Introduction
Ethnomathematics as a field was established in the 1970s. At that time, it introduced a new perspective into mathematics education, considering it in relation with the cultural, political, social, and economic forces that shape the world.
One of the sources of the field can be found in the so-called People Education developed in Latin America beginning in the 1960s. The influence of the ideas of Paulo Freire in Brazil and in other “peripheral” countries, indicating the politicity of education, its non-neutrality, and its role in constructing a more just and egalitarian society, was also felt in the sphere of mathematics education (Powell and Frankenstein 1997). The Brazilian educator Ubiratan D’Ambrosio has one of his intellectual influences Freires’s ideas on education (Higginson 1997). He has been internationally acknowledged as who coined the term ethnomathematics and established its conceptual foundations.
D’Ambrosio (1997) explains the use of the word ethnomathematics...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
D’Ambrosio U (1985) Ethnomathematics and its place in the history and pedagogy of mathematics. Learn Math 5(1):44–48
D’Ambrosio U (1990) The history of mathematics and ethnomathematics. How a native culture intervenes in the process of learning science. Impact Sci Soc 40(4):369–377
D’Ambrosio U (1997) Where does ethnomathematics stand nowadays. Learn Math 17(1):13–17
D’Ambrósio U (2006) Ethnomathematics. Link between traditions and modernity. Sense Publishers, Rotterdam/Taipei, 47p
D’Ambrosio U, D’Ambrosio BS (2013) The role of Ethnomathematics in curricular leadership in mathematics education. J Math Educ Teach Coll 4:19–25
Fay B (2002) History and theory, vol 41, n°4. Theme issue 41 Unconventional history
Gerdes P (1986) How to recognize hidden geometrical thinking: a contribution to the development of anthropological mathematics. Learn Math, Vancouver 6(2):10–17
Gerdes P (1994) On mathematics in the history of sub-Saharan Africa. Hist Math 21:345–376
Gerdes P (2010) Exploration of technologies, emerging from African cultural practices, in mathematics (teacher) education. ZDM 42:11–17
Higginson WC (1997) Freire, D’Ambrosio, oppression, empowerment and mathematics: background notes to an interview. Learn Math 17(3):3–4
Powell A, Frankenstein M (Eds.) (1997) Ethnomathematics: Challenging Eurocentrism in mathematics education. New York (NY): State University of New York Press, Albany. 442 p.
Toledo e Toledo N, Knijnik G, Valero P (2018) Mathematics education in the neoliberal and corporate curriculum: the case of Brazilian agricultural high schools. Educ Stud Math 98:1–15
Zaslavsky C (1973) Africa counts: number and pattern in African cultures, 1st edn. Lawrence Hill Books, Chicago, 368p
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
D’Ambrósio, U., Knijnik, G. (2020). Ethnomathematics. In: Lerman, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15789-0_60
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15789-0_60
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-15788-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-15789-0
eBook Packages: EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education