Examining international high school students' mathematical identities

The purpose of this study was to examine the mathematical identities of international high school students. Within this scope, three sub-problems have been investigated. Firstly, students' mathematical identities were examined in terms of pre-high school and high school periods, and the levels of each component of the mathematical identity were determined. Secondly, students' identity narratives were analyzed by dividing them into three periods: pre-high school, high school, and post-high school. Lastly, the factors influencing students' mathematical identities during these three periods were attempted to be identified. In this study, the research design of "narrative inquiry," which is one of the qualitative research designs, was used. Six high school students from different countries, all attending an International Anatolian Imam Hatip High School, participated in the study. Data were collected through interviews, allowing the participants to share their life stories related to mathematics. Narrative analysis was used in the data analysis. The research findings summarized the levels of each participant's mathematical identity components. Through the analysis of identity narratives in the three periods, themes relevant to their perceptions of mathematics were identified. Determining factors influencing mathematical identity in each period were summarized. It was observed that students' mathematical identity components showed changes across the periods. Four distinct themes emerged concerning students' mathematical identities related to their perceptions of mathematics. The study also revealed that teachers, families, and the students themselves both positively and negatively influenced the mathematical identity.