Statistics education and intersectionality in school contexts: A study of the relations between data and power

Abstract

This qualitative research presents a descriptive study drawn from a doctoral investigation that sought to understand how high school students from a public school in Ceará explored and interpreted social markers through a critical statistics education approach, using the Problem-Plan-Data-Analysis-Conclusion (PPDAC) cycle as an investigative framework. To achieve this aim, a statistical investigation activity was designed in order to examine how the interrelations among gender, race, and social class shaped student representation in leadership roles within the school environment. Throughout the statistical investigation they conducted, the students engaged in all stages of the process, which enabled them to develop a critical understanding of the social inequalities and injustices present in society. In this process, they received guidance on how to use intersectionality as an analytical tool, an essential resource for broadening their understanding of the social markers that permeate the school context. The results of this student led statistical investigation emphasize the need to incorporate, from a critical statistics education perspective, activities that foster reflection on structural injustices and on the role of data in identifying such inequalities. More than simply interpreting data, the students began to question the social structures that produce them, signaling a movement toward social transformation as they came to recognize their potential as agents of change within their communities.