typical classroom practice from sociocultural perspectives.

KEYWORDS:

• Bernstein’s theory of pedagogic discourse
• Bourdieu’s theory of reproduction
• Brousseau’s didactic contract
• pedagogic rationale
• socially-just pedagogy

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to colleagues at UCL Institute of Education for their valuable feedback on a draft version of this paper I shared with them at a meeting of the mathematics education special interest group and to the reviewers for their helpful comments on my initial submissions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pete Wright

Pete Wright, before joining UCL Institute of Education as Lecturer in Mathematics Education, Pete Wright taught for 12 years in comprehensive schools in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Brighton, including 3 years as a Head of Mathematics. He also taught for 3 years in a rural school in Kenya with Voluntary Services Overseas. Other posts in education include 5 years as Mathematics Consultant, then Software Development Manager, for SMILE Mathematics, and 2 years as a local authority Secondary Mathematics Consultant. Pete is currently the Subject Leader (and a tutor) for the PGCE Secondary Mathematics programme at UCL Institute of Education. He also teaches on the MA in Mathematics Education programme and supervises EdD and PhD students. He is currently Assistant Editor for the London Review of Education (LRE) journal and a member of the International Committee of Mathematics, Education & Society (MES). Pete completed a Doctorate in Education at the University of Sussex in 2015. His research interests include issues of equity and social justice in mathematics teaching, critical mathematics education, philosophies of mathematics education, visible and invisible pedagogy, curriculum change, and participatory action research.