Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology (no new uploads as of Technology Dissertations Jan. 2015) Spring 5-17-2013 An Archaeological/Genealogical Historical Analysis of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards Documents Erika C. Bullock Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.edu/msit_diss Recommended Citation Bullock, Erika C., "An Archaeological/Genealogical Historical Analysis of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards Documents." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2013.edu/msit_diss/110 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology (no new uploads as of Jan. 2015) at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University.
It has been accepted for inclusion in Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact scholarworks@gsu. ACCEPTANCE This dissertation, AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL/GENEALOGICAL HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF MATHEMATICS STANDARDS DOCUMENTS, by ERIKA CATHERINE BULLOCK, was prepared under the direction of the candidate’s Dissertation Advisory Committee. It is accepted by the committee members in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy, in the College of Education, Georgia State University.
The Dissertation Advisory Committee and the student’s Department Chairperson, as representatives of the faculty, certify that this dissertation has met all standards of excellence and scholarship as determined by the faculty. The Dean of the College of Education concurs. _________________________________ _________________________________ David Stinson, Ph. Stephanie Behm-Cross, Ph.
Committee Chair Committee Member _________________________________ _________________________________ Elizabeth DeFreitas, Ph. Janice Fournillier, Ph. Committee Member Committee Member _________________________________ _________________________________ Philo Hutcheson, Ph. Pier Junor Clarke, Ph.
Committee Member Committee Member _________________________________ Date _________________________________ Dana L. Chairperson, Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology _________________________________ Paul Alberto, Ph. Interim Dean College of Education AUTHOR’S STATEMENT By presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the library of Georgia State University shall make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its regulations governing materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote, to copy from, or to publish this dissertation may be granted by the professor under whose direction it was written, by the College of Education’s Director of Graduate Studies, or by me.
Such quoting, copying, or publishing must be solely for scholarly purposes and will not involve potential financial gain. It is understood that any copying from or publication of this dissertation which involved potential financial gain will not be allowed without my written permission. _____________________________________________ Erika Catherine Bullock NOTICE TO BORROWERS All dissertations deposited in the Georgia State University library must be used in accordance with the stipulations prescribed by the author in the preceding statement. The author of this dissertation is Erika Catherine Bullock 5526 Somervale Court Douglasville, GA 30134 The director of this dissertation is Dr.
Stinson Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology College of Education Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 30303 CURRICULUM VITAE Erika Catherine Bullock ADDRESS: 5526 Somervale Court Douglasville, GA 30134 EDUCATION: Ph. 2013 Georgia State University Teaching and Learning with a concentration in Mathematics Education M. 2008 Georgia State University Mathematics Education B. 2002 Spelman College Computer Information Science PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 2009–present Graduate Research Assistant Georgia State University, GA 2008–2010 Mathematics Teacher McEachern High School, Cobb County School System, GA 2005–2008 Mathematics Teacher Cedar Grove High School, DeKalb County School System, GA 2004–2005 Server Operations Specialist Insight Global/Turner Broadcasting Systems, GA 2003–2004 Technical Support Specialist State Farm Insurance Company, GA PUBLICATIONS Bullock, E.
Conducting “good” equity research in mathematics education: A question of methodology [Special issue]. Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College, 3(2), 30–36. Transitioning into contemporary theory: Critical postmodern theory in mathematics education research.), Proceedings of the 34th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (pp. Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan University.
On the brilliance of Black children in mathematics education: A response to a clarion call [Special issue]. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, 5(1), 1–7. Critical postmodern theory in mathematics education research: A praxis of uncertainty [Special issue]. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 80(1), 41–55.
Foucault’s genealogy and presentism: Examining the intersections of theory and postmodern historiography, paper presented at the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, Urbana-Champaign, IL. Critical postmodern methodology in mathematics education research: Opening previously unseen vistas for data collection, analysis, and representation, paper presented at the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, Urbana-Champaign, IL. “TIP”-ing through mathematics teacher education: A triadic approach to teacher preparation, paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A praxis of uncertainty in mathematics education research, paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Relationship building from the front line: Supporting pre-service mathematics teachers in urban professional development schools, paper presented at the Professional Development Schools National Conference, Las Vegas, NV. The public stories of mathematics educators, session facilitated at the annual meeting of the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Eatonton, GA. Critical postmodern theory in mathematics education research: A praxis of uncertainty, paper presented at the Mathematics Education and Contemporary Theory Conference, Manchester, United Kingdom. HONORS AND AWARDS (selected) Southern Regional Education Board Doctoral Scholars Program Dissertation Award; $20,000; submitted February 2012; awarded July 2012 Georgia State University College of Education Dean’s Doctoral Dissertation Award; $1,000; submitted March 2012; awarded April 2012 Georgia State University College of Education Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Beverly J.
Armento Doctoral Award; $1,000; submitted March 2012; awarded April 2012 PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS (selected) 2009–present American Educational Research Association 2009–present Sisters of the Academy 2007–present Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2005–present National Council of Teachers of Mathematics ABSTRACT AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL/GENEALOGICAL HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF MATHEMATICS STANDARDS DOCUMENTS by Erika Catherine Bullock Since the mid-20th century in the United States, there have been several reform movements within mathematics education; each movement has been subject to its own unique socio-cultural and -political forces. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ (NCTM) Standards documents—Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (1989), Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics (1991), Assessment Standards for School Mathematics (1995), and Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (2000)—not only represent the most recent of these reform movements but also the most enduring. Collectively, these documents have formed a discourse (cf. Foucault, 1969/1972)—Standards-based mathematics education—that has guided mathematics education through the 1990s and beyond.
This study uses Foucaultian archaeological and genealogical methods (cf. Foucault, 1969/1972, 1975/1995) to explore Standards-based mathematics education as a “discursive formation” (Foucault, 1969/1972) and the complex power relations (cf. Foucault, 1976/1990) that made it possible for the formation to become The discourse of school mathematics, making others impossible. Data for the exploration includes the Standards documents, earlier histories of the NCTM Standards moment, scholarly and policy literature surrounding the NCTM documents, and oral history interviews with several of the writers of the NCTM documents.
The study presents a historical narrative of mathematics education in the 20th century that both contextualizes Standards-based mathematics education and problematizes NCTM’s efforts; a key focus is the strategy that NCTM deployed to maintain the viability of Standards-based mathematics education as a discourse. Foucault’s (1984) “author function” is used to address the ways that the writers, externalities, and NCTM as an organization “authored” the Standards documents. The study concludes arguing that perpetuating the discursive formation of Standards-based mathematics education is neither good nor bad but only dangerous; therefore, it requires mathematics educators to maintain a sense of pessimistic activism related to present and future reform efforts (cf. AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL/GENEALOGICAL HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF MATHEMATICS STANDARDS DOCUMENTS by Erika Catherine Bullock A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Teaching and Learning in the Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology in the College of Education Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 2013 Copyright by Erika Catherine Bullock 2013 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: Thank you for causing all things to work together for good.
You have shown your faithfulness at every turn. I am grateful for the love, peace, grace, mercy, and wisdom that you have given me so freely. To my grandparents, James and Jacquelyn Trimm: My only wish is that you could have been here to witness this moment. Thank you for being fine examples of educators.
I dedicate this and all of my work to you; I hope that I will walk worthy of the legacy that you left for me. To my parents, Walter and Valerie Bullock: Thank you for your perpetual love and support. No matter how rough the road and how crazy my decisions may have seemed, you have trusted and encouraged me. I am forever grateful.
To my family and friends: I have been blessed with an incredible family and dear friends. Thank you for every call, card, meal, thought, prayer, and venting session. My life is much richer because of you. Gwen Benson: Thank you for supporting me and for providing the space for such a tremendous experience.
Having you as a cheerleader is a true blessing. To the Southern Regional Education Board: Thank you for the Doctoral Dissertation Award that allowed me the freedom to write and think. To Jay, Jackie, Christopher, Nathan, Maisie, Tene, Demetricia, Adrienne, Crystal, Chike, Garfield, Anthony, Brandon, Sarah, Teri, and everyone who read drafts, talked through ideas, or listened to my (in)coherent ramblings: Engaging with each of you has helped me to conceptualize who I am as a scholar. Thank you for lending your strengths to me and for allowing me to serve you with mine.
To my major professor, Dr. David Stinson: Thank you for planting the PhD seed in my mind and for nurturing it over these years. You have taught me so much. Thank you for always believing in me (sometimes more than I believed in myself) and for allowing me the space to become my own scholar.
To my dissertation committee: I appreciate the commitment that each of you made to my work and me. Each of you has made an indelible imprint on me both as a person and as a researcher. Thank you for treating my work with great care and for helping me to present a product of which I can be proud. I have learned much from each of you.
To every scholar (young and seasoned) that I have met along the way in person and in print: Your have helped me to find myself and lose myself over and over. Thank you for releasing a piece of yourself into the world for me to pick up, play with, turn over, throw away, and pick up again. Finally, to the narrators in this study: Thank you for sharing your stories, experiences, and thoughts with me. It was an honor to work with you.
ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abbreviations .1 Why Historical Inquiry? .4 Mathematics Education as a Historical Product .7 Previous Historical Work .9 Summary and Conclusion .26 Summary and Conclusion .44 Reading to Get to Writing .61 Additional Analytical Strategies .66 Data Reporting and Representation .67 Summary and Conclusion .68 4 SETTING UP THE STANDARDS .70 The Challenge of Public Education: Progressive vs.71 Mathematics Education Emerges: Mathematicians vs.75 Reconsidering the Sputnik Effect .82 Back to Basics .83 Paving the Road to Standards .84 Summary and Conclusion .95 5 THE STANDARDS DOCUMENTS .97 Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (CESSM) .101 Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics (PSTM) .121 Assessment Standards for School Mathematics (ASSM) .134 Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (PSSM) .137 Summary and Conclusion .163 The Author Function .163 The Writers as Authors .166 iii The Externalities as Authors .170 The 26th Participant: NCTM as Author.176 Summary and Conclusion .197 7 RECAPITULATION AND CONCLUSION.199 What Remains Unsaid.204 AFTERWORD: A LETTER TO THE NARRATORS .