Discourses of risk and hope in research on mathematical learning difficulties

Mathematics-specific learning difficulties and disabilities (MLD) have received increasing attention in scholarly research. In this study, we place MLD research in its wider context of risk societies by discussing the manufacturing of MLD as a risk. This framing of MLD builds on a certain idea of hope in how research could provide the means to better understand and support learners with MLD. We conduct a Foucault-informed analysis to understand how scholarly knowledge about MLD has been produced through discourses of risk and hope. Our material consists of 30 influential journal articles published in the three fields of MLD research: cognitive sciences, special education and mathematics education. Our study indicates that MLD has been predominantly conceptualised through a technico-scientific risk discourse that frames MLD as harmful for learners and societies alike; such risk discourse relies on a discourse of hope in scientific methods. We also analyse a social risk discourse that identifies risks in social exclusion and marginalisation of students with MLD, finding hope in inclusive learning environments. Based on our analysis, we propose that the mere conceptualisation of MLD has thoroughly revolved around discourses of current liminalities (risk) and enunciations of better futures (hope). However, what has been unexplored is the politics of such risk and hope discourses themselves. We propose a socio-politically oriented discourse of risk/hope as a way to reframe scientific knowledge production about MLD. This discourse identifies risks not in MLD itself but in how research manufactures MLD as a threat to both economic growth and student identities. Instead of asking research communities to mitigate the risk of MLD, we call for them to embrace it.