About
Low levels of inclusion and diversity are of widespread concern among mathematics educators. UNESCO argues that inclusion is a moral imperative and a prerequisite for education in a democracy based on fairness, justice and equity. In the UK, the National Academy for Mathematical Sciences’ Manifesto promises to foster an inclusive and diverse mathematical community, and QAA benchmarks stress equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). However, it is seldom obvious how to teach mathematics in a way that addresses EDI, let alone improves inclusion. To do so requires a culture shift, development of significant expertise, and support for practitioners.
Sensitive use of global history of mathematics (HoM) within the core mathematics curriculum is often suggested as one means of tackling EDI. However, the complex interaction of factors in doing so effectively is not yet understood. The History for Inclusion and Diversity in Mathematics Network (HIDIM), founded in 2023 with a networking grant from the Isaac Newton Institute and EPSRC (grant: EP/V521929), supports practitioners in addressing these issues. It aims to, “build a network around exploring the use of history of mathematics to promote EDI in the mathematics curriculum in UK HE.” This aim reflects HIDIM’s view that while using HoM appears a promising way forward, very little is currently known about whether, how, and in what ways, it may be effective.
Networking activities began with four focus groups with mathematicians, held around the UK. Outcomes from these suggested that the main barriers to practitioners trialling HoM interventions related to time — time to develop teaching materials that they felt confident using, and time or space within an already over-crowded curriculum. Based on these support needs, network activities include:
- JISCmail list for updates and discussion Sign up
- Online reading group and experience sharing – monthly – details circulated on JISCmail
- Online and in-person workshops
- Developing a repository for sharing and discussing teaching resources and activities
- Developing evaluation principles
Staff-student co-creation of resources has emerged as a common methodology, helping to ensure that activities genuinely meet students’ needs. Common resources developed, that take little curriculum space, are posters promoting diverse role models, and mathematics tutorial activities that embed approaches or datasets from history for comparison, debate or to enhance resilience in encountering familiar mathematics in unfamiliar formats.