Laura Black

Biography

I am a Senior Lecturer in the department of Environment, Education and Development for Manchester university

Research Interest

Research interests focus on learner identities in mathematics and their relationship with social class, gender, ethnicity and family aspirational narratives. I have worked on two major ESRC funded ‘Transmaths’ projects which looked at young people’s developing identities in relation to mathematics and STEM subjects at post 16 years and as they transition into university (see www.transmaths.org ). This work has mainly focused on narrative analysis of interviews with adolescents and has looked at how engagement with mathematics is linked to future aspirations (a leading identity). More recently, I have been researching mathematical identifications with young children (aged 5 to 6) from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, focusing on the contradictions and alignment between embedded ‘home’ mathematics and the formal school curriculum.