Study finds low math confidence among Black female students in Nashville

A stock image of a Black female student in a graduation gown. 

A new study published in Sage Journals suggests that Black female students in Nashville have significantly less confidence in math than their male counterparts due to internalized stereotypes about race and gender, as well as concerns about the quality of instruction.

According to the study, more than 70 percent of Black female respondents in math classes had a “negative math identity” compared to 14 percent of Black boys in the Tennessee school district. In addition, about 86 percent of Black girls in general math didn’t see connections between their careers of choice and mathematics, even when those career fields are science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) related, compared to 67 percent of Black boys.

“Contrary to our expectations that Black girls and boys in general math classes would be as likely to have a positive math identity, most Black girl groups had a student who had a negative math identity (71 percent), while only one group of Black boys did (14 percent),” the study read.

Ashli-Ann Douglas, a research associate at WestEd and lead researcher on the report, said in a recent report from the education publication The 74 that part of the problem is that “Black girls don’t see themselves in mathematics.”

“What students believe about math — and their ability to learn math, to be good at math — is really important, both in the moment and in the long term,” she said.  “And those beliefs are related to the quality of math instruction that they receive … The things that they like, they don’t see in math.”

The research also showed that nearly 30 percent of Black boys said recognition and feedback from instructors was one of the main indicators of their proficiency in math. However, none of the Black girls said they received positive feedback.  Furthermore, the report said, most Black students lacked confidence in their instructors’ ability to teach math effectively. Overall, it said, Black female students generally believe they are not good at math.

The report noted that such findings indicate the need for educators to develop more equitable and inclusive instruction methods for Black girls and other marginalized student populations. In addition, the report suggested that teachers need ongoing professional development and training to help make their teaching more effective for these groups.

The report recommended expanding an inclusive and equitable teaching framework to include, “Knowledge of the utility value of the math they are teaching and how to build students’ awareness of it,” within the teacher’s math knowledge for teaching lens, among other strategies for building Black girls’ confidence in mathematics.

“We conclude that math teachers, schools, and school districts need to intentionally listen to marginalized students, especially Black girls,” the report said.

“Further, they need to demonstrate their commitment to and prioritization of inclusive and equitable math pedagogy to better support the development of historically and systematically marginalized students’ math knowledge and identity, which can be important tools for their future career options, empowerment, critical consciousness, and continued liberation.”