A Quest for Equity in School Mathematics in Ontario: Connecting Black Secondary Students’ School Experiences and Achievement to Principal Leadership

Abstract

Research literature on the mathematics achievement of Black students has mainly come from the United States and focused on achievement gaps with a deficit-based discourse perpetuating racial segregation and racism against Black students. The scarcity of Canadian research on the academic success, or lack thereof, of Black students in school mathematics is staggering. This mixed methods study sought to examine the relationships between the overall school experience (OSE) and the emotional well-being (EWB) of Black secondary students and their achievement in mathematics, and how principal leadership was related to these students’ OSE and EWB. Using a rich dataset from the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and semi-structured interviews with five principals and vice-principals, this research employed four critical frameworks (critical social theory, sociocultural theory, critical race theory, and transformative leadership) to argue against this deficit ideology and to position OSE, EWB, and principal leadership as key determinants of Black students’ mathematics achievement. The findings of the study supported that Black students were disproportionately overrepresented in the Grade 9 applied mathematics assessment of the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) and less likely than any other racial groups to meet provincial standards. A binary logistic regression confirmed that a White student at the TDSB is almost four times more likely to meet provincial standards in Grade 9 EQAO mathematics assessment than a Black student. This model also established that both the OSE and the EWB were statistically significant predictors of achievement in the Grade 9 EQAO mathematics assessment. Research participants pointed to principal leadership, curriculum implementation, relationship building, and participation and engagement, among other things, as having the potential to significantly impact Black students’ OSE, EWB, and mathematics achievement. These findings add to the limited literature on Black students’ mathematics achievement and offer a significant contribution to the conversations aiming at challenging all educators, school leaders, and policymakers to address anti-blackness sentiments and anti-Back racism in school mathematics. Lastly, implications of these different results pointed to directions for future research aiming at understanding the situation of Black students in mathematics classes.