Reducing students learning gap in multicultural classrooms through mathematics teacher training: an Italian case study

Abstract

This paper examines how mathematics teacher training can reduce the learning gap experienced by students from diverse cultural backgrounds in Italian multicultural classrooms. Drawing on a reinterpretation of learning loss through a cultural lens, we argue that students' mathematical knowledge is not lost but rather unrecognized within the dominant school culture. Survey data from 560 in-service teachers enrolled in the professional development course "Cultures Count" (2025–2026) reveal significant gaps in preparation for plurilingual and multicultural teaching contexts. An inductive content analysis of teachers’ conceptions of mathematics further highlights prevalent epistemological positions.  In the final part of the article, a section of the teacher training course phase is presented, aimed at discussing a didactic design from an intercultural perspective. Building on Villegas and Lucas's framework of culturally responsive teaching, the paper presents a co-designed planning scheme as a practical tool for developing teachers' roles as cultural brokers, capable of recognizing and valuing students' diverse mathematical knowledge as a resource rather than a deficit.