Cultivating mathematical wellbeing in the secondary

mathematics classroom: a developmental portfolio self-study

Keywords
Mathematical wellbeing, student engagement, secondary mathematics, self-study

Problem
Mathematics education in Australia is grappling with increasing mathematics anxiety,
decreasing levels of student engagement and dwindling mathematics proficiency
(Hill et al., 2021). This calls into question the prevailing focus on the cognitive
domain of mathematics education while discounting the importance of student
wellbeing in the mathematics classroom (Schuck, 2002). Although literature and
policy increasingly advocate for student wellbeing, the practical implications for
mathematics teaching remain largely unexplored (Hill et al., 2021).

My inquiry into the issue of mathematical wellbeing - a construct that encapsulates

the affective components of a mathematics education (Clarkson, Bishop & Seah,
2010) - stems from my own wonderings that emerged while working as a tutor at a
high-stakes selective school in Melbourne. Seeing how academic rigour and an
emphasis on cognitivist pedagogies deteriorated mathematical wellbeing, I seek
to better understand how mathematical wellbeing can be cultivated in classrooms
without sacrificing academic rigour and cognitive approaches to mathematics.
To better understand this problem, a core experience of my self-study involves a
two-week Work-integrated Learning (WIL) placement at an international school in
Singapore with a strong emphasis on both student wellbeing and academic rigour. In
the unique context of the WIL placement where Singaporean cultural views of
academic rigour coexist with international perspectives of student wellbeing, I seek
to gain insights on how mathematical wellbeing can be cultivated and understand its
role in improving student engagement and achievement.

Scope of inquiry
The scope of inquiry in this self-study sits within my personal experience as a pre-
service teacher, a mathematics tutor at a Melbourne selective school and as a
student-researcher commencing a two-week placement at an international school in
Singapore. The high socio-cultural and economic status of the international school
and selective school that my self-study is situated within provides a limited picture of
factors influencing mathematical wellbeing in the mainstream Australian school.
Further limitations in the scope of inquiry emerge due to the nature of the self-study
methodology itself, which limits the types of data collected, and the absence of
ethics approval means that no intervention takes place in this study. As Mitchell
(2004) argues “they are merely doing a study of what is/is not occurring in their
classroom” (p. 1439). Therefore, the findings of this inquiry are not intended to
determine any quantitative links, nor should it be used to inform practices outside of
my personal context; rather, it serves to illuminate my practice through balancing my
personal story with the broader literature and educational context (Bullough &
Pinnegar, 2001).
Research question
The research question guiding this self-study is: How can I cultivate mathematical
wellbeing in the secondary mathematics classroom?

Mathematical wellbeing is defined as a construct that encapsulates the affective

components of a mathematics education, such as students’ affective engagement in
the classroom and perceptions of enjoyment in mathematics (Clarkson, Bishop &
Seah, 2010). The term “cultivate” is used to highlight the teacher’s ability to address
issues of low mathematical wellbeing. And finally, the inclusion of the secondary
mathematics classroom focusses the scope of the inquiry to the year levels relevant
to my self-study, without limiting my inquiry to any geographical region.

Positionality
In this self-study inquiry, I acknowledge that my positionality formed from my lived
experiences and prior beliefs biases my epistemology (Takacs, 2003). I am a Chinese
Australian male who experienced secondary mathematics at a high socio-economic
public school within the Queensland Education system. My gender, ethnic
background, and socio-educational advantage place me in a group that is not
traditionally marginalised in mathematics education, therefore a narrative inquiry
into the role of these constructs on mathematical wellbeing will not be appropriate.
Rather, the use of literature review methods or the consultation of critical friends
will better illuminate the impacts of these constructs.

Another position I hold is that I have always enjoyed the cognitive aspects of
mathematics and as such, never considered the role of the affective domain on
wellbeing until now. This impacts my ability to reflect on the role that maths anxiety
and underachievement have on mathematical wellbeing – again my positionality
impacts the suitability of certain methods that I may select for this self-study inquiry.

Literature
The seminal work of Clarkson, Bishop & Seah (2011) underpins my theoretical
understanding of mathematical wellbeing as posed in this inquiry. Their
conceptualisation of the construct of mathematical wellbeing lays the framework
for me to reference my self-study findings. Further, literature by Schuck (2011)
and Hill et al. (2021) provides guidance on the role of teacher self-study in
the domain of mathematics education. Their research on self-study and
mathematics engagement enables me to illuminate my understanding of this
inquiry. Finally, the literature that underpins the methodology used in this study
is discussed below.

Methodology
This inquiry adopts a self-study methodology understood through Samaras’
(2011) Five Foci Framework. The framework encapsulates self-study through its
predominant methodological components: (a) personal situated, (b) critical
collaborative, (c) improved learning, (d) transparent research process, and (e)
knowledge generation and presentation. The methodological component of
“personal situated” highlights the importance of framing the research question
such that it is relevant to my context. Further, the need for improved learning
ensures that the self-study is actually aimed towards improving student
outcomes (Laboskey, 2004). In light of this, the current research inquiry stems
from the identification of mathematical wellbeing as a problem in my personal
practice - however, Samaras (2011) highlights that the nature of self-study
research is hermeneutic allowing research to flow between methodological
components and makes no predetermined assumptions (Samaras & Freese,
2006), therefore, the issue addressed may be refined as the self-study takes
place. To guide the self-study inquiry, I enlist help from a critical friend group to
regularly share and review thinking about my self-study to ensure critical
collaboration while also ensuring a transparent research process (McNiff &
Whitehead, 2006; Samaras, 2008). The selected method for the inquiry is a
developmental portfolio self-study. In the developmental portfolio self-study,
sources of data come from observation notes during the WIL placement, journal
reflections, literature reviews and critical friend research memos. The
developmental portfolio self-study clearly outlines and publicises the data
collected, presenting opportunities to collaborate with critical friends. The use of
digital technologies in this inquiry to store the developmental portfolio also
presents opportunities to systematically catalogue professional growth over time
(Samaras & Freese, 2006). As the inquiry progresses, the self-study methodology
enables me to choose methods that suit needs of the inquiry (Hamilton &
Pinnegar, 1998), therefore, a mixed-method approach may be utilised as the
inquiry progresses.

References
Clarkson, P., Bishop, A. J., & Seah, W. T. (2010). Mathematics education and student
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Clement (Eds.), International Research Handbook on Values Education and Student
Wellbeing (pp. 111 - 135). Springer.
Hill, J. L., Kern, M. L., Seah, W. T., & van Driel, J. (2021). Feeling Good and Functioning
Well in Mathematics Education: Exploring Students’ Conceptions of Mathematical
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LaBoskey, V.K. (2004). The Methodology of Self-Study and Its Theoretical
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