Statistics education and intersectionality in school contexts: A study of the relations between data and powerAbstract
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.
Keywords:
Intersectionality; Critical statistics education; Statistical inquiry; Participatory research; PPDAC cycle
Resumo
Esta pesquisa, de natureza qualitativa, trata-se de um estudo descritivo, a partir de uma pesquisa de doutorado que visou compreender como estudantes do Ensino Médio de uma escola pública do Ceará exploravam e compreendiam marcadores sociais a partir de uma abordagem da educação estatística na perspectiva crítica, utilizando o ciclo Problema, Plano, Dados, Análise e Conclusão (PPDAC) como método investigativo. Para atingir esse objetivo, foi elaborada uma atividade investigativa estatística cujo foco central foi examinar como as inter-relações entre os marcadores de gênero, raça e classe social influenciavam a representatividade dos estudantes na liderança no ambiente escolar. Os estudantes, ao longo da investigação estatística conduzida por eles, perpassaram todas as etapas do processo, o que lhes permitiu desenvolver uma compreensão crítica das desigualdades e injustiças sociais presentes na sociedade. Nesse processo, eles receberam orientações de como utilizar a interseccionalidade como ferramenta analítica. Isso foi essencial para ampliar a compreensão sobre os marcadores sociais que permeiam o contexto escolar. Os resultados desta investigação estatística, conduzida pelos estudantes, evidenciam a necessidade de incorporar, na perspectiva da educação estatística crítica, atividades que promovam a reflexão sobre as injustiças estruturais e sobre o papel dos dados na identificação dessas desigualdades. Mais do que apenas entender os dados, os estudantes começaram a questionar as estruturas sociais que os produzem, indicando um movimento em direção a uma transformação social, na medida em que passaram a reconhecer seu potencial como agentes de mudança em suas comunidades.
Palavras-chave:
Interseccionalidade; Educação estatística crítica; Investigação estatística; Pesquisa participante; Ciclo PPDAC
Introduction
School reflects, on a smaller scale, the social markers and unequal structures present in society. Issues concerning the interrelations among gender, race, and social class have been widely discussed; however, these markers often remain invisible or insufficiently examined within school contexts, which may contribute to the reproduction of educational practices that are not fully inclusive.
Studying intersectionality as an analytical perspective makes it possible to understand how different social markers intersect in the production of inequalities, as discussed by Collins and Bilge (2021). However, statistics is often taught in an instrumental way within basic education, with an emphasis on calculations and graphical representations, which limits its potential as a tool for a critical reading of reality.
To understand how to break this cycle, we sought to examine how high school students explored social markers through a critical statistics education approach. For this purpose, an investigative activity was developed with student leaders from a public school in Ceará, integrating critical statistics education and intersectionality.
This research is grounded in the understanding that fostering a critical reading of the power dynamics that structure social inequalities is essential for students to identify injustices present in their daily lives and to participate in processes of social transformation. In this process, the use of data drawn from students’ own realities can make learning more meaningful and contextually relevant, as highlighted by Weiland (2017). Thus, critical statistics education and intersectionality emerge as key tools for developing citizens who are aware of and committed to social transformation, capable of questioning the conditions that sustain injustices and of proposing ways to overcome them.
From this perspective, we draw on the Problem-Plan-Data-Analysis-Conclusion (PPDAC) investigative cycle, widely used in statistics education (Wild; Pfannkuch, 1999). Third-year high school students applied the cycle to investigate the following question: How do the interrelations among social markers shape the representation of different groups among student leaders in the school?
The article is organized as follows: after the introduction, the theoretical framework section presents concepts related to critical statistics education and intersectionality; the methodological section then describes the implementation of the PPDAC cycle, outlines the research participants, and details the procedures for data production and analysis; the analysis and results section examines the implications of the statistical investigation for the participants’ process of transformation; finally, the conclusion synthesizes the findings and discusses contributions to promoting greater equity within the school environment.
Statistics education from a critical perspective
Social transformations such as economic crises, poverty, depletion of natural resources, climate change, wealth polarization, extreme nationalism, and migratory flows have posed increasing challenges to society. In this context, there is growing recognition of the need to incorporate these issues into teaching in order to foster the development of a critical understanding of social, cultural, and political contexts and to encourage students to reflect on possibilities for social transformation, as argued by Weiland (2019).
With technological advances, statistical data exert an increasingly significant influence on public decisions and stances regarding these issues (Engel et al., 2016, 2021; Gal, 2019; Steen, 2001; Weiland, 2017, 2019). Therefore, it is essential to develop individuals’ ability to reason with data, interpret statistical information, construct arguments, and question analyses that distort reality. In this regard, Gal (2019) emphasizes that statistical literacy, when developed critically within school contexts, enables individuals to access, understand, interpret, and evaluate data-based information, as well as to express well-grounded positions.
Statistical literacy is closely related to the concept of critical statistics education (Weiland, 2017), which aligns with Skovsmose’s (2008) perspective on critical mathematics education. Although closely related, these approaches have distinct characteristis, particularly because statistics involves specific forms of reasoning, interpretation, and data-based decision-making. In this sense, statistics education requires its own pedagogical approaches.
Weiland (2017, p. 399) argues that “statistics is a distinct discipline, and as such, there are different strategies, mental habits, and practices involved in teaching statistical concepts”. According to the author, critical statistics education can be characterized by: (i) the development of statistical literacy; (ii) the importance of context; (iii) the study of data variability; (iv) the subjectivity inherent in the information analyzed; (v) transnumeration in the organization and interpretation of stochastic data; and (vi) problem-posing in the analysis of situations.
Statistical literacy refers to the ability to identify, connect, analyze, and critically communicate information associated with stochastic phenomena present in social, cultural, economic, and political spheres. These stochastic phenomena involve uncertainty and probability, meaning that their outcomes cannot be predicted with certainty but can be examined through probabilistic models. From this standpoint, statistical literacy also entails using data to understand the complexity of social issues and to reflect on possible courses of action.
From the perspective of critical statistics education, context plays a central role in the process of data analysis, since “data are not just numbers; they are numbers with a context” (Cobb; Moore, 1997, p. 801). With technological advances and expanded access to databases, it has become possible to investigate different social phenomena through statistics. Studies such as those conducted by Engel et al. (2016), Gal (2019), and Weiland (2017) indicate that data analysis enables students to understand issues related to social markers and to recognize processes of production and reproduction of social injustices.
In this field, variability is omnipresent in statistical reasoning, as decisions are based on the uncertainty present in the data being analyzed (Wild; Pfannkuch, 1999). In a critical approach, this variability reflects the complexity of social and natural phenomena. Subjectivity also plays an important role, as it influences the formulation of questions, the selection of data, and the interpretation of results (Weiland, 2017). Both variability and subjectivity are connected to the process of transnumeration, understood as the transformation of data to support their comprehension and representation (Wild; Pfannkuch, 1999).
Teaching grounded in a problem-posing approach also contributes to the development of critical statistical literacy (Weiland, 2017), as it values the collective construction of knowledge and challenges the dichotomy between teacher and student (Freire, 2015). In this process, students can become critical consumers of statistical information and, at the same time, producers of data and interpretations (Gal, 2021).
In this context, criticality constitutes the core of statistical literacy, going beyond logical argumentation to encompass the understanding and transformation of social structures. In critical statistics education, being critical transcends the idea of constructing arguments, making conjectures, and critiquing others’ reasoning (Weiland, 2017). Being critical does not mean consuming data to better understand them statistically; rather, it means using statistics to better understand the different power relations that shape the social, economic, political, and cultural differences experienced by each social group.
This perspective aligns with discussions on intersectionality (Collins; Bilge, 2021), understood as an analytical tool that examines how different axes of subordination operate simultaneously in individuals’ lives. Next, we present the main elements of the framework that grounds the analyses developed in the activities proposed to the students.
Intersectionality as an analytical tool for social problems
Intersectionality constitutes a theoretical approach and an analytical tool aimed at understanding how different social markers - race, gender, class, sexual orientation, among others - intersect and interrelate to shape the experiences of individuals and groups. The term was coined by Crenshaw (1989), in the context of Black feminist struggles in the United States, to emphasize that the experiences of Black women cannot be understood solely through race or gender, but through the intersection of both. The author asserts that analyzing inequalities requires considering multiple identity dimensions, such as social class, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, and regionality, in order to understand the different forms of discrimination present in society (Crenshaw, 2002).
From this perspective, Collins (2022) underscores that intersectionality contributes to analyzing the power relations that structure social inequalities by revealing how different axes of subordination operate simultaneously in people’s lives. Social markers do not function in isolation; rather, their interactions produce specific forms of oppression and exclusion. There are numerous ways these interrelations can occur. For example, a person may belong to multiple markers such as gender + race + sexual orientation + ability; or race + gender + class; or race + class + regionality; or other markers that, according to Bilge (2009), may also be relevant, such as migration, family situation, and language.
An example of this approach can be seen in Signorini’s (2017) study, which examines the situation of migrant women from the Northeast of Brazil. The research shows that factors such as regionality, gender, and race influence these women’s living conditions, resulting in reduced access to formal employment and greater social vulnerability. The study also indicates that internal migratory flows in Brazil display demographic patterns associated with color or race, with a higher proportion of non-white women among migrants from the Northeast.
These analyses demonstrate that processes such as migration involve not only geographic displacement but also the incidence of multiple forms of inequality, including xenophobia directed at Northeasterners in certain contexts. Therefore, the intersectional approach makes it possible to more broadly understand how different power relations produce and reproduce social inequalities. In the educational field, this perspective contributes to the development of activities that recognize the diversity of students’ experiences and promote more equitable school environments.
In the following sections, we describe the methodological approach of the study and the participants. We then discuss the use of the PPDAC cycle as a methodological tool for analyzing social markers and representation among students.
Methodological paths
This study is grounded in the perspective of participatory research, understood as an approach that integrates the production of scientific knowledge with an ethical and political commitment to transforming social reality. Demo (2008) argues that this perspective preserves the methodological rigor characteristic of scientific research while recognizing participants’ involvement as a constitutive element of the investigative process, especially in contexts marked by social inequalities. Within this conception, producing knowledge means collaboratively constructing interpretations capable of critically understanding reality and contributing to its transformation.
Participant observation was adopted as the technique for producing and collecting data. Developed throughout the implementation of a lesson sequence, this technique made it possible to follow the interactions established in everyday school life, record the discussions generated during the activity, and analyze how the pedagogical proposal - grounded in critical statistics education and intersectionality - was appropriated by students and connected to their practices and perceptions. As Spradley (2016) argues, participant observation transcends the simple description of behaviors or situations, allowing for an understanding of the meanings, orientations, and dynamics that organize participants’ actions in the investigated context, while also fostering collaborative engagement committed to understanding and transforming social reality.
Participants in the statistical investigation
The study involved a group of nine high school students from a public school in the state of Ceará, Brazil. The group was formed in 2023, with students participating voluntarily, and meetings were held outside regular school hours, as part of the first author’s doctoral research. To form the group, we established specific criteria: being regularly enrolled at the school, attending the second year of high school, and participating in the Integrated Mathematics and Technology Track titled “What Do I Do with These Data?”. This track, offered as an extracurricular course, was designed in accordance with the conception of the Brazilian educational policy named New High School, with the aim of exploring mathematical and statistical concepts applied to everyday situations and developing in students a critical stance toward the production, interpretation, and social use of data.
The student participants demonstrated, from the outset, an interest in mathematics and in extracurricular initiatives related to the subject. Four students were part of the Girls in Mathematics project, which encouraged collaborative learning and promoted female participation in the field. In addition, the participants were involved in preparatory classes for university entrance exams and the National High School Exam (ENEM), as well as in academic olympiads such as the Brazilian Astronomy and Astronautics Olympiad (OBA). Some also participated in national-level institutional programs, such as Young Senators, aimed at civic education.
Although this article is co-authored, the first author acted simultaneously as researcher and participant, since the investigation was carried out as part of her work as a mathematics teacher at the institution, where she had been teaching since 2017. Her dual role facilitated the development of trusting relationships with the students and enabled a deeper understanding of school dynamics, in line with the principles of participatory research. The study was also approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU), under CAAE no. 69729723.7.0000.5152.
Thus, this article reports on part of a broader investigation whose central focus is to address social inequalities through critical statistics education. The analysis presented here is drawn from Pinho’s (2026) dissertation titled “Desvelando desigualdades: educação estatística emancipatória e interseccionalidade na leitura da realidade no Ensino Médio” (Unveiling Inequalities: Emancipatory Statistical Education and Intersectionality in Reading Social Reality in High School, our translation). In this text, specifically, we analyze a statistical investigation conducted by the students with the aim of understanding how social markers intersect within the school context.
The PPDAC cycle in a statistical investigation
To enable students to carry out a statistical investigation and produce data for the study, we drew on the PPDAC cycle (Wild; Pfannkuch, 1999) as a framework. This investigative cycle describes the procedures and modes of thinking employed by statisticians when examining phenomena within a given context (Pfannkuch; Wild, 2004). In the present study, the PPDAC cycle was used as a methodological structure to integrate intersectionality and critical statistics education, encouraging students to use statistical data to understand and problematize social issues present in their daily lives.
The PPDAC cycle consists of five stages: Problem, in which the research question is defined; Plan, which involves selecting methods and instruments for data collection; Data, the stage dedicated to producing and organizing information; Analysis, focused on interpreting the data and identifying patterns; and Conclusion, the moment of systematizing results and formulating responses to the initial question (Pfannkuch; Wild, 2004). Throughout the process, the students actively participated in all stages of the investigation.
Thus, the cycle guided the process from the formulation of the research question to the analysis and interpretation of the data, enabling students to use statistical information to identify and question the social markers present in the context under investigation. The stepbystep application of the cycle is described below. Table 1 summarizes the stages of the statistical investigation, the activities carried out, and the average duration of each session, which was approximately two hours. Next, the sessions are described in detail.
The cycle operated not only as a methodological tool but also as a structure that guided both the pedagogical experience and the research process of the study. In the Problem stage, students formulated a question that connected statistics and social reality, aiming to understand how the interrelations among markers - such as gender, race, and social class - shape the representation of class leaders and vice-leaders within the school context.
In the Planning stage, strategies for data production and analysis were defined. The sample, determined by judgment sampling to select members of the population considered most representative for the study, consisted of the leaders and vice-leaders of the school’s 22 classes, totaling 44 participants. As the data collection instrument, the students chose a structured questionnaire. During the Data stage, the questionnaire was administered to all students serving as class leaders, and the data produced were organized for subsequent systematization and statistical analysis.
In the Analysis stage, the students examined the frequencies and distributions of the investigated variables and then explored possible relationships among the social markers analyzed. Finally, in the Conclusion stage, they systematized the results, constructed graphs, and developed arguments grounded in the evidence produced. This stage was characterized by the sharing of their analyses and by the problematization of the findings in light of the discussions carried out throughout the process.
It is important to emphasize that this process did not occur in a linear or merely technical manner. Each stage involved debates and reflections that went beyond the numerical dimension of the data. In this context, the PPDAC cycle functioned as a mediator between statistical content and the social reading of reality, enabling students to use data analysis to interpret and question power relations present in the school environment.
Production and emergent nature of the data and analytical contextualization of the study
The investigative activity examined in this article is part of a broader set of activities developed within a research project linked to the Research Group on Equity in Mathematics, Statistics, and Science Education (GEMEC), a formative space in which activities are problematized through the lenses of critical statistics education and intersectionality.
The data analyzed were not conceived as pre-given entities or as elements external to the investigation conducted by the students. We adopt a perspective in which data are understood as constructions produced through the interaction among subjects, contexts, and theoretical frameworks. Thus, the empirical material has an emergent character, being constituted through the development of the investigation itself, in the discussions, and in the arguments collectively constructed.
The sessions were audio-recorded and later transcribed, forming the analytical corpus together with the observation notes documented throughout the meetings. These records were understood not as instruments for “capturing” a fixed reality, but as devices for documenting a dynamic process of meaning production (Minayo et al., 2011). Drawing on the qualitative tradition, the data were treated as situated expressions of social experiences, revealing how students understand, reproduce, or challenge power relations present in the school environment.
The narrative of events was organized based on the experience as lived and interpreted by the teacher-researcher (Larrosa, 2011), acknowledging that, in participatory research, the investigative gaze is neither neutral nor external to the field. The excerpts were selected for their analytical strength - that is, for revealing shifts in thinking, interpretive tensions, and critical articulations between statistical concepts and the social reality problematized by the students. To preserve the ethical principles of the study, pseudonyms were adopted in the dialogues presented in the following section. The identification “Ana - TR” refers to the teacher-researcher, indicating her dual position in the field: as the pedagogical mediator of the investigative activity and as the researcher of the process.
From this dialogical movement between empirical material and theory, two analytical axes emerged, constructed through repeated readings of the records and the theoretical problematization of the material. The first axis examines how students mobilize statistical concepts to interpret and problematize social markers within the school context. The second focuses on the modes of argumentation and positioning adopted by the participants throughout the investigation, highlighting how data analysis enabled the construction of critical readings of reality and the development of evidencebased stances.
Analysis and discussion of the results
Arising from the statistical investigation conducted by the students, the analysis was organized around two axes constructed throughout the interpretive process of the study. The first axis, titled “Mobilization of the PPDAC Cycle in the Intersectional Problematization of School Representation,” and the second, titled “DataBased Argumentation and the Construction of Critical Stances in Statistical Investigation.” The following sections present a detailed analysis of each of these axes.
Mobilization of the PPDAC cycle in the intersectional problematization of school representation
As part of the study, we asked the students to develop an investigation aimed at analyzing the intersectionality of social markers in the school environment through statistical data. During a discussion circle, the students suggested several themes to be explored using the cycle. The theme examined in this article concerns the characteristics of student leadership.
Ana-TR: Folks, among the proposals you suggested - school meals, public transportation, and student leadership - which one are we going to focus on today?
All: Student leadership!
Ana-TR: And which markers do you think are important to address in this investigation?
Cauã: I think we should focus on race, gender, whether the student is a Person with a Disability (PwD), and income.
Dávila: We need to better understand who is actually in charge of student leadership. Like, the leaders, vice-leaders, and the Student Council, right? Last year, when we researched the Council, there were more men than women making the decisions. Are the people making decisions really mostly men or women?
Linda: And what is the color and race of the people who are in these positions?
Ana-TR: Excellent point, Linda. So, what would be the motivating question for our research?
Thy: I think it could be: “How can we analyze the interrelations among social markers in the representation of students in school leadership?”
Cauã: Great! That question makes sense!
Gleiser: Now that we’ve defined the first P of the cycle, the Problem, let’s move on to the second P.
Linda: Right, the Plan!
Kay: We can interview all the leaders and vice-leaders in the school.
Cauã: And create a questionnaire so they can indicate race, gender, and other characteristics.
Dávila: After that, we tabulate the data and start the analysis.
Gleiser: That way we’ll be able to see the dynamics of power and representation more clearly. (Discussion circle, 3rd session).
Inspired by Freire (2015, p. 79, our translation), for whom “dialogue is an act of creation,” the analysis of the interactions revealed two important movements: students’ protagonism in the investigative process and the development of critical awareness regarding the interrelations of power within the school environment. This protagonism is evident in the choice of the theme and in the formulation of the investigative question. By choosing to investigate leadership - rather than other proposed themes such as school meals or public transportation - the students demonstrated an interest in analyzing power relations in a sphere that is tangible and close to their everyday lives.
The dialogues also revealed an effort to understand the intersections among race, gender, disability (PwD), and income, markers that, according to the students themselves, should be part of the investigation. Cauã’s suggestion to include these aspects reflects an understanding that different social markers intersect in shaping experiences of leadership and representation at school. This analytical shift aligns with the conception of intersectionality discussed by Collins and Bilge (2021), who define it as a lens for understanding the overlap of systems of oppression. In this sense, the students demonstrated an awareness that school dynamics can both perpetuate and challenge social inequalities.
The discussion deepened when Dávila brought up the issue of gender inequality in the Student Council, observed in a previous study that indicated the underrepresentation of women in decision-making spaces. By asking “who makes the decisions, men or women?”, the student encouraged the group to reflect on how certain power structures may historically privilege men. The simultaneous mobilization of different markers reinforces Collins and Bilge’s (2021) observation that young people are capable of recognizing how multiple systems of power shape their everyday experiences.
Within the scope of critical statistics education, the use of the PPDAC cycle (Wild; Pfannkuch, 1999) played a structuring role in organizing the investigation. As Engel et al. (2016) point out, the development of statistical competencies in this perspective involves an investigative trajectory marked by questioning, interpretation, and reflection on reality. Thus, by deciding to investigate the social markers present in school leadership, the students mobilized statistics as a tool to problematize the social structures that shape the school environment.
In this context, the group defined the following research question: How can we analyze the interrelations among social markers in the representation of students in school leadership? The formulation of this question reveals an initial movement of problematization that connects statistical concepts to discussions on representation, opening space for an intersectional analysis of the power dynamics present in the institution.
Continuing the investigation, we observed in the dialogues a progression toward the planning stage of the research. In this phase, the students discussed fundamental aspects for conducting the investigation, such as the target population, the data collection instrument, the timeline for administering and re-administering the questionnaire (if necessary), and the social markers to be analyzed. This moment represents a shift from what Skovsmose (2008) refers to as the “exercise paradigm,” characteristic of traditional practices in which students merely solve tasks with predetermined answers. Instead, the situation experienced aligned with an investigative approach, in which students formulate questions, make methodological decisions, and reflect on the course of the inquiry.
The data collection stage was carried out through the administration of the questionnaire to the students who held the positions of leaders and viceleaders of the school’s 22 classes in 2024, totaling 44 participants. At the time, the institution had approximately 800 enrolled students. Subsequently, the students organized and systematized the information obtained. In a discussion circle, they tabulated the collected data, mobilizing statistical procedures such as frequency counts, percentage calculations, and the identification of measures of central tendency. This process allowed the transformation of the collected information into evidence suitable for analysis, paving the way for interpreting the power relations and patterns of representation that would be explored in the subsequent stages of the study.
After tabulating the data, the students met to discuss which forms of representation would be most appropriate for presenting the information produced in the statistical investigation. This moment made clear that data representation is not limited to a merely technical choice; rather, it involves interpretive decisions about how to make visible the patterns, relationships, and possible inequalities present in the collected information. In this regard, we draw on Wild and Pfannkuch (1999), who emphasize that, within the statistical investigative process, methodological choices must consider the concrete conditions of the inquiry and the analytical objectives proposed. Complementing this perspective, Weiland (2019) highlights that the teaching of statistics must move beyond an instrumental dimension and become a practice of reading and problematizing social reality.
In line with these perspectives, the students decided to construct an illustrative map representing the distribution and characteristics of student leadership in the school. Initially, they used simple materials such as sheets of paper, sticky notes, and colored pens to collective organizing the data in a visual format. This process fostered an environment of collaboration and reflection, in which the students could discuss how different social markers intersected in shaping the composition of school leadership. Later, the group chose to transfer this visualization to the Canva application, aiming to enhance the clarity and organization of the display. The transition from physical materials to a digital environment expanded the possibilities for analyzing and communicating the data, helping to highlight relationships among gender, race, income, and other markers examined, as illustrated in Figure 2.
The visual representation created by the students - the Map of Leaders (DP), with DP standing for Dione Pessoa, the name of the school where the study was conducted - synthesized key characteristics of student leadership and enabled an interpretation of patterns of representation within the school. Among the aspects identified, the group observed that 65.9% of the leaders are cisgender women, 56.8% selfidentify as brown, and 93.1% live in urban areas. Regarding socioeconomic conditions, the group found that 47.7% of student leaders reported having a family income of up to one minimum wage, and 56.8% stated that they did not receive any type of scholarship or student aid. The integrated analysis of these data made it possible to understand that the representation of students in leadership positions cannot be explained by a single social marker; instead, it results from the interrelation among different markers.
This interpretation aligns with Collins’ perspective (2022), for whom intersectionality allows us to understand that oppressions and privileges do not operate in isolation; rather, they intertwine in multiple layers that structure social experiences. By analyzing the markers simultaneously, the students broadened their understanding of how power relations permeate the school environment and influence who occupies leadership positions.
During the interpretation of the results, the participants began questioning why certain groups appear more frequently in leadership positions, while others remain underrepresented or absent. This movement shows that statistical analysis, when articulated with a critical perspective as proposed by Weiland (2017), can cause shifts in how individuals understand the power relations present in their daily lives. In this process, the students began to construct arguments and formulate hypotheses, mobilize evidence, and position themselves in relation to the data produced. This movement of building arguments grounded in data constitutes the focus of the second analytical axis presented below.
Argumentation based on data and the construction of critical stances in statistical investigation
After constructing the illustrative map, the students moved on to the data analysis phase, focusing on the power dynamics that influence student leadership. Using the collected data, the students began a reflective process on how the interrelations among social markers manifest in the profiles of the school’s leaders and viceleaders. The relevance of this analysis is grounded in the perspective of Weiland and Williams (2024), who argue that there is no neutral context, since individuals - in this case, the students - always carry their lived experiences, which directly influence how they interpret and analyze data. When dealing with information involving social markers, the social implications of the data were taken into account. This ensured a critical approach that went beyond mere quantification. During this stage, discussions emerged and enabled the students to confront biases and reevaluate leadership practices within the school.
Dávila: “There are more women in leadership.”
Thy: “Most are brown, and there are no Indigenous students, even though our land belongs to an Indigenous people.”
Cauã: “Of the 44 students, only 2 are Black, and there is no student with a disability in any leadership position.”
Linda: “We need to change this.”
Cauã: “We only have one person who doesn’t identify with any of the genders listed in the questionnaire.”
Belly: “Do you remember that chart we studied showing that we, women, study more than men, but women hold fewer leadership positions?”
Thy: “I was just about to say that. Here we have more women in leadership, but that’s not the usual pattern.”
Ana-TR: “And why do you think this happens?”
Cauã: “I think it’s because of the incentives we get at school, from the moment we arrive. There are incentives for women to take the lead in projects, like the ‘women in mathematics’ initiative.”
Lucena: “Exactly. Here at school, the environment is favorable for everyone: men, women, Black, white, and Asian students. But once we step outside the school walls, we don’t find that same reality.”
Cauã: “I think it’s good that the school does this. Because the school represents part of society, and as an institution it’s breaking the patterns of a sexist society. We have projects for women in mathematics, women in science, several initiatives that encourage women to be in those spaces.”
Lucena: “Another point: this data here - ‘Have you ever been a leader?’ - shows that 68% had never been one before. So it shows that brown women are getting the opportunity to take on leadership roles here at school.”.
The dialogue among the students revealed important elements about how social markers shape school leadership and how these relationships are understood by the students themselves. As they analyzed the data produced in the statistical investigation, the students began to problematize aspects of their everyday reality, connecting statistical information to reflections on inequalities and representation within the school environment. This movement aligns with Freire’s perspective (2015), for whom the educational process should foster a critical reading of the world, enabling individuals to understand the social structures that shape their experiences. In this sense, the investigation developed here approaches Freire’s notion of praxis, understood as the articulation between reflection and transformative action.
Gender emerged as one of the first elements problematized in the dialogue. Dávila noted the significant presence of girls in leadership positions, which at first might suggest greater equity. However, Belly and Thy qualify this perception by pointing out that such a configuration does not necessarily reflect the broader social reality, which remains marked by gender inequalities across different spaces of power. In this discussion, the school is interpreted, as Lucena suggests, as a space that, to some extent, encourages female participation, including in areas historically characterized by gender disparities, such as science and mathematics.
From this reflection, the students began to problematize the racial dimensions of representation in the school. In the comments made by Cauã and Thy, the absence of Indigenous students and the low presence of Black students in leadership positions stand out. This perception reveals that, even in contexts that value inclusion, certain inequalities may remain invisible or become naturalized. This interpretation aligns with Crenshaw’s perspective (1989), by showing that different forms of oppression do not operate in isolation but intersect and reconfigure themselves according to the social context. In the case analyzed, the absence of Indigenous students becomes even more significant given the historical and cultural presence of these peoples in the region, pointing to processes of symbolic erasure that extend beyond the school environment.
The discussion also shows that representation is not limited to gender and race markers. Cauã’s observation about the absence of students with disabilities broadens this reflection, indicating that different forms of exclusion can coexist and overlap within the same context. This perspective aligns with Crenshaw’s formulation (2002), which argues that experiences of oppression cannot be understood through a single analytical category; it is necessary to recognize the intersections among them. By mobilizing the investigation data to discuss these issues, the students apply statistical concepts and use them to construct critical interpretations of reality, as argued by Weiland (2017). In this process, statistical analysis goes beyond its technical dimension and becomes a tool for problematizing power relations present in the school context.
Finally, the dialogue highlights the potential of the school environment for developing awareness of social inequalities. As Collins and Bilge (2021) argue, developing awareness of inequalities and of one’s own place within these structures is fundamental for both individual and collective empowerment. In this sense, by discussing data and interpreting their social meanings, the students demonstrate not only an understanding of these issues but also a reflection on possibilities for transformation.
In the concluding stage of the investigation, the students sought to synthesize these relationships through visual representations. They initially constructed a multivariate chart using colored sticky notes, which allowed for the visual organization and comparison of the data. Later, these representations were transferred to Canva as a pictogram that systematized the relationships among the variables investigated. Figure 3 presents this representation.
As the students examined the distribution of the markers in the pictogram, they identified that higher income ranges tended to include more students identified as white, while Black students appeared more frequently in the lower income ranges. By relating these data to gender markers, they began discussing how different markers can simultaneously influence individuals’ opportunities and living conditions.
The collective reading of the pictogram supported the interpretation of the relationships among the variables analyzed, making it possible to understand that inequalities do not manifest in isolation. This perception aligns with Crenshaw’s (1989) perspective on intersectionality, showing that different systems of oppression intersect and produce combined effects. In this sense, the multivariate visualization constructed by the students made these intersections visible, supporting their understanding of how multiple social markers can combine in the production of inequalities.
This interpretive movement also resonates with Freire’s critical educational perspective (2013), highlighting the importance of pedagogical processes that promote the problematization of social reality. As they analyzed the data represented in Figure 3, the students did not limit themselves to identifying statistical patterns; instead, they reflected on the social structures that produce and sustain certain inequalities. Therefore, the statistical investigation became an educational practice oriented toward a critical reading of the world, as argued by Weiland (2017, 2019), enabling students to recognize how different social markers intersect in the organization of power relations.
Thus, the investigative activity developed within the study went beyond the technical domain of statistics, moving toward a form of education oriented toward critical awareness and an understanding of the power dynamics present in society. These findings reinforce the importance of a critical statistics education that, by adopting intersectionality as an analytical lens, enables not only the reading of structural inequalities but also their problematization. More than interpreting data, this approach helps students understand and critically engage with social problems, contributing to the construction of a more equitable and democratic school.
Conclusion
The study sought to understand how high school students explore and interpret social markers through a critical statistics education approach. In this context, the use of the PPDAC investigative cycle proved to be a relevant resource for fostering the problematization of social reality within the school environment. By working with data related to gender, race, and socioeconomic status, the students developed interpretations of how these markers intersect in the production of inequalities.
The analysis of the students’ work, especially through the construction and interpretation of a pictogram, showed that statistical investigation can reveal social dynamics that are often naturalized in everyday school life. By organizing and interpreting data, the students began to reflect critically on the relationships among different markers and the positions occupied by individuals within the school.
Thus, the study emphasizes the potential of statistics education to connect the development of statistical knowledge with an understanding of the social dynamics that shape students’ lives. By using data as a tool for interpreting and questioning reality, the school can contribute to the formation of individuals capable of analyzing and problematizing contexts marked by inequalities. After all, social inequalities generate educational inequalities, and these, in turn, contribute to the perpetuation of the former, making it urgent to adopt investigative activities that promote equity and social justice, with the aim of transforming social realities.
Finally, we acknowledge that the investigation was carried out in a specific context and with a particular group of students, which limits the generalizability of the results. Even so, the findings point to promising directions for the development of statistical investigation practices that integrate data analysis, an intersectional perspective, and critical reflection on social issues. As a possibility for future research, we suggest studies investigating activities aimed at promoting equity in educational contexts.
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Source: Photographs taken by the authors.
Source: Photograph and design by the authors.
Source: Photograph and design by the authors.