An Intersection of Mathematics Educational Values and Cultural Values: Pasifika Students' Understanding and Explanation of Their Mathematics Educational Values

Purpose:This article investigates the mathematics educational values of Pasifika students in New Zealand.It draws on student voice to examine Pasifika students'understanding of mathematics educati onal values and their reaso ns for rati ng values at differe nt levels of importance.Design/Approach/Methods:The study involved Years 7 and 8 Pasifika students from two low-socioeconomic middle schools.Students selected their most and least important mathematics educatio nal value stateme nts on a survey.Semi-structured in dividual in terviews were used to investigate their reasons for selecting the values.Findings:The mathematics educational values ranked highly by the greatest percentage of students were practice,family,respect,and persistence.In contrast,the values of accuracy and utility were rated as least importa nt.Stude nt in terview data revealed comm on alities in accou nting for the importance of different values.The findings indicate an intersection between the mathematics educational values and cultural values of Pasifika people.Originality/Value:There have been few studies that have explored the mathematics educational values of Pasifika stude nts.The curre nt study provides in sight into why specific values are importa nt to Pasifika students and how these may in flue nee classroom in teractions.The use of stude nt interview data wide ns the existi ng literature focused on values in mathematics education.

Mathematical, Mathematics Educational, and Educational Values in Mathematical Modeling Tasks

Purpose:The purpose of this study is to explore the mathematical values,mathematics educational values,and educational values invoIved in mathematical modeling tasks based on different mathematical modeling perspectives.Design/Approach/Methods:In this con text,the prese nt study is a qualitative research based on document analysis.The data were analyzed usingsemantic content analysis,and the selected modeling tasks based on different mathematical modeling perspectives were examined at the sentence level.Findings:Control,mystery,and openness mathematical values appeared in all mathematical modeling tasks,and rationalism and objectivism mathematical values appeared in realistic/applied and socio-critical modeli ng perspectives.Product,exploration,creating,releva nee,pleasure,and application mathematics educational values also emerged in all modeling tasks.Educational values of social justice,equity,social welfare,humanity,and altruism were more important in the socio critical modeling,while the value of individualism was more emphasized in the model-eliciting approach.Originality/Value:By determining mathematical,mathematics educational,and educational values involved in mathematical modeling tasks based on different mathematical modeling perspectives,an effective and more value-balaneed mathematical modeling instruction can be provided.

Exploring Issues About Values in Mathematics Education

Highlights•This commentary article is intended to provide a broad yet brief look at research and issues about values and valuing in mathematics education from a broad view about related issues.•The articles in the Special Issue provided new findings,insights,and directions in research on values and valuing in mathematics education.•In the future,more attention should be paid to the issues concerning values as a construct from a social-cultural perspective,and more studies addressing enacted values,using more observational data,and with large scale and long duration are needed.•There is also a need for more exchanges and interdisciplinary collaborations between mathematics educators,other discipline-based educators,and general educators,especially educational sociologists,for the advancement of research in this area.