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Using Field Trips to Create Relevant Social Justice Informed Mathematics Lessons in an Elementary Teacher Education Program: An Action Research Study

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Teaching mathematics for social justice is a rich research area in which field trips have been under-examined. The paucity of literature on math-based field trips for social justice, specifically, warrants further investigation. This action research study aims to improve our practice of empowering elementary preservice teachers to design math-based field trips to enhance student awareness of social justice issues. Two research questions (RQ) guided this project: (RQ1) How can teacher educators inspire social change within math education via the preparation of future elementary teachers using math-based field trips? (RQ2) What are preservice teachers' perceptions of designing socially just math lessons using field trips? We provide an overview of previous literature, describe the project we designed, and provide an analysis of preservice teachers' experiences and perceptions of this project. Thematic analysis of student journals and final assignments generated eight overarching themes and three subordinate themes organized by three phases. Organization by phases indicates a structural approach that teacher educators may use when introducing a similar activity. Further analysis revealed elementary preservice teachers emphasized the beneficial challenge of this assignment, suggesting that math-based social justice field trips are important additions to teacher education programs. Finally, we discuss what we learned from this study as teacher educators and researchers and provide recommendations to the field of teacher education.
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Action in Teacher Education
ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uate20
Using Field Trips to Create Relevant Social Justice
Informed Mathematics Lessons in an Elementary
Teacher Education Program: An Action Research
Study
Ellen E. Ijebor, Cory J. Cascalheira & Leanna Lucero
To cite this article: Ellen E. Ijebor, Cory J. Cascalheira & Leanna Lucero (2022): Using Field
Trips to Create Relevant Social Justice Informed Mathematics Lessons in an Elementary
Teacher Education Program: An Action Research Study, Action in Teacher Education, DOI:
10.1080/01626620.2022.2096709
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/01626620.2022.2096709
Published online: 18 Jul 2022.
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Using Field Trips to Create Relevant Social Justice Informed
Mathematics Lessons in an Elementary Teacher Education Program:
An Action Research Study
Ellen E. Ijebor , Cory J. Cascalheira , and Leanna Lucero
New Mexico State University
ABSTRACT
Teaching mathematics for social justice is a rich research area in which eld
trips have been under examined. The paucity of literature on math-based
eld trips for social justice, specically, warrants further investigation. This
action research study aims to improve our practice of empowering elemen-
tary preservice teachers to design math-based eld trips to enhance student
awareness of social justice issues. Two research questions (RQ) guided this
project: (RQ1) How can teacher educators inspire social change within math
education via the preparation of future elementary teachers using math-
based eld trips? (RQ2) What are preservice teachers’ perceptions of design-
ing socially just math lessons using eldtrips? We provide an overview of
previous literature, describe the project we designed, and provide an analysis
of preservice teachers’ experiences and perceptions of this project. Thematic
analysis of student journals and nal assignments generated eight overarch-
ing themes and three subordinate themes organized by three phases.
Organization by phases indicates a structural approach that teacher educa-
tors may use when introducing a similar activity. Further analysis revealed
elementary preservice teachers emphasized the benecial challenge of this
assignment, suggesting that math-based social justice eld trips are impor-
tant additions to teacher education programs. Finally, we discuss what we
learned from this study as teacher educators and researchers and provide
recommendations to the eld of teacher education.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 1 July 2021
Accepted 28 June 2022
KEYWORDS
Social justice; mathematics
education; teacher
preparation; field trips;
elementary teacher
education; action research
Introduction
Within the last couple of decades, education has been driven by measures of accountability and
policies tied to common core standards, standardized testing, and materials that narrow the curricu-
lum. As policies continue to standardize elementary classrooms, connections between core content
and the real-world continues to diminish. Researchers (Bagwell & Cahill, 2021; Field & Bauml, 2011;
Vascellaro, 2011) suggest that venturing out of the classroom for informal learning experiences such as
field trips can illuminate the relevancy of the curriculum content. Students who attend field trips
report greater curiosity (Bamberger & Tal, 2008), score higher on standardized tests (Whitesell, 2016),
and improve their understanding of math-based careers (Fouad, 1995). Traditionally, field trips for the
mathematical education of elementary school-aged children frequently focus on the scientific applica-
tions of data collection and analysis (Heflich et al., 2001; Mokros & Wright, 2009; Zissman, 2013) or
visits to common destinations, such as zoos (Mokros & Wright, 2009; Ricks Leitze et al., 2015) or
museums (Bamberger & Tal, 2008). Other researchers have demonstrated the efficacy of integrating
CONTACT Leanna Lucero leannal@nmsu.edu Elementary Teacher Education Program, New Mexico State University, Las
Cruces, NM
ACTION IN TEACHER EDUCATION
https://doi.org/10.1080/01626620.2022.2096709
© 2022 Association of Teacher Educators
mathematics lessons with art-based field trips (Bush et al., 2013, 2016), but the utility of teaching social
justice through math-based field trips remains underexamined despite its pedagogical and societal
implications.
Concurrently, ongoing systemic inequality galvanizes teacher educators to empower preservice
teachers as social change agents (Zeichner, 2020). Perhaps now, more than ever, it is essential not
only to prepare preservice teachers who are knowledgeable in content but also culturally competent
democratic teachers. We define a democratic teacher as “professional, culturally humble, self-aware, and
knowledgeable about systemic issues and community context” (Tryon & Madden, 2019, p. 59). We
assert that, as teacher educators, we need to prepare preservice teachers to face the challenges of
teaching social justice (Dover, 2013) across all content areas. Drawing from the extant literature on
social justice, we define social justice as the views, beliefs, and communal action dedicated to creating
and sustaining an equitable society. Scholars note that mathematics can be used to teach and discuss
social justice issues in classrooms (Buell & Shulman, 2019; Frankenstein, 1983; Harper, 2019; Kokka,
2019; Lesser, 2007; Lucey & Tanase, 2012). Building from these scholars’ assertions, we argue 1)
Teaching for social justice is critical; 2) Math instruction can, and should, have a social justice lens;
and 3) Field trips are an effective instructional strategy for teaching math for social justice. To
demonstrate the importance and possibility of using field trips to teach math for social justice, we
designed an integrated project for elementary preservice teachers where they had to plan an elementary
math lesson and field trip to teach a social justice concept. In this action research study, we review this
project and its impact on preparing preservice teachers to use math and field trips to integrate social
justice concepts into the classroom. We do this by providing an overview of previous literature about
field trips and their relationship to social justice concepts and mathematics. Then we describe the
project we designed for elementary preservice teachers and provide an analysis of preservice teachers’
experiences during this project. Finally, we discuss what we learned from this action research study as
teacher educators and researchers and provide recommendations to the field of teacher education.
Previous Literature on Field Trips
In the following section we review previous literature as it pertains to our study. We begin with an
overview of field trips and their role in education. Then we discuss the benefits of field trips to
preservice teachers and examine the connections between field trips and social justice. Finally, we
discuss field trips and mathematics and highlight the gap between field trips, social justice, and
mathematics.
Previous research documents the learning, knowledge gain, and positive dispositions that develop
because of field trips, specifically science-based field trips (Cwikla et al., 2009; Hudak, 2003; Kisiel,
2006; Nadelson & Jordan, 2012). Field trips are experiences that take place outside of the classroom
and cannot be duplicated within the classroom walls. According to Michie (1998) field trips have
several purposes which include provide firsthand experience and knowledge, promote interest,
strengthen skills and development, as well as add relevance to learning course content. As students
participate in field trips and engage with experiential learning, they make connections between course
content and the real-world and build upon their previous knowledge and experiences (Lei, 2010a,
2010b). Vascellaro (2011) explains field trips provide opportunities for students to “experience the
deep connections that exist between the physical and social worlds around them and understand how
these connections affect their lives” (p. 9). Intentionally planned field trips can provide entry points for
students to explore mathematics and social justice issues within their worlds.
Social Justice, Mathematics, and Field Trips
At first, social justice appears to be the purview of language arts or social studies, but “fair distribution
is fundamentally a quantitative idea” (Root, 2009, p. 37). Indeed, educators often argue that equity-
oriented pedagogy, such as focusing on racial justice, does not belong in a mathematics classroom”
2E. E. IJEBOR ET AL.
(Buell & Shulman, 2019). A socially sterile concept of mathematics may prevent preservice teachers,
who tend to express trepidation about teaching mathematics for social justice (Jackson & Jong, 2017),
from engaging with minority communities or systemic problems (Lucey & Tanase, 2012; Zeichner,
2020). While over 90% of preservice teachers report a willingness to make mathematical connections
to real-world issues and family background, for example, only 40% report a willingness to include
topics of social injustice (Simic-Muller et al., 2015).
Social justice mathematics (Kokka, 2019), has been an identifiable pedagogical practice for several
decades (Frankenstein, 1983). Led by Eric Gutstein, much of the original work on social justice
mathematics derived from K-12 teachers (Buell & Shulman, 2019). By the sixth grade, for example,
children are equipped to see social justice through statistics. Lesser (2007) described how a unit on
scatter plots can visualize the trend between SAT scores and family income, sparking conversations
about the effect of wealth on education. Lucey and Tanase (2012) synthesized a model from this
earlier work in which “learning [. . .] mathematics content along with the development of critical
thinking skills that expose and seek to rectify societal injustices” (p. 12) informs lesson planning.
More recently, Kokka (2019) used a trauma-informed perspective to demonstrate how mathematics
could be used to address social justice issues in a Title I urban middle school. The author
demonstrated how several social issues paired well with mathematical concepts, such as stereotypes
using coordinate planes or lack of resources using conversions and area. According to Kokka (2019),
focusing on topics linked to relevant social issues within the student’s environment resulted in
greater mathematical interest and increased well-being. In a qualitative meta-analysis of mathe-
matics for social justice, Harper (2019) found several promising practices across 35 articles, includ-
ing: normalizing conversations about race in mathematics; encouraging the consideration of
intersectionality; critiquing dominant narratives about marginalized groups; enhanced interdisci-
plinary and critical thinking skills; and inspiring action outside of the classroom. Therefore, teaching
mathematics for social justice advances the goal of exposing and challenging systems of oppression
while fortifying the analytical skills of students.
While extant literature indicates many benefits of teaching mathematics for social justice, less is
known about field trips and social justice mathematics. Warner (2019) designed a field trip to test the
broken window theory of policing in which students visited a local court, but the activity was designed
for undergraduates. Similarly, Ross and Shelton (2019) designed out-of-class learning projects that
incorporated social justice issues for undergraduates, but the students were not instructed to visit
community organizations related to social justice.
Unfried and Canner (2019) created a field trip, from a social justice perspective, in which students
formed community partnerships with local nonprofits to provide mathematical consulting. Le (2020)
also demonstrated that community-based mathematical consulting provided opportunities for stu-
dents to engage with social justice. However, mathematical consulting may not be developmentally
appropriate for school-aged children or preservice teachers, nor does consulting integrate a concrete
and explicit connection between elementary math concepts and its correlation to social justice.
Although there is preliminary work on service-learning projects for college-aged learners, this
promising work may be difficult to translate into the context of preparing elementary preservice
teachers to use service-learning experiences to teach mathematics with a social justice lens to children
in K-8 settings. To our knowledge, no study has documented preservice teachers’ perspectives on the
implementation of math-based field trips for social justice.
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework for this study is situated within social justice perspectives in teacher
education which centers the purpose of teaching on enhancing students’ learning and their life by
addressing and challenging inequities in both school and society (e.g., Adams et al., 1997; Ayers et al.,
1998; Cochran-Smith, 1999, 2004; Darling-Hammond et al., 2002; Michelli & Keiser, 2005; Souto-
Manning, 2019; Villegas & Lucas, 2002). This perspective recognizes disparities in education between
ACTION IN TEACHER EDUCATION 3
students of color and their white counterparts. As such we acknowledge that teacher education should
prepare preservice educators who are equipped to challenge and work toward diminishing such
inequities and teach for social justice in K-12 classrooms.
We use a community of practice framework (Lave & Wenger, 2002; Wenger, 1998) to prepare our
elementary preservice teachers because it provides a space for our preservice teachers to actively
participate and collaborate with one another in authentic classroom settings. Using community of
practice theory, we created a framework where preservice teachers can: 1) develop an understanding of
the teaching practice; 2) engage with each other in teaching practices over time; 3) create their identity
as a teacher within this community; and 4) advance their knowledge teaching and pedagogy.
Positionality
Researchers who use an action research and a critical consciousness framework often have strong
ethical and political beliefs (Griffiths, 2009). Therefore, in support of reflexivity (Patton, 2015), we
disclose our positionality. The first author is a doctoral student in counseling psychology with
a background in summer academic programs for students in seventh to twelfth grade. She identifies
as a Black pansexual cisgender woman who frequently conceptualizes her work using intersectionality
theory, is involved in social advocacy, and has worked clinically with college students. She was
a graduate assistant for the course where the present study took place. The second author is
a doctoral student in counseling psychology. He has a background in after-school program develop-
ment for students in kindergarten through fifth grade and was a graduate assistant for the course
where the present study took place. He identifies as a White gay cisgender man who frequently
conceptualizes his work using queer theory, is involved in community building, and has worked
clinically with clients who are homeless. The third author is an Assistant Professor in the College of
Education where she works with elementary preservice teachers. She was the instructor of record for
the elementary mathematics course where this project and study took place. She identifies as a Latinx
queer cisgender woman. She has been an elementary teacher, middle school mathematics teacher,
K-12 administrator, as well as a teacher educator and researcher. Her research focuses on social justice
complexities within the field of education.
Method
The Present Study
The paucity of literature on math-based field trips for social justice, specifically, warrants further
investigation. Therefore, in the present study we modeled a math-based field trip (a) tied to elementary
common core state standards for math and (b) integrated with a social justice component. We used an
action research (AR) framework to elicit perspectives about the field trip and experience from
elementary preservice teachers. Within AR, educators take on the role of researchers and reflect on
their practices using a self-study model, which is an iterative process of reflection and evaluation to
improve praxis (Pine, 2008). The process of AR involves a systematic approach to collecting and
analyzing data with the added step of taking change or action to directly improve the practices in an
individual educational setting or the broader sociocultural context (Efron & Ravid, 2019). This study
aims to improve our practice of empowering elementary preservice teachers to design math-based
field trips to enhance student awareness of social justice issues. Two research questions (RQ) guided
this project:
RQ1: How can teacher educators inspire social change within math education via the preparation of
future elementary teachers using math-based field trips?
RQ2: What are preservice teachers’ perceptions of designing socially just math lessons using fieldtrips?
4E. E. IJEBOR ET AL.
Context of Class
The university where we work is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) located in a metropolitan city in
the Southwest border region of the United States. Our elementary teacher preparation program is
a practice-based model designed to meet the theoretical and practical needs of our preservice teachers
(Darling-Hammond & Sykes, 1999). The mission of our teacher education program is to prepare
socially just, and highly qualified, educators to serve diverse communities. This study took place in an
elementary math methods course taught by the third author. The course is designed to provide
preservice teachers with hands-on opportunities to explore the methods of teaching mathematics in
K-8 classrooms, develop preservice teachers’ understanding of mathematical content and what
methods best support children throughout the learning process, and to cultivate positive dispositions
toward teaching and learning mathematics. Emphasis on social justice is included throughout the
course with a focus on developing preservice teachers’ knowledge and skills to effectively work in
grades K-8 and to support children and their families from culturally and linguistically diverse
backgrounds. Prior to this course, students take one multicultural education course where they discuss
definitions of social justice and cover topics such as educational disparities, race, inclusivity, and queer
education among other topics.
Participants
This study was approved by our Institutional Review Board. Appropriate informed consent was
obtained from all participants prior to this study, and all participants were assigned a pseudonym.
The participants of this study include nine (N = 9) junior-level undergraduate students who were
enrolled in the elementary teacher education program at our university and were taking a cohort block
of three different methods courses (Mathematics, Science, and Literacy). This is the first of two cohort
blocks, both of which include content methods courses and field-based practicum experiences. The
first cohort (where the study took place) occurs two semesters prior to the preservice teachers’
culminating student teaching experience. All participants identified as cisgender women with
a median age of 22 (average 22.25). Seven of the participants identified as heterosexual, one identified
as bisexual, and one student declined to respond about their sexuality. Four participants identified as
Hispanic, two as Native American, one as Black, one as White, and one declined to respond about their
race and ethnicity. The diversity of our participants is representative of teacher education program. It
is important to note that this diversity is not typical in the field of elementary education which is
predominately white women. Due to the diversity of our participants, our work contributes to the
emerging research focused on preparing teachers of color, which remains limited.
The Project Assignment
As a culminating project in the elementary math methods course, preservice teachers were given a final
assignment to design a field trip that was tied to K-8 common core state standards (CCSS) as well as
a social justice component. To model the assignment for preservice teachers, the authors collectively
designed a social justice field trip focused on food insecurity, a major concern in our local community.
As the second poorest state in the country, where 19.5% of residents live in poverty (U.S. Census
Bureau, 2018), New Mexico has a high rate of food insecurity. In the county where the field trip
occurred, 15.7% of people have unreliable, insufficient access to nutritious food (Feeding America,
2018).
Consequently, the authors contacted the director of a local food bank to explain our intention and
organized a two-hour volunteer event with the preservice teachers. The third author created a sixth-
grade math lesson plan using the elementary teacher preparation program lesson plan template which
includes components such as: learning objective(s), instructional process(es), classroom discourse,
classroom learning environment, materials, inclusivity, culturally and linguistically responsive, and
ACTION IN TEACHER EDUCATION 5
assessment(s) of students’ performance. Then she modeled the lesson with preservice teachers by
teaching them as if they were sixth grade students while also taking time for reflection, questions, and
comments as preservice teachers. The lesson began with the instructor reading aloud the children’s
book Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson.
The book is about a young child and his grandmother’s bus journey through town on a Sunday
afternoon. The story raises questions about inequality and food insecurity as well as how to respond to
such issues. After the read aloud, the instructor facilitated discussions and activities focused on food
insecurity in the local community utilizing data, statistics, and graphing – all sixth-grade math CCSS.
To culminate the day’s lesson, the instructor introduced several local community agencies focused on
food insecurity and introduced the field trip for the following class meeting. Using CCSS for sixth
grade, the first and second authors prepared math-related questions to ask on site.
Preservice teachers completed a reflective journal prior to the field trip, which included prompts for
them to consider their role as a future teacher as well as their past experiences with field trips, and their
understanding of social justice in elementary math classrooms. On the day of the field trip, preservice
teachers met at the designated site instead of class. The authors inquired with the preservice teachers
about expectations and initial impressions of the site. Following a tour of the facility, the director
provided the preservice teachers with statistics about the facility’s local impact. Then, preservice
teachers and the authors began to volunteer in the distribution center, packaging perishable food
items. The authors periodically asked questions related to statistics education and math-based field
trips but encouraged the preservice teachers to socialize and enjoy their experience.
At the end of the field trip, the third author explained various assessments that could be used to
assess sixth grade students’ understanding of math and social justice concepts. Before preservice
teachers left, the authors used open-ended questions about the experience and how the preservice
teachers might implement something similar with their future students. For homework, the preservice
teachers were invited to begin brainstorming lesson plans for an elementary math lesson that included
a field trip and a social justice component. They were encouraged to discuss their ideas with their peers
and provide feedback to one another. A week later, the second journal reflection which was about
creating the lesson was due. For the culminating project, students submitted and presented a field-trip-
based lesson plan as their final assignment.
Data Collection
Qualitative data are from two sources: reflective journals and the final field trip assignment. Consistent
with prior work (Keller, 2019), the reflective journal assignments were turned in for class credit using
the Canvas learning management system provided by our university. The grading rubric allowed us to
minimize the dual, conflicting roles of instructor/graduate assistant, researcher, and social change
agent (Nolen & Putten, 2007). We also analyzed student lesson plans on their proposed math-based
social justice field trip, which were due at the end of the course. The grading rubric is included in the
appendix. See Table 1 for a list of journal prompts and a description of the final assignment.
Data Analysis
We used an AR paradigm (Baum et al., 2006) in combination with thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke,
2006). In addition to reflecting on candidates’ outcomes, such as their PowerPoint presentations, we
offer insights about the process of creating and implementing a math-based field trip for social justice
while considering the themes generated from the thematic analysis. Informed by our theoretical
framework and positionalities, our thematic analysis sought a rich description of the data set, used
a deductive approach, established semantic themes, and located itself in a critical realist epistemology
(Braun & Clarke, 2006). For example, given our community of practice framework, we generated
codes while thinking about how students learn how to teach and how they develop as professionals.
We paid special attention to dimensions of social justice (e.g., critical consciousness, addressing
6E. E. IJEBOR ET AL.
resistance) as well. These considerations informed the phase-based organization of our thematic map
(see Figure 1). Following the six-step process of thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), the first
and second author generated the codes, themes, and thematic map together, meeting weekly to debrief
with one another during analysis. We first generated 112 codes (e.g., topic type, learning about equity,
feeling uncertain, assessing field trips) at the semantic level of meaning. We then clustered these codes
into themes based on shared meaning. Finally, we organized the groups into themes. The third author
audited the analysis, codes, and themes. Finally, all authors composed the thematic story in the final
phase of analysis.
Results
Thematic analysis of student journals and final assignments generated eight overarching themes and
three subordinate themes organized by three phases (see Figure 1). Organization by phases indicates
a structural approach that teacher educators may use when introducing a similar activity. By the end of
the class, almost all the participants emphasized the beneficial challenge of this assignment, suggesting
that math-based social justice field trips are important additions to teacher education programs.
Phase 1 Preparatory
In the preparatory phase, participants began to access their pool of knowledge and available sources of
information as they started to devise and connect math standards, social justice concepts, and field trip
ideas.
Peer Consultation
Several participants engaged in discussions with their peers, exchanging ideas and opinions, gaining
different perspectives on their proposed field trips and lesson plans. More than half of the
participants reported that their peers were instrumental in helping them refine their lesson plans
and ideas. For example, the preservice teachers reported their peers provided them with specific
Table 1. Journal Reflection Questions and Description of the Final Lesson Plan Assignment.
Pre-Trip Journal Prompts
(1) What experiences did you have with field trips when you were a student (elaborate)? Elaborate on field trips that you
remember? Were they connected to the curriculum or not (explain)?
(2) As a future teacher, what role, if any, do you think field trips play in supporting instruction? Explain.
(3) What is your definition of social justice?
(4) Can math help elementary students learn about social justice concepts? Why or why not?
(5) What role does social justice play in planning field trips and connecting them to instruction?
Post-Trip Journal Prompts
(1) What are ways you can avoid imposing your political views on your students while still educating them about social justice?
Is that possible? Why or why not?
(2) How will you address objections to your field trip on the grounds of introducing politics in education? What would you say
to parents? What would you say to administrators?
(3) If you discussed this assignment with peers, what, if anything, was helpful?
(4) Based on your chosen destination and social justice concept, how might students react?
(5) How does this project challenge your idea of what a math field trip is or what it should accomplish?
Final Assignment – Lesson Plan
(1) Students read two articles about using field trips to support and enhance learning in the classroom.
(2) Students responded to discussion board questions on Canvas, interacting with one another.
(3) Students applied their cumulative knowledge about lesson planning to meet three requirements:
(a) Include Common Core standard and math objective.
(b) Relate the social justice concept to the Common Core standard.
(c) Write lesson plans on the university planning template.
(4) Third author distributed our field trip as an example using the required template.
(5) Students prepared a 10-minute presentation covering the grade-level for lesson, Common Core math standard(s),
mathematics objective and social justice objective/concept, explanation of field trip, and assessments.
(6) Students submitted their final reflection journal.
ACTION IN TEACHER EDUCATION 7
feedback regarding their lesson plans. Maya shared, “the feedback that they gave me is that I should
have a book for the students to read about the Boys & Girls Club or some sort of introduction prior
to the field trip for them to understand better.” Mia recalled seeking out specific feedback from her
peers, “this could be in relation to their perspective on having a child in school or opinion on
a social justice topic.” Conceptualizing the social justice component of the field trip proved difficult
for some participants. One of the preservice teachers shared the role consultation played in
alleviating her struggles of conceiving a social justice topic: “listening to their [other participants]
social justice ideas helped me as well, I struggled with coming up with a social justice component for
this assignment” (Ana).
Generally, participants (n = 5) sought out feedback from peers which they all described as helpful in
varying ways. Thus, several participants had systems of support and knew how to engage with these
systems of support to strengthen and refine their ideas for the present social justice focused service-
learning assignment. Further, the struggles highlighted by participants, specifically the struggles
related to the social justice component, provide initial insight into the preservice teachers’ level of
social justice awareness and understanding.
Prior Experiences with Field Trips
Drawing from conversations with peers, participants became aware of their experiential -learning
backgrounds, focusing on personal experiences with field trips. Seven of the preservice teachers
recalled the ways in which their teachers “always related [field trips] back to education” (Enola)
and at least two could remember specific assessments. Participants primarily recalled field trips
“centered around science” (Camila) to caverns, mountains, space observatories, museums, aqua-
riums, and zoos. For instance, Mia “collected animal droppings, observed animals, and learned
about water in the mountains.” Four participants recalled field trips related to the humanities, such
as visiting historical sites. “We went to watch a play at the high school,” Maya said, “after we read
the book and did worksheets in class.” In general, participants (n = 6) recalled fond memories of
Figure 1. Thematic map of generated themes organized by phase.
8E. E. IJEBOR ET AL.
these out-of-classroom excursions. Therefore, most participants had knowledge networks from
which to draw inspiration for the present service-learning project even though none of the
participants reported social justice components addressed during these informal learning
experiences.
While most students recalled connections between classroom content and field trip topics, six
participants reported memories in which their childhood field trips seemed disconnected from the
curriculum. Emma recalled trips to the “movies” which “always seemed more [like] a fun activity.”
Olivia, Enola, and Alexis indicated annual traditions that fostered school unity (i.e., field days) but
were unrelated to their curricula. In summary, our participants seemed to understand field trips in
terms of science and humanities, without a service-learning component, and were imbued with
excitement even when connections to curriculum were unclear. None reported field trips emphasizing
math or social justice.
Value of Social Justice
As the preservice teachers began to conceptualize their ideas for a math-based social justice field trip,
we observed that their knowledge about the value of social justice came into awareness. For example,
Lola, seeing the benefit of incorporating social justice and the impact it could have for students, shared,
“It can help students understand and potentially change the world, rather than regarding math as
a collection of disconnected rules to be memorized.” Six other participants shared similar enthusiasm
to Lola, going into the specific real-world connections between math and social justice. Math as a tool
to learn about social justice could teach students “how to problem solve using real life situations”
(Ana) and “real life statistics that they can use to help create change” (Enola). In addition to the clear
educational value of social justice highlighted by the participants, they also shared some of the more
personal benefits of engaging in social justice.
Thinking about their students’ backgrounds, the participants shared how engaging in social justice
can be affirming of their students’ lived experiences, “the truth is these inequalities are issues many
students have experienced and seen themselves” (Camila), and can help students “connect math with
their own cultural and community histories” (Lola). On the other hand, some participants viewed the
value of social justice as raising the students’ awareness of different experiences, “talking about them
openly helps those who are not aware recognize them and try to do better” (Camila). All participants
expressed some detailed understanding of the value of social justice, with some even seeing it as
essential for students to become “good people and knowledgeable” (Mia).
Vague But Valuable
While preservice teachers were aware of the value of a math-based social justice field trip, their
hypothetical execution of the activity seemed vague. Camila, for instance, was “certain there [were]
methods” but she was unsure of how “to explain mathematical concepts alongside social justice.”
Participants perceived the activity as “important” (Lola), “interesting” (Emma), and “relatable”
(Mia) – even a “great way to teach students about what it means to be socially just” despite considering
the activity “tricky” (Olivia). Mia even suggested that math-based social justice field trips challenged
the “conventional way” of learning. Maya reported that “learning about these subjects” can motivate
students “to work harder,” drawing on her value of social justice as a rationale. However, like most
participants in the preparatory phase, Maya’s initial ideas did not involve elaboration and were
peppered with positive expectations, thus exposing preservice teachers’ understanding of social justice
within elementary math content as valuable yet vague.
Although the intersection of mathematics, field trips, and social justice was vague, six participants
were clearer about the practical utility of field trips alone. Emma exemplified this notion:
When children can take [a] concept and apply it to a real-world experience, I think it’ll be a lot more educational
for them. Students always second guess why [they’re] being taught something [. . .] however, if we take them out
on a field trip and deliver that same concept, they can no longer have that idea in their head.
ACTION IN TEACHER EDUCATION 9
Emma’s suggestion that a field trip can remove ideas from one’s head was promising from a social
justice perspective given that unlearning prejudice is a key step in becoming critically conscious
(Jemal, 2017). Indeed, four participants considered field trips as a way to expand the curriculum and
three participants discussed the ways in which field trips could broaden student knowledge, using
adjectives such as “rich” (Maya), “deeper” (Alexis), and “critical” (Emma) to describe the potential
benefits. As Camila noted, field trips allow students to “relate concepts to their everyday lives.”
Participants seemed to sense, albeit in a vague way, that if such concepts are based in social justice,
then the seeds of transformative liberation are planted memorably.
Phase 2 Conceptual Learning
During the conceptual learning phase, participants attempted to weave together math standards, social
justice concepts, and field trips while drawing on their lived experiences from the preparatory phase.
Math Standard Social Justice Field Trip
Participants introduced their lesson plans by linking all three elements together. Five preservice
teachers framed the field trip as a real-world connection, which helped them quantify social justice
as if it were a neutral math problem they had encountered in the preparatory phase. Three participants
considered their students’ personal experiences while linking all three concepts (e.g., Olivia considered
food insecurity since some of her practicum students were low-income), but only Lola articulated the
importance of the social locations of students and teachers, which matters in social justice work.
Overall, the three-way connection among concepts seemed clearer for participants when they focused
on pairing.
Math Standard and Field Trip. Three participants found the connection between math standards
and field trips “difficult” because it “challenged” their ideas “of what a math field trip is” (Ana).
“Integrating math was the most difficult part for” Camila because “it was new” and “challenged the
way [she thought] about math.” For Emma, “trying to tie it all together” is where she “struggled” most.
Overall, however, participants were well-equipped to approach the math–field trip connection in two
ways. First, all participants discussed their instructional styles, specifying how their lesson plans would
incorporate group and individual work (e.g., paired work, whole class, etc.) and technology integration
(e.g., promethean board, videos, etc.). In other words, a strong foundation in instructional methods
was evident across participants.
Second, all participants specified an appropriate math standard (see Table 2), identified lesson
planning goals, and discussed effective assessment strategies. In terms of lesson planning goals, all
preservice teachers specified necessary mathematical vocabulary. Seven participants outlined their
presentation of the lesson and how their students would practice the math standard in preparation for
the field trip. Mia, for instance, who intended to visit an animal shelter, envisioned her students using
animal stickers to create a dot plot “displayed in the front of the class.” Despite considering the math-
based social justice field trip vague but valuable, participants were able to link their math standards to
the field trip theme effectively, indicating that core classes in teacher education programs may prepare
participants for this portion of the assignment.
In terms of assessment strategies, Lola intended to have her students “determine the mean
number of abused pets that the Animal Sanctuary (pseudonym) receives in a week.” Similarly, Mia
aimed to visit an animal shelter from which students would collect tallies of the number of pets,
then “create a bar graph and complete questions about their data.” Emma intended to take her
students to a dog park to pick up trash while measuring the perimeter of the park, the latter of
which would be turned in for credit. Evident across these assessment strategies is the ability of
participants to quantify social justice topics, suggesting that the implementation of math-based
social justice field trips in teacher education programs provides an opportunity to apply lesson
planning skills.
10 E. E. IJEBOR ET AL.
Social Justice and Math Standard. The preservice teachers had varying ideas on how to integrate
their social justice concepts and the math standard. Camila, for instance, planned to “help
students develop awareness of the amount of waste that is put into our environment, and the
impact it has on nature and our own well-being.” Two other preservice teachers whose
interests lie in animal welfare suggested reading Madeline Finn and the Shelter Dog by Lisa
Papp” (Lola) and Just ONE Litter by Leane Morin” (Ana). Both preservice teachers intended
to have their students consider and calculate how the number of homeless pets in shelters
increase over time. This is evidence that students were able to find ways to make sense of the
connections between their social justice concepts and elementary math standards.
To assess that the social justice concepts and math standards had been integrated and understood
by the students, preservice teachers suggested various in class tasks and activities. For example, Olivia
planned to have students “create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting their experience at the
food bank with the characters’ actions in the book Stone Soup as a reflection” and Camilla’s students
were to “collect their own sample from home and . . . . then chart their own data on our class line plot.”
While these examples clearly highlight both the social justice concept and the math standard, other
preservice teachers’ plans for assessment were not as elaborate. Six of the preservice teachers planned
to have the students journal about their experiences at the field trip and their understanding of the
social justice concept leaving out the math standard.
Overall, there is some evidence of some preservice teachers’ ability to integrate social justice concepts.
However, from a social justice and critical consciousness perspective their ideas are still quite unrefined.
Additionally, only a few participants (n = 4) were able to provide ideas and elaborations on the
connections between their chosen social justice concepts and math standard, suggesting a possible
lack of understanding or exposure to the connection between social justice and math education.
Field Trip and Social Justice. Almost all the preservice teachers elaborated on how they planned
to form connections between their chosen field trip and social justice concept. The partici-
pants’ ideas ranged from using the field trips to raise students’ awareness of social justice
issues to providing their students with a first-hand experience of engaging in social justice
service learning, highlighting the value of being socially just and responsible. For example,
Emma planned “to have a discussion on what it means to protect our planet” with her students
prior to taking her students to a dog park to pick up litter, as a way of orienting them to the
importance of environmentalism. Another participant, Enola, who planned to take her students
to a domestic violence organization, planned to use this opportunity to educate her students
on how to talk about violence and trauma using the book A Terrible Thing Happened by
Margaret M Holmes” and by specifically having them learn about the impact the organization
they will be visiting has on their community. Overall, the participants were able to find
creative ways to integrate the social justice concepts with their field trip ideas.
Table 2. Key Features of Preservice Teachers’ Math-Based Field Trips for Social Justice.
Preservice Teacher Grade CCSS Social Justice Concept Trip Location
Ana 4th 4.OA.A.2 Animal overpopulation Animal shelter
Camila 4th 4.MD.B.4 Waste and pollution Community park
Alexis 4th 4.NBT.B.4 Homelessness Homeless shelter
Lola 6th 6.SP.B.5.C Animal abuse Animal shelter
Maya 6th 6.SP.B.4 BGCA family dynamics Boys & Girls Club
Emma 4th 4.MD.A.3 Environmental waste Community park
Mia 2nd 2.MD.D.10 Animal abuse Animal shelter
Enola 6th 6.SP.B.5 Domestic violence Shelter for women
Olivia 6th 6.G.A.2 Food insecurity Food bank
CCSS = Common Core State Standard. BGCA = Boys and Girls Club of America.
ACTION IN TEACHER EDUCATION 11
Phase 3 Critical Learning
Given that none of the participants could recall childhood field trips centering math and social justice,
their attempts to draw inspiration from the preparatory phase may have been limited.
(Un)critical Awareness
While preservice teachers were able to draw on their preparatory experiences to integrate math, social
justice, and field trips during the conceptual learning phase, their awareness of social justice largely
remained nascent. Participants used innocuous social justice terms, such as equality, universality, and
independent thought, with limited critical reflection. For example, although food insecurity is an
important social problem, Olivia excused student responsibility to end hunger as “simply an idea on
how to help others in need.” Camila chose climate change because she perceived her passion for racial
justice as “biased.” Emma also struggled to critically integrate her math concept with her social justice
based field trip to the dog park. Moreover, eight participants created space for diversity by specifying
how their students could speak their heritage language to complete assignments. This is not surprising
since bilingual education is standard practice for many educators in the border region of the United
States where our teacher preparation program is situated. In other words, there was evidence that
linking math, social justice, and field trips remained vague but valuable for many participants.
The math-based social justice field trip introduced the possibility of uniting all three concepts, but
the task seemed too unconventional for preservice teachers. Although it challenged their idea of what
a field trip “should accomplish” (Lola), five participants continued to see social justice as a separate
entity by the end of the course. Therefore, introducing this kind of activity early and often in teacher
preparation programs may deepen critical awareness.
Of course, participants did develop some critical awareness after the activity, such as Lola, who
stated:
Classrooms can have an impact on social change and can provide a place to help students develop the critical
thinking, collaboration, and self-reflection skills necessary to foster a better society.
That is, by the end of the course, participants emerged thinking that this kind of activity was “possible”
(Lola). They realized “that a math lesson can be combined with just about any school topic” (Olivia)
and that they could “incorporate math and social justice concepts into most standards” (Enola). Thus,
math-based social justice field trips broadened the scope of lesson planning, inviting preservice
teachers to think critically about their work as educators even though the single activity served as
a launching pad for critical awareness.
Anticipating Objections
Ongoing debates that exist around the inclusion of social justice in math education highlight that the
integration can sometimes be a controversial topic met with objections (Gewertz, 2020). As partici-
pants thought through their proposed social justice-math-field trips, they were encouraged to consider
how they would navigate objections that may arise from administrators and parents in relation to their
ideas.
When considering how they would address administrative concerns, the participants generally
shared strategies that would involve compromising on their part to meet the needs of the
administrators. For example, three preservice teachers shared that they would rework their ideas
to meet the approval needs of the administrators. It appears the role of advocate is an uncomfor-
table place for some of the participants to step into; however, other students jumped into this role
more readily. Two of the participants shared that they would explain the importance of social
justice field trips to administrators who object to their ideas, and even provide resources to the
administrators if need be. For example, Enola planned to gather articles and informational websites
to share with the administrators and help deepen their understanding of the value of social justice
focused field trips.
12 E. E. IJEBOR ET AL.
Similarly, participants leaned toward more compromise when considering objections from
students’ parents. Several participants offered to provide alternative assignments to the students
who were not allowed to participate in the field trip. However, some participants were more willing
to challenge the parents’ objections and get them to see the value in their field trip. For instance,
Emma stated:
It’s beneficial for students to be aware of the issues that can very much affect them or their loved ones [. . .] I don’t
think in any way should it be frowned upon to want to have students learn about the world they live in and how
they can contribute to making it better.
Overall, when faced with objections, the participants seemed most concerned about highlighting how
the field trips would “enhance student learning and understanding through real-world problems and
experiences” (Lola). Four other participants shared similar sentiments to Lola, stating they would
explain how a social justice field trip would “reinforce” (Emma) the content the students are learning
in the classroom. Further, the participants planned to highlight how the field trips could serve as an
essential experience to “give students a better understanding of the different experiences of the world/
society that they live in” (Camila). Thus, participants were able to see the value in social justice being
incorporated into math but struggled to find how to convey this to administrators and parents without
compromising the essence of the learning experience.
Protective Bubble
As the preservice teachers continued to move through the process of planning their math based social
justice field trips, the topic of political views was also considered which were also tied to feelings of fear
and unsafety. Most participants considered social justice to be political but intended to “remain
objective” (Lola) and avoid “imposing [their] own political views” (Ana) when discussing topics of
social justice with their students, with some even considering this to be “critical” (Mia). However, one
participant considered social justice to be apolitical stating:
When I think of social justice, I simply think of it as helping someone and can overall benefit everyone involved,
whereas politics don’t do that. As for my field trip, donating food to those in need and learning about how you can
help out if you choose to do so is a very broad thing that doesn’t resonate with a certain belief.
This further highlights a lack of critical understanding and awareness of social justice that has
generally been demonstrated by the participants throughout this study.
The participants who wanted to remain objective shared ideas of how to keep politics out of the
classroom and social justice discussions; however, most of these ideas remained largely vague. Ideas
such as stating “facts and information” (Mia) and providing information that is “not biased” (Maya)
were generally suggested. One participant, Camilla who stated that she finds it difficult to engage in
social justice conversations “without emphasizing [her] political views because it is an area that [she
has] always been passionate about” suggested that choosing a topic that you are not as connected to
or have strong opinions about could be one way of not imposing her political beliefs on her
students. This idea of personal disconnection was also tied to the idea of creating safety for the
preservice teachers and students when engaging in discussions around social justice. Camilla further
stated:
I understand that some people feel that certain topics can make them feel uncomfortable, or they feel that it
introduces conversations that can be triggering or traumatic [. . .] Environmental changes and picking up trash
seems pretty safe in terms of approaching every students’ individual identity.
Similarly, other participants shared that it would be important to make sure they are “keeping the
classroom a safe place for students” when discussing “potentially controversial topics” (Alexis). Thus,
the participants associated a possible sense of apprehensiveness related to discussions on social justice
and politics, which appears to have sent the preservice teachers into a mode of protection for
themselves and for their students. This might also be related to some of the discomfort and challenges
the participants experienced over the course of this assignment.
ACTION IN TEACHER EDUCATION 13
Discussion
This research details the ways that preservice teachers worked to design a lesson plan that incorporated
a field trip, a social justice component, and was intentionally aligned to elementary math CCSS. The
data showed a willingness on the part of all participants to explore connecting various topics about
social justice issues to interactive field trips with a purposeful focus on elementary mathematics. The
preservice teachers practiced applying their mathematical content knowledge to real-world experi-
ences inspired by social justice.
This project also offered an opportunity for preservice teachers to begin to see themselves as the
teacher in the classroom. The nature of the project required preservice teachers to plan a math
lesson, reflect on the lesson, weave social justice components throughout the lesson, reflect, and
consider an out-of-classroom opportunity to reinforce both the math concept and the social
justice concept thoughtfully and intentionally. Ultimately, this created a space that encouraged
possibility.
In this space, preservice teachers participated as a community of practice (Wenger, 1998) as they
provided feedback to one another and built their lesson plans upon the suggestions received from
peers, graduate assistants, and the instructor. Furthermore, a community of practice model provided
preservice teachers with an opportunity to co-construct meaning of the practice of planning math
lessons for elementary students and better understand tools (i.e., field trips and social justice
concepts) available for creating meaningful and relevant math lessons (Rogoff, 1995; Vygotsky,
1978).
The time and space for reflection also helped preservice teachers grow in their comfort of designing
math lessons and field trip opportunities. This project offered places for preservice teachers to consider
their own personal understanding of social justice elements and plan a purposeful field trip focused on
an age-appropriate theme they considered relevant. The project further allowed them to intentionally
relate mathematical standards related to the social justice topic they considered. This project allowed
preservice teachers to critically reflect upon social justice issues and discern nuances in the integration
of mathematics and social justice concepts, thus making ambiguous social justice concepts and
mathematical application explicitly intertwined.
Weaving social justice components through math is complex. We observed preservice teachers
grappling with this complexity through discussions with their colleagues, the graduate assistants, and
the instructor. For most, even those who excelled at this project, making the connection between all
three components (social justice, math standards, and field trips) proved challenging. For instance,
some students were able to create math field trips that had a social justice component but struggled to
critically integrate social justice and mathematics. This is seen in Emma’s lesson where she planned to
take students to a dog park to measure the perimeter. A more connected and critically relevant math
lesson could have included measuring the perimeter of public park space in different neighborhoods
and comparing measurements. Despite the challenges that may arise, preparing preservice teachers
who are democratic teachers (Tryon & Madden, 2019), agents of social change (Zeichner, 2020), and
who can critically integrate social justice continues to be an integral part of teacher preparation
programs.
Currently, we require one course on multicultural education prior to entering our teacher
education program. The course is offered both over a regular 16-week semester and five-week
summer semester. Neither five nor 16-weeks is a sufficient time frame for preservice teachers to fully
develop an understanding and mastery of critical theories and how to integrate them into their
practice in the classroom and the community. This project is an example of how to create a space for
interdisciplinary collaboration between local social agencies, public education entities, and the
university. It also provides evidence that our teacher preparation program, and perhaps others
like it, need to audit their efforts in equipping preservice teachers with multicultural education
theory that they seamlessly integrate across content areas while connecting to real-world experi-
ences, not just one isolated course.
14 E. E. IJEBOR ET AL.
The findings from this study also provide evidence that preservice teachers do not feel adequately
prepared to address opposition from administrators as they plan math lessons rooted in social justice
concepts. Furthermore, navigating complex conversations that may arise from students is an aspect
that future teachers must be equipped to address in a clear and concise manner.
The original purpose of this action research study was to examine our teaching and practice to
improve it. As the study unfolded, however, the data pushed us to focus also on the preservice teachers’
awareness of social justice, real-time conversations which allowed for reflection and genuine con-
versations about trepidations of integrating social justice with mathematics and a field trip, and
opportunities for us as teacher educators to require students to look inward and consider their own
biases and/or experiences with social justice concepts.
Conclusions and Implications
As a research group, we asked ourselves whether we are preparing teachers who are socially just. While
we imagine that projects like these are authentic opportunities for preservice teachers to plan multi-
cultural lessons, there is some performative nature in modeling this with adults rather than with
children. We recognize that this is a limitation, and as we move forward in future semesters, we will
consider this limitation and explore ways to revise our project. For example, providing preservice
teachers the opportunity to implement their lesson and field trip with elementary children would be
a useful practicum experience to deepen their understanding of creating elementary math lessons from
critical perspectives using field trips.
Certainly, the relatively small number of preservice teachers who participated in this study
limits broad generalization. Nonetheless, the findings of this study seem to problematize the
notion that preservice teachers from diverse backgrounds enrolled in a preparation program
rooted in social justice and multicultural education will automatically bring these concepts to the
classroom in groundbreaking ways, just by virtue of their learning experiences in such
a program. Examining these data has made us realize that we have more to do in making
concentrated efforts in preparing teachers who are socially just and prepared to create mean-
ingful lessons that are relevant to diverse learners.
The findings from these data have important implications to us as researchers and teacher educators,
to the field, and for future research. As teacher educators and researchers, what we take away from the
data is to remain committed to the potential of empowering preservice teachers as social change agents.
We were honestly disappointed at some of the deeply ingrained ideas stated by some preservice teachers
and their willingness to concede when faced with possible opposition. To move forward, based on the
findings of this study, we have begun grappling with how to use what we have learned to improve our
practice and inform how other educators can approach similar activities. We intend to intentionally
integrate social justice and critical perspectives into our math methods course and be intentional about
naming what we are doing so preservice teachers can easily recognize this integration and duplicate our
efforts. We intend to use more field trips in our methods course to model the possibility of using out-of-
classroom experiences to make learning relevant. We intend to continue to challenge preservice teachers
with integrating all three components and create opportunities for practicing this with children in
practicum settings. Preservice teachers must have opportunities to confront their reservations regarding
integrating social justice for fear of resistance. One way we can do this is by exposing them to examples
of how in-service teachers have reacted in similar situations.
Educators who are interested in engaging in similar work with preservice teachers can start
by introducing the concept of social justice in a way that empowers students to critically think
about what it means to them and their community. Students can begin by researching
definitions of social justice to help create and inform their own definitions of social justice
and gain awareness of their own biases. In line with the community of practice framework,
group brainstorming sessions can be held to help students continuously refine their ideas and
ACTION IN TEACHER EDUCATION 15
encourage and foster collaboration. Educators can use field trips as a tool to model what social
justice informed math based education could look like in practice. Additionally, collaborating
with other teacher educators to integrate other content areas can prevent these lessons from
being siloed.
Although our teacher preparation program is aimed at preparing socially just educators, we
are not excelling at this in our current model. Expecting preservice teachers to excel at multi-
cultural education, especially in terms of praxis, is not appropriate considering our current
model only requires one course devoted to multicultural education. Instead, we must be inten-
tional about weaving social justice concepts throughout all methods courses in teacher education
programs, not just with theory but in practice as well. Furthermore, students must be given
ample opportunities to practice planning lessons that are critical and consider social justice
issues. Just as we give students multiple opportunities to practice writing clear student learning
objectives and creating multiple forms of assessment, we must provide equal opportunities for
them to develop lessons rooted in social justice and tied to content standards and experiences
that make learning meaningful. We assert that encouraging preservice teachers to engage with
historically marginalized communities might increase their interpersonal and multicultural
competence, a key outcome for working with diverse students (Keller, 2019; Theelen et al.,
2020; Tinkler et al., 2019). Providing preservice teachers with innovative opportunities to create
math-based field trips focused on social justice concepts is one way to make math relevant and
to prepare preservice teachers to face the challenges of social justice teaching. It also highlights
that teaching for social justice is critical, math instruction needs to have a social justice lens, and
field trips are an effective strategy to teach math for social justice.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes on contributors
Ellen E. Ijebor (she/her/hers) is a doctoral student in the Department of Counseling & Educational Psychology at New
Mexico State University. Her current research interests include social justice and advocacy, and how experiences of
marginalization and oppression associated with socio-cultural identities, and their intersections, affect mental health and
well-being.
Cory J. Cascalheira (he/they) is a doctoral student in the Department of Counseling & Educational Psychology at New
Mexico State University. His research interests include stigma-related experiences among sexual and gender minorities
and people with diverse sexualities, and how these experiences impact identity, well-being, and mental health outcomes.
Cory focuses on factors conferring risk for and resilience against substance misuse. He uses both qualitative and
quantitative methods, including the application of computational social science.
Leanna Lucero (she/her/hers) holds a Ph.D. in Teaching, Learning, & Culture with an emphasis on Mathematics,
Science, and Technology Education from the University of Texas at El Paso. She is an assistant professor in the School of
Teacher Preparation, Administration, and Leadership at New Mexico State University, where she works with preservice
teachers. Her scholarship focuses on social justice complexities in teacher education with an emphasis on STEM
disciplines and queer studies in education. She is dedicated to supporting and giving voice to populations that may
not know how to access and navigate their rights in today’s classroom, school systems, and world.
Statement from Authors
As social justice educators, we are concerned with the continued reinforcement of elitist notions of privilege in higher
education including in the value placed on authorship order as it regards journal articles. Thus, we want to acknowledge
that the authorship of this manuscript is credited equally to all authors. Each contributed toward its visioning,
construction, writing, and editing. Regardless of where names fall on the authorship list, we are all “first” author.
16 E. E. IJEBOR ET AL.
ORCID
Ellen E. Ijebor http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4846-5670
Cory J. Cascalheira http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5780-3101
Leanna Lucero http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1055-0191
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... Enhancing the problem-solving prowess of students exhibiting a low attitude toward mathematics presents itself as a challenging yet rewarding undertaking. Educators must exemplify the real-world relevance of mathematical concepts pertinent to elementary education (Ijebor et al, 2022). By elucidating the intricate ties between mathematics and future career prospects, students may find renewed motivation for learning. ...
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... The role of field trips in teacher education for teaching social studies in developing countries, particularly within Africa, lacks comprehensive research despite their recognized global value (Madondo, 2021). The specific impact of field trips on teacher education for social studies instruction in these contexts remains understudied (Ijebor, Cascalheira & Lucero, 2022). This knowledge gap presents challenges such as a lack of understanding regarding the benefits and drawbacks of integrating field trips into teacher education programs, which can hinder the enhancement of pedagogical approaches and meaningful student engagement (Heba et al., 2017;Onyema et al., 2019). ...
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... Teachers need to determine and secure the logistics to transport students. Large introductory classes present unique challenges due to the need for larger transportation facilities, safety issues, more student logistical planning, and time lost trying to organize a large group [41]. Michie Finding time for the trip and making arrangements for students who cannot make the trip add tasks to an already busy teacher schedule [38,39]. ...
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Field trips provide compelling venues for teaching students to work with observational data and make important connections between mathematics and science.
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Acclaimed as a text and professional development tool, this user-friendly resource has now been revised and updated, and offers expanded coverage of collaborative action research (CAR) and participatory action research (PAR). Preservice and inservice educators get crucial step-by-step guidance for conducting classroom- and school-based studies to improve their instructional practices. Organized to mirror the full cycle of action research, the book provides balanced coverage of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Vivid vignettes and examples illustrate research approaches for a range of teaching and learning situations, school subjects, and age groups (PreK–12). Readers learn how research approaches are driven by the research question, as well as how to develop data collection strategies; design and/or evaluate assessment tools; interpret, analyze, report, and implement study results; and design a new cycle of research that builds on the previous one. New to This Edition *In-depth descriptions of CAR and PAR--which enable groups of teachers to work together to solve problems in a classroom or school--plus examples of both throughout the book. *Expanded or new discussions (with examples) of such topics as how research approaches and methods are driven by the research question, how to assess different types of reliability and validity, the differences between analysis and interpretation, and how to use sequential cycles of research for continuous improvement and professional development. *Fully updated references and resources. Pedagogical Features *Both individual and group exercises and activities in every chapter. *New and updated checklists and guidelines that enable busy educators to self-assess the progress and quality of their studies. *Sample templates to assist in development of research instruments. *Example boxes illustrating the components of an action research report. *Summary tables highlighting key aspects of different research strategies. *Chapter summaries (now shorter for ease of use) and suggestions for further reading.
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Mathematics classrooms are increasingly becoming sites for investigating social (in)justice, but research on teaching mathematics for social justice remains limited to individual case studies. This article reports on a metasynthesis of 35 qualitative reports of social justice mathematics enactments in diverse classroom contexts. Critical race theory serves as a guiding framework for analyzing possibilities and limitations of these enactments to address racial inequities in mathematics education. Findings from this metasynthesis reveal that addressing race in social justice mathematics explorations provided opportunities for centering the voices of people of Color and critiquing liberal views that camouflage subtle forms of racism and involved substantial and authentic mathematical work. Promising practices and implications for future research are identified based on this synthesis.