Cultivating Students' Discipline-Specific Dispositions as a Critical Goal for Pedagogy and Equity

Abstract

In this article, we argue that conceptions of content should be broadened beyond the ideas, skills, and proficiencies of particular subject matter disciplines. We frame mathematics teaching as a paradigm case in which to argue that a focus on pedagogy should also include an explicit concern for the kinds of dispositions that students are developing towards a particular discipline as they engage in (or oppose) classroom instructional activities. Our purpose in developing this perspective is to focus on students' access to discipline-specific literacies wherein all students have an opportunity to participate legitimately in classroom practices that lead to competence in the short term and to continued engagement in the discipline in the long term.