Chapter 8: A Case Study of Multigenerational Mathematics Participation in an After-School Setting: Capitalizing on Latinas/os Funds of Knowledge

Mathematics is a critical area of education for all students: It is a high-stakes testing subject area, a recognized gatekeeper for educational and professional pursuits (Stinson, 2004), and a subject that has undergone curriculum reforms that redefined what students should know and be able to do (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000). Latina/o students score poorly on national assessments in mathematics: Scores for this population’s fourth- and eighth-grade mathematics assessment in 2007 were among the lowest in the nation (KewalRamani, Gilbertson, Fox, & Provasnik, 2007), a statistic that underscores the importance of this investigation. In spite of mathematics’ role in education in general and in students’ educational careers, little attention has been paid to the relationship among Latinas/os’ language, cultural learning resources, and mathematics. Although research has acknowledged the importance of linguistically sensitive learning environments for Latinas/os in mathematics (e.g., Khisty, 1995; Moschkovich, 1999a, 1999b) and to practices teachers can use to facilitate bilingual students’ content learning (e.g., Khisty & Viego, 1999; Walqui, 2000), there remains a question of how students’ language, home, and community knowledge—and the learning capital inherently derived from these resources—interacts with the mathematics context.