Abstract

Black females have faced unique experiences that impact their mathematical identity. As they continue through teacher preparation programs and transition from student to teacher, it is important to better understand the life experiences of Black females both in and out of educational settings. These life experiences have deeply rooted impacts on their mathematical identities and the ways in which teacher preparation programs might best embrace the unique strengths Black females bring to the teaching workforce and their students and how those strengths can be leveraged to develop their positive mathematical identities as teachers. Two Black female prospective elementary teachers were purposely selected for this study as they will become the teachers of K-5 students who are at the beginning stages of developing their mathematical identity. The mathematical identity of prospective teachers contributes to their dispositions toward mathematics and how they teach their students. Autobiographical videos and interviews served as data sources for this study. Each data source was transcribed into message units. Data were then organized into a chronological timeline of events including the place, plot, and scene for each participant called "stories." Unique themes were developed for each participant to represent the contributions of their life experiences on their mathematical identities. The established themes for the first participant included culture and parent expectations, teachers, academic performance, and helping others. Themes for the second participant included support, positioning in society, and teacher interactions. Through a synthesis, commonalities that existed across participants were explored by comparing the narratives of the two participants. Key findings, implications, and directions for future research were shared.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2023

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Bush, Sarah

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

School of Teacher Education

Degree Program

Education; Math Education

Identifier

CFE0009727; DP0027834

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0027834

Language

English

Release Date

August 2026

Length of Campus-only Access

3 years

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Campus-only Access)

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