Surprising everyone but herself with her good results: the twin dynamic of invisibility and failure to see

Foyn, Trine and Solomon, Yvette ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2731-8380 (2022) Surprising everyone but herself with her good results: the twin dynamic of invisibility and failure to see. In: 12th Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME 12), 02 February 2022 - 06 February 2022, Bolzano, Italy.

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Abstract

In this paper we explore the co-construction of identity in a Norwegian lower secondary school mathematics classroom. Focusing on one high-performing girl, Sarah, we analyse the role of maledominated performance of "smartness" in her positionality in the figured world of Class A. While Sarah can be simply understood as making herself "invisible" in this dynamic, her teacher's account draws our attention to the impact of gender performance on what she sees and values in her students. We argue that Sarah's positionality is the result of a twin dynamic between girls' cultural invisibility and her teacher's failure to see, indicating a need for greater awareness of girls' situation in mathematics classrooms, particularly whereas in Norway-gender is seen as "no longer an issue".