Abstract

This nontraditional dissertation is designed to research three separate, but connected, topics of inquiry. The first study is a systematic review of literature intended to better understand how the field has conceptualized and researched relations of power, specifically relations of authority, autonomy, and agency. In this study, I aim to answer two research questions: 1) How has authority, autonomy, and agency been conceptualized in the field of mathematics education over time and from what epistemological perspectives? 2) What results, findings, and themes characterize authority, autonomy, and agency within the field of mathematics education? The second and third studies use data collected from an eight-week observation of a first-grade mathematics classroom. The second study is an interactional ethnographic investigation of the eight-week observational period. In this study, I explore the following research question: What authorities do students socially construct over time in a first-grade mathematics classroom? I found that students constructed two kinds of authority: Mathematical and Ritual. Implications for future research are shared. The third study also uses the data collected from the eight-week observational period. It employs a microethnographic approach to analyze the data collected during the observational period. In this study, I make visible the social construction of opportunities for learning. I explore the following research question: How do students socially construct opportunities to learn over time in a first-grade mathematics classroom? Through tracing a singular utterance, "help," students made visible the ways in which they constructed different opportunities for learning. Implications for research are shared.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2022

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Bush, Sarah

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

School of Teacher Education

Degree Program

Education; Elementary Education

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0008975; DP0026308

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0026308

Language

English

Release Date

May 2027

Length of Campus-only Access

5 years

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Campus-only Access)

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