Enacting Order in Online Mathematics Classrooms: An Ethnomethodological Study

Abstract

This study investigates how order is enacted and maintained in online undergraduate mathematics classrooms through the lens of ethnomethodology. Conducted on the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, the research explores how learners and lecturers navigated the interactional demands of virtual learning spaces. Drawing on data from recorded lessons, chat transcripts, and semi-structured interviews across three higher education institutions, the study identifies practices that sustain interactional order, including tacit turn-taking, repair mechanisms, and the negotiation of shared reference frames. The findings reveal that online mathematics classrooms are socially co-constructed spaces where order is actively produced through mutual accountability, adaptive performances, and collaborative repair work. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of the sociological dynamics of mathematics education in digital contexts. It offers insights for developing socially responsive online pedagogies in South African higher education.