Ethnomathematics

Abstract

Abstract by author:

Cultural mathematics means the way people use their own measuring units in their daily lives, when shopping or in any other activities that require measurement. In its activities, people use their cups, pots or any other object available as measurement units

The present study was aimed at investigating the type of traditional activities that the Damara people were involved in. The emphasis was placed on those involved in traditional sewing and house construction. Quota-sampling techniques were used to select the above-mentioned sample from the sites since there were few people involved in traditional sewing and house construction in Khorixas. Interviews were used to obtain the information from them. The results indicated that the Damara people were involved in various types of cultural activities and practices, and included traditional sewing, house construction, cooking, counting and games. These practices and activities embodied different principles and aspects of mathematics

Furthermore, this study sought to determine the type of Damara cultural activities that the learners from the grade 10 mathematics classes were acquainted with and how these traditional Damara activities could be linked with the mathematics taught at school at the grade 10 level as well as whether this could enhance better learning of mathematics that is currently perceived to be a very difficult subject in most parts of the world. Random sampling techniques were used to select the two schools (CGSSS and WJSS) at the junior secondary school level in the Khorixas area. The learners were purposively selected from the three mathematics classroom the researcher was given by the host schools and the teachers included in the study were those teaching mathematics to those learners

The researcher spent a week teaching ethnomathematics to the learners at these schools and administered a test at the end of one week of instruction. The results showed improved performance for these learners although low and the learners were interested in ethnomathematics and requested for more lessons and the immediate incorporation of the Damara cultural aspects into their mathematics lessons

The grade 10 mathematics teachers were of the view that school mathematics expressed the Western cultures, and that the incorporation of the learners' own cultural activities and objects into the teaching and learning processes of mathematics might be of great value towards developing learners' problem solving skills and positive attitudes

In conclusion, the study found, that most of the Damara traditional activities contained mathematical elements, which, if investigated, might serve a very important purpose in the classrooms today. Therefore, it is very important to link the way in which people are doing things in real life situations with what is happening at school