Being a Girl Mathematician: Diversity of Positive Mathematical Identities in a Secondary Classroom

The construction of positive mathematical identities (MIs) is a complex and central issue in school mathematics, where girls are usually “counted out” of the field. This study explores positive MIs (high achiever and positive relationships) of three girls. We employed a nestedmodel of identity based on a case study approach (e.g., female mathematics students nested within a cluster of students nested within a mathematics classroom). The results highlight
diversity in how these girls experienced mathematics: They valued different forms of doing mathematics (independent−collaborative, wider−complex, and straightforward−procedure oriented), showed different forms of engagement (detachment, protagonist−challenging, and compliant−support seeker) and narrated different MIs (efficient, different, and responsible).
The role of mathematical practice and belonging to different peer clusters in these different forms of identification are also explored and discussed.