Impact of Whiteness on Undergraduate Mathematics Identity Scale: Theoretical Foundation, Scale Development, and Validation

Background: Historically, mathematics has been considered a race and gender-neutral subject. More recently, scholars are using critical, conceptual lenses to interrogate race and gender inequities in mathematics teaching and learning spaces. One such lens is the Framework for Understanding Whiteness in Mathematics Education, which is composed of three interrelated dimensions: institutional, labor, and identity. To date, a scale to operationalize this framework has not been developed. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to develop and test a scale that operationalizes the mathematics identity dimension of the Framework for Understanding Whiteness in Mathematics Education framework. Three research questions guiding this work are: (1) What are the results of the reliability and validity procedures of the first iteration of the Impact of Whiteness on Undergraduate Mathematics Identity (IWUM) Scale? (2) How many factors and items describe the final, fully developed IWUM Scale? (3) What are the results of the reliability procedures of the final, fully developed iteration of the IWUM Scale? Methods: This study employs a three-phase model for scale development grounded in QuantCrit principles. In phase one, 14 scale items were developed and pre-tested with 28 target users, four content experts, and 16 undergraduate STEM students. Data included written feedback and cognitive interviews. In phase two, revised survey items were administered to 126 undergraduate STEM students. In phase three, Exploratory Factor Analysis was conducted. Findings: For the first research question, unacceptable Cronbach’s alpha and fair to moderate Fleiss’ kappa were reported for the initial survey items. During phase one, there was also unsatisfactory face validity of the scale items. The final scale can be described as six factors and 20 items where after large-scale implementation, an acceptable Cronbach’s alpha was reported. Conclusion: After further development and large-scale implementation, an acceptable Cronbach’s alpha was reported. The final scale can be described as six factors and 20 items. The findings from this three-phase study reveal improvement in the survey items between the initial scale items and the final scale items. The findings also indicate the usability of this scale within undergraduate STEM spaces and room for continued development of the scale.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Curriculum and Instruction

Grantor

University of Houston

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Mitchell, Morgan Love

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Chauvot, Jennifer

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Master, Allison
• Zhang, Jie
• Gist, Conra
• Leyva, Luis

• Education--Curricula

Language dc:language.iso

English

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10657/19952

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uh-ir.tdl.org:10657/19952