Collaboration in mathematics: Taking a sociocultural perspective

The importance of learners collaborating to construct deep mathematical understandings has been increasingly recognized in research and practice in recent times. In this paper we draw on a sociocultural perspective to show how a situative strength-based approach can be usefully applied to highlight the different ways in which learners from backgrounds within collectivist traditions participate constructively in mathematical interactions. As a key equity issue, learners from backgrounds in collectivist traditions should have the opportunity to expand their repertoires of practice so that they can flexibly adapt to any learning context. The two cases presented, from two geographic regions, both illustrate the central role the concept of family has for these learners -'familia' or 'whanau'- as a collective concept of individuals working together not as individuals but rather as one unit.