Why identity, human diversity, and intersectional identities matter to mathematics education

This chapter transitions the work on mathematics education thus far toward the book's primary focus on human diversity in the mathematics classroom. I introduce relevant ideas from the social sciences starting with the broad concepts of identity, social construction, and intersectionality. I move next to examples from performance data in learning outcomes in mathematics education that demonstrate that our current pedagogies are not effective for all learners. Even with the reform efforts from Chapter 2, all students are not provided equal opportunities to learn, enjoy, and apply mathematics. I review key articles among the "sociopolitical turn" in mathematics education research to reveal that identities matter in the mathematics classroom.