The data were combined in different ways to present the learners’ mathematics identities within the metaphor of identity-as-performance. Interviews were also held with teachers and parents of the students. Interviews were conducted and observations made in mathematics classes at four key points during the 18 months in which students transitioned from Year 8 to Year 10. The study followed 22 students through the transition to secondary school. This drew attention to the ways that context shapes identities. Defining identity as a performance enabled an understanding of identity as situated firmly in the social context. This study aimed to better understand how this happens by focusing on learners’ identity construction at a particular time in their schooling: the transition to secondary school. At some point during their schooling they seem to have developed a mathematics identity of failure, helplessness or fear. Many people reach adulthood having been denied access to positive mathematics learning experiences. The paper concludes with potential trajectories for future research. It then examines research in K-12 mathematics education that focuses on learners’ identity through the perspective of Ivanič’s model to suggest an instrumental, yet tentative, multi-dimensional framework for exploring identity in mathematics education. Following a short introduction of the meaning of identity as a research construct, the paper discusses Ivanič’s four identity-related aspects that include autobiographical identity, discoursal identity, authorial identity, and socioculturally available identities. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the conversation on identity in mathematics education by providing a literature review through the lens of a four-part networked identity model configured by Ivanič (1998) in the field of academic writing.
While researchers-collectively-theorize identity as situated and negotiated, they also draw attention to the unwieldy nature of the concept that makes it difficult to define and operationalize. The construct of identity is increasingly recognized as a dominant and determining aspect in learning mathematics.
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