UNC School of Education

Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

"Siempre que enseñes, enseña a la vez a dudar de lo que enseñes" (Whenever you teach, teach also to question what you teach).

- José Ortega y Gasset

"Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment."

- Maria Montessori

Overview

Marta Civil’s research interests focus on teacher education and equity in mathematics education, particularly on a socio-cultural approach to the teaching of mathematics, equity and parental engagement.

She has directed several initiatives aimed at engaging children ages 8-13 in mathematics and science in informal and after-school settings, as well as directed programs focused on parental engagement in mathematics. Civil has served as principal investigator for National Science Foundation-funded Center for the Mathematics Education of Latinos/as. CEMELA is an interdisciplinary, multi-university consortium focused on research and practice on the connections between the teaching and learning of mathematics and the cultural, social, and linguistic contexts of Latino/a students. She has also directed an NSF-funded gender equity project, Girls in the SYSTEM (Sustaining Youth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). She was one of the principal investigators of the NSF-funded MAPPS (Math and Parent Partnerships in the Southwest, which worked to promote parental involvement in mathematics.

Civil has taught primarily mathematics courses for elementary teachers (preservice and practicing teachers) and graduate courses on research in mathematics education.

Website

http://cemela.math.arizona.edu

Educational Background

• Ph.D. 1990 – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mathematics Education
• M.S. 1985 – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Teaching of Mathematics
• Licenciada 1981 – Universidad de Barcelona, Mathematics

Research Interests

• Teacher education and equity in mathematics education
• Socio-cultural approaches to mathematics education with ethnically and linguistically diverse students
• Community / Parental engagement in mathematics
• Connections between out-of-school and in-school mathematical experiences
• Language policy, English language learners and mathematics education

Teaching Areas

• Elementary teachers’ understanding and beliefs about mathematics, its teaching and learning
• Mathematics teacher education
• Research in mathematics education

Courses

• Math 411: Developing Mathematical Concepts

Honors & Awards

• 1998, Graduate Advisor of the Year, University of Arizona
• 2005, Distinguished Achievement in Science Education Award, University of Arizona
• 2007, Galileo Circle Fellow, University of Arizona

Funded Research

• 2004- 2012, CEMELA (Center for the Mathematics Education of Latinos/as), National Science Foundation, Principal Investigator.
• 2010-2014, Beyond Bridging: Co-Education of Preservice and Inservice Elementary Teachers in Science and Mathematics, National Science Foundation, Co-Principal Investigator (Principal Investigator, Bruce Johnson, University of Arizona)
• 2010-2014, Teachers Empowered to Advance Change in Mathematics (TEACH MATH): Preparing preK-8 Teachers to connect children’s mathematical thinking and community-based funds of knowledge, National Science Foundation, Co-Principal Investigator (Principal Investigator, Corey Drake, Michigan State University)

Selected Professional Affiliations

• American Educational Research Association
• Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators
• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
• TODOS: Mathematics for ALL

Selected Publications

Books and Chapters

Kitchen, R., & Civil, M. (Eds.) (2011). Transnational and borderland studies in mathematics education. New York, NY: Routledge.

Téllez, K., Moschkovich, J., & Civil, M. (Eds.) (2011). Latinos/as and mathematics education: Research on learning and teaching in classrooms and communities. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Civil, M. (in press). Mathematics teaching and learning of immigrant students: An overview of the research field across multiple settings. In B. Greer & O. Skovsmose (Eds.), Critique and politics of mathematics education. New York, NY: Routledge.

Civil, M. (2011). Mathematics education, language policy, and English language learners. In W. F. Tate, K. D. King, &C. Rousseau Anderson (Eds.), Disrupting tradition:  Research and practice pathways in mathematics education (pp. 77-91). Reston, VA: NCTM.

Civil, M., & Planas, N. (2010). Latino/a immigrant parents’ voices in mathematics education.  In E. Grigorenko & R. Takanishi (Eds.), Immigration, diversity, and education (pp. 130-150). New York, NY: Routledge.

Civil, M. (2007). Building on community knowledge: An avenue to equity in mathematics education. In N. Nasir & P. Cobb (Eds.), Improving access to mathematics: Diversity and equity in the classroom (pp. 105-117). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Journal Articles

Fernandes, A., Anhalt, C., & Civil, M. (2009). Mathematical interviews to assess Latino students. Teaching Children Mathematics, 16(3), 162-169.

Planas, N., & Civil, M. (2009). Working with mathematics teachers and immigrant students: an empowerment perspective. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 12, 391-409.

Civil, M., & Bernier, E. (2006). Exploring images of parental participation in mathematics education: Challenges and possibilities. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 8(3), 309-330.

Civil, M., Planas, N., & Quintos, B. (2005). Immigrant parents’ perspectives on their children’s mathematics. Zentralblatt für Didaktik der Mathematik, 37(2), 81-89.

Civil, M., & Planas, N. (2004). Participation in the mathematics classroom: Does every student have a voice? For the Learning of Mathematics, 24 (1), 7-12.

Civil, M. (2002). Culture and mathematics: A community approach. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 23(2), 133-148.

Civil, M., & Kahn, L. (2001). Mathematics instruction developed from a garden theme. Teaching Children Mathematics, 7, 400-405.