[Beth Herbel-Eisenmann]

1. My research focus. My scholarship has used various types of participatory methodologies and includes long term partnerships with educators both in and outside of school. We’ve drawn on a range of ideas from sociolinguistics, critical discourse studies, critical mathematics education, intersectional feminism, positioning theory, and postmodern theories to critically challenge ideas, methods, and practices in mathematics education. By doing so, the work generated within the partnerships not only explores theories/ideas in practice but also speaks back to the theories/ideas. Our overarching goal in the work is to create experiences where youth feel they are valued and engage in learning that is relevant, affirming, and conceptually deep. In the partnerships that have involved youth participatory action research, we also work to support youth to do research related to issues they care about and to create change in their communities.
2. Why I enjoy mentoring. Every day I collaborate with people, I learn new things about myself, the world, my scholarship, etc. I enjoy mentoring because I love to hear about people’s perspectives and dreams about the world and their work and support them to enact their desires in ways that honor their perspectives and journey. It brings me hope that we can work together, learn from one other, and create change toward more just systems and structures.
3. My professional values. First and foremost, I try to create relationships built on critical hope, dignity, trust, and mutual respect. As a white, cisgender, monolingual woman, I work to be diligent about attending to and challenging long-standing systems that have disenfranchised and dehumanized many people. This is particularly relevant to STEM as one considers the epistemic, material harm that it has done in the world, alongside considering the potential for STEM education to create spaces where people thrive and find joy. We all have important ideas, feelings, and visions for how the world could be, and I recognize that ‘objective’, impersonal knowing is often privileged over experiential, emotional forms.  Thus, I value conversation, time, listening and brainstorming with people and am committed to doing work that prioritizes the perspectives of people most marginalized by the policies and practices of dominant institutions (e.g. schools/universities) because these perspectives can reveal power and possibilities for liberation in ways that sanctioned forms cannot.

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