A hermeneutic phenomenological study of the lived experiences of immigrant students in their ...

223 Pages·2012·1.73 MB·English

A hermeneutic phenomenological study of
the lived experiences of immigrant students in
their mathematics classrooms at
a secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand

Jyoti Rookshana Jhagroo

A thesis submitted to
Auckland University of Technology
in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree
of
Doctor of Education (EdD)

2011
School of Education
Primary Supervisor: Associate Professor Andy Begg
Table of contents
Table of contents ii
Figures and tables iii
Attestation of authorship iv
Acknowledgements v
Dedication vi
Abstract vii
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Chapter 2: A landscape of literature 9
Chapter 3: Methodology 43
Chapter 4: Voices of past from the present 62
Chapter 5: Voices inside the present 82
Chapter 6: Voices towards the future 107
Chapter 7: Understanding the learning environment 131
Chapter 8: Forming relationships 148
Chapter 9: Negotiating one’s place 164
Chapter 10: Concluding thoughts 180
References 195
Appendices 213

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Figures and tables
Figures
3(i) The spiral threads of transition in immigrant students 51
6(i) Abdulla’s perceived ratings of his mathematics ability 118
6(ii) Van’s perceived ratings of his mathematics ability 118
6(iii) Ian’s perceived ratings of his mathematics ability 119
6(iv) Andrew’s perceived ratings of his mathematics ability 119
6(v) Tim’s perceived ratings of his mathematics ability 120
6(vi) Karishma’s perceived ratings of her mathematics ability 120
6(vii) Jess’ perceived ratings of her mathematics ability 121
6(viii) Babeloo’s perceived ratings of her mathematics ability 121
6(ix) Annie’s perceived ratings of her mathematics ability 122
6(x) Terry’s perceived ratings of his mathematics ability 122

Tables
2a Actual counts and percentages of New Zealand born people
compared to overseas born people in New Zealand in 1996, 2001,

and 2006
10
3a Profile of the ten participants 50
6a Participants’ perceived ratings of their mathematics ability 108

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Attestation of Authorship

I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my
knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by
another person (except where explicitly defined in the acknowledgements), nor
material which to a substantial extent has been submitted for the award of any other
degree or diploma of a university or other institution of higher learning.

Jyoti Rookshana Jhagroo
Date: November 2011
iv
Acknowledgements
To my best friend and life partner, Shainum, I thank you for the many sacrifices you
have made, the unconditional love you have shown, and for being the driving force
throughout my journey. To my wonderful children, Upasana, I thank you for being
my tower of strength and critical partner beyond your tender age, and Ketan, I thank
you for the charming wit and being my endless supply of our special brew. I am also
sincerely appreciative of all the support I have received from my extended family
along the way, in particular my eldest sister, Shireen Junpath, who took the time to
read my final draft. To my dad, Dr Rampersadh Hemraj who has been the greatest
inspiration in my life, I thank you for the immeasurable words of advice and hours
spent tirelessly proofreading the many drafts. A special tribute is paid to my mum
who passed away in March this year. I am forever grateful for her gifts of endless
love, support and inspiration, and I know that she will smile proudly when this work
is successfully completed.

To the ten students who eagerly volunteered to participate in this study, without
whom, this study would not have been possible, I am immensely grateful to them for
selflessly sharing their experiences with me. I am also thankful to their mathematics
teachers, their school principal and Board of Trustees for their kindness in permitting
this study to take place at the school. I would also like to note my sincere gratitude to
the Ministry of Education for awarding me a Secondary School Teachers’ Study
Award and to my principal and Board of Trustees for granting me time off school to
complete my doctoral study.

Supervision is an essential component of any research venture and I am sincerely
grateful to my primary supervisor, Andy Begg, for the continued support and
professional advice throughout the research process; to my secondary supervisors,
Bev Clark, who left the study after a few months to take on employment elsewhere,
thanks for the encouragement during the short period; and to Dale Furbish, who
joined the supervisory team at short notice, many thanks for your invaluable
contribution to the success of this research. I sincerely appreciate the constructive
advice and collegiality from Nesta Devine and the EdD cohort who helped steer me
toward a succinct study focus.

Thanks to Auckland University of Technology Ethics Committee from whom ethics
approval (10/169, 17 September 2010) for this study was granted.
v
Dedication

This work is dedicated to the memory of my extraordinary mum
Mrs Lalitha Hemraj
whose unconditional love and inspiration
I will forever treasure dearly.

vi
Abstract
The presence of immigrant students in mathematics classrooms continues to become
more and more prevalent as a consequence of global migration. While their
transitional experiences in their new environment may be understood from the
multitude of theories in the vast landscape of literature, research focused on these
'lived experiences' from the immigrant students' perspective is less prevalent. This
study is premised within a hermeneutic phenomenological framework because it
explored the perceived lived experiences of ten immigrant students in their
mathematics classrooms, as the phenomena, the hermeneutics component emerged
from the interpretations of these perceived experiences.

The study answers the underlying question of the study: How do the perceived past
and present lived experiences of immigrant students influence their transition in the
mathematics classrooms? A cross-cultural focus surfaced in the form of immigrant
students experiencing different degrees of cultural shift in their new environment
compared to what they had been accustomed to in their home country classrooms.
The background that some of the students had come from included learning
mathematics through a different language, single-sex schools, use of corporal
punishment, silent classroom environments with a reluctance to be involved in class
discussion, and a strict non-confrontational classroom environment. With regards to
them forming relationships, most of the students in this study interacted positively
and expressed positive attitudes towards their mathematics teachers and peers in their
respective classrooms. The interpretations of how the ten immigrant students in this
study perceived their mathematics ability, from their own perspective and from their
perceived teachers’ perspectives, provided an understanding of how they positioned
themselves in their mathematics classrooms. Additionally, an interpretation of the
students' perceptions of how their parents’ would have rated their ability offered
another dimension in understanding their academic self-concept.

While interpretations made from the borrowed experiences of the immigrant students
have been presented through the researcher’s lens, as the researcher, I am mindful
that there are multiple realities and acknowledge that these experiences are unique
because the ten immigrant students have given voice to their individual stories.
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Chapter 1: Introduction
This study focuses on the lived experiences of immigrant students in their New Zealand
mathematics classrooms. As a result of global migration, schools around the world
continue to change from homogeneous compositions to diverse heterogeneous
compositions. Consequently, this trend has initiated educational discourses surrounding
immigrant students in schools, both in national and international spheres.

While teachers often attempt to provide an inclusive learning environment for all the
learners in the classroom, we must be mindful that both, teachers and students, cannot
help but bring their own values and beliefs into the classroom (de Abreu, 2002; Khisty
& Chval, 2002; Morgan & Watson, 2002; Shan & Bailey, 1991) which, inevitably
influence the experiences for all classroom participants. Students bring a unique
perception of the learning situation that is shaped by past learning experiences. What the
immigrant students take from the learning environment may be accentuated by their own
cultural background and belief (den Brok, van Tartwijk, Wubbels & Veldman, 2010).
According to Van Manen (1990, p. 101) lived experiences are unique to the individual
and they present “multiple and different lifeworlds that belong to different human
existences and realities”. Therefore, as the researcher I acknowledge that, while my
interpretations of the lived classroom experiences from the immigrant students'
perspectives provides an insight into their transition in their new environment, these
understandings have been influenced by the lifeworlds inhabited by the ten students, and
by me at the time.

The impetus of the study
The study focused on the immigrant students' perceptions of their experiences in their
mathematics classrooms rather than how their experiences might have been theorised.
This approach gained its impetus from the words of Sanchez (2007) who asserted that
when it comes to teaching and learning research, our most valuable resources are not
abstract theories and principles but the untapped experiences of real students in the
classroom. The research was guided by my own pre-conceptions, experiences and
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wonderings that are encapsulated in the question: "How do the perceived past and
present lived experiences of immigrant students influence their transition in the
mathematics classrooms?"

In an attempt to answer this broad question the three spiral threads of transition model
(see Figure 3(i) in Chapter 3, page 51) was developed to represent the study's
assumptions and its temporal focus. Three focus questions within the temporal spiral
threads that steered the research process were:

 How do perceived similarities and differences between immigrant students' past
and present experiences influence their understandings of the mathematics
classroom environment?
 How do immigrant students integrate their past experiences into their present
mathematics classroom environment with regard to forming relationships with
their teachers and peers?
 How do the past and present experiences of immigrant students affect their
perceived academic self-concept in finding their place in the mathematics
classroom?

The purpose of the study
In the context of New Zealand’s diverse and multicultural student body, current
literature (Begg, Bakalevu, Edwards, Koloto & Sharma, 1996; Marat, 2005; Ohia, 1993)
suggested the need for a multicultural focus on mathematics teaching and learning. In
this study I set out to expand on such a focus through my interpretations of the students’
perceptions of their experiences in the mathematics classroom environment. These
understandings have not only exposed the perceived experiences of the immigrant
students’ mathematical learning, but also have the potential to enhance the learning
experience for immigrant students by informing mathematics teachers of some of the
students’ needs.

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The following were envisioned as some of the potential benefits of the study:

 Through the voices of immigrant students, a richer and deeper understanding
of their transitional experiences would be brought to the fore.
 On the one hand, this study would give the students a voice to tell their story
while, on the other, it would allow me to reconceptualise the mathematics
classroom from the immigrant students’ perspectives. Through this new
understanding of the different worldviews that immigrant students might
bring to mathematics classrooms, I expect to develop greater understandings
of their needs.
 This study is intended to fit well with two of the eight principles in the New
Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007); cultural diversity and
inclusion, which underpin decision making in schools. I expect new
theoretical constructs to emerge that could potentially benefit the field of
mathematics education and education in general at secondary schools in New
Zealand.
 The findings of this study will be specific to the group of immigrant students
to be studied and may or may not be typical of the experiences of other
immigrant students residing in Auckland. Although this study is not expected
to offer generalizations it may be beneficial because of its interpretative
nature, which is likely to engender new concepts and elaborate on existing
ones (Peshkin, 1983). As a researcher I anticipate that other teachers of
immigrant students would identify with some of my findings.

Finally, the study has been influenced by the preconception that advocates for the view
that diversity is not a problem to be fixed, but that it is something to be celebrated as a
fundamental potentiality of the classroom learning environment (Gorgorio, Planas &
Vililla, 2002; Davidson & Kramer, 1997).

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