Combat stereotypes

Many students believe that some people are naturally good at maths and other people are not. This belief can be overlaid with gender and cultural bias and can align with a loss of confidence in their own mathematical ability and disengagement from maths learning.

As educators, it is important that we actively challenge these stereotypes and support students who are impacted by bias.

Key ideas to promote:

> Everyone can learn maths

> Everyone can be good at maths

> Everyone experiences struggle and needs to persevere to learn new things

> Maths is a creative, collaborative endeavour

> Mathematicians are diverse people with diverse careers

Reflect

What’s your maths identity and what has shaped it? Think about pivotal moments in your past that have supported or challenged your own positive maths identity.
Do you have the same expectations of all your students?
Do any particular groups of students do the majority of talking in your classroom?
Do you provide the same opportunities to all your students?
Does your learning environment include diverse representations of mathematicians and maths careers?

Bias and stereotype check

Do you hold any of these biases or stereotypes? Often, these beliefs are held implicitly, but they have been shown to have a significant negative effect on student learning. It’s important that you are aware of your own bias or stereotypical thinking and how those beliefs might influence your instructional practice. Read more

Maths biases

Many teachers, parents and students hold maths-gender stereotypes.

There is no biological evidence for gender differences in mathematics ability, but Dersch et al’s (2022) research identified three distinct misconceptions held by many people:

The belief that girls think empathically, and boys think systematically, so boys are on average more talented at maths than girls
The belief that because boys are more talented at maths than girls, they don’t need to make as much effort to achieve equally good grades
The belief that despite the fact that girls on average make more effort, girls are normally less proficient in maths than boys.

Research from the United States shows that students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds can also be impacted by cultural stereotypes; people may associate students with Asian or western heritage with excellence in mathematics, while assuming lower proficiency of black, Latino or indigenous students. Australian teachers and students aren’t immune to racism; they are just as likely to exhibit biases as anyone else. You can read more about racism in Australian schools on RacismNoWay.

Maths stereotypes

Many people view maths as something which you’re either good at, or not - that is, mathematics achievement arises from natural ability. The reality is that just like other learning areas, maths knowledge and skills are developed over time; with effort, practice and persistence, everyone can succeed at maths.

Maths is often invisible or narrowly represented in popular children’s media and when it is portrayed in the general media, it is represented as being irrelevant, boring and only for geeks, while mathematicians themselves are portrayed as highly intelligent but nerdy, socially inept and weird - and primarily male. In fact, mathematics is a diverse field, and there are maths careers that amplify and augment a range of professions.

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