Black Immigrant Children: Abjection, In(ex)clusion and School Mathematics Reform

Abstract

This paper examines the limits and possibilities of the discourses and practices of inclusion of Black immigrant students in reform mathematics classrooms. Data from a larger qualitative study concerned with the education of mathematics teachers in Chilean marginalized schools is used. Conceptualizations about the dynamics of exclusion and inclusion help us illustrate how reform mathematics teaching entails double gestures of hope (about “us”) and fear (about the “others”). The results provide evidence that educational reforms and policies are embedded in a system of reason which historically fabricated Blacks as invisible and inferior, shaping the chances of inclusion of Black children.