Introduction
Definitions of Indigenous people differ, and while some countries acknowledge their Indigenous people, other countries label similar groups as tribal or minority nationalities (Sanders 1999). In mathematics education research, Indigenous students have come to be considered those who belong to communities who originally controlled land and developed distinctive cultures before the arrival of colonizers, generally Europeans, and who presently attend educational institutions which closely resemble those of Western countries (Meaney et al. 2012). Within this definition, there is an acknowledgment that Indigenous cultures are heterogeneous with different sets of behaviors and understandings or cultures both within and across groups.
The teaching and learning of mathematics by Indigenous students has been part of mathematics education research for schooling for more than 50 years. For example, drawing on their work with the Kpelle in Liberia, Gay and Cole (1967) proposed the...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adam S (2004) Ethnomathematical ideas in the curriculum. Math Educ Res J 16(2):49–68
Borden LL (2013) What’s the word for…? Is there a word for…? How understanding Mi’kmaw language can help support Mi’kmaw learners in mathematics. Math Educ Res J 25(1):5–22
de Vries E, Cole A, Warren E (2009) Closing the gap: myths and truths behind subitisation. Aust J Early Childhood 34(4):46–53
Dominikus WS, Nusantara T, Subanji MM (2017) Ethnomathematical ideas in the weaving practice of Adonara Society. J Math Cult 11(4):83–95
Doolittle E (2006) Mathematics as medicine. In: Proceedings of the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group Conference, Calgary, pp 17–25
Edmonds-Wathen C (2017) Responding to the mathematics curriculum with language and culture. J Math Cult 11(3):36–63
Ezeife AN (2003) Using the environment in mathematics and science teaching: an African and aboriginal perspective. Int Rev Educ 49(3–4):319–342
Fraser N (2005) Reframing Justice in a Globalizing World. New Left Rev 36:69–88
Fyhn AB, Jannok Nutti Y, Dunfjeld MH, Eira EJS, Steinfjell AS et al (2017) Can Sámi braiding constitute a basis for teaching discrete mathematics? Teachers and researchers’ investigations. J Math Cult 11(4):1–38
Gay J, Cole M (1967) The new mathematics and an old culture: a study of learning among the Kpelle of Liberia. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York
Grootenboer P, Sullivan P (2013) Remote Indigenous students’ understandings of measurement. Int J Sci Math Educ, 11(1):169–189.
Katsap A, Silverman FL (2008) A case study of the role of ethnomathematics among teacher education students of highly diverse cultural backgrounds. J Math Cult 3(1):66–102
Kisker EE, Lipka J, Adams BL, Rickard A, Andrew-Ihrke D et al (2012) The potential of a culturally based supplemental mathematics curriculum to improve the mathematics performance of Alaska Native and other students. J Res Math Educ 43(1):75–113
Lancy D (1983) Cross-cultural studies in cognition and mathematics. Academic Press, New York.
Luitel B (2013) Mathematics as an im/pure knowledge system: symbiosis, (w)holism and synergy in mathematics education. Int J Sci Math Educ 11(1):65–87
McMurchy-Pilkington C, Trinick T, Meaney T (2013) Mathematics curriculum development and Indigenous language revitalisation: contested spaces. Math Educ Res J 25(3):341–360
Meaney T, Evans D (2012) What is the responsibility of mathematics education to the Indigenous students that it serves? Educ Stud Math 82(3):481–496
Meaney T, McMurchy-Pilkington C, Trinick T (2012) Indigenous students and the learning of mathematics. In: Perry B, Lowrie T, Logan T, MacDonald A, Greenlees J (eds) MERGA four-yearly review of mathematics education research, 2008–2011. Sense Publications, Rotterdam, pp 67–88
Meaney T, Edmonds-Wathen C, McMurchy-Pilkington C, Trinick T (2016) Distribution, recognition and representation: mathematics education and Indigenous students. In: Makar K, Dole S, Visnovska J, Goos M, Bennison A et al (eds) Research in mathematics education in Australasia 2012–2015. Springer, Singapore, pp 143–164
Meaney T, Trinick T, Fairhall U (2017) Language choice and ethnomathematics in the Pacific: transforming education? J Math Cult 11(3):112–132
Mendes JR (2005) Numeracy and literacy in a bilingual context: indigenous teachers education in Brazil. Educ Stud Math 64:217–230
Mosimege M, Ismael A (2004) Ethnomathematical studies of Indigenous games: examples from Southern Africa. In: Favilli F (ed) Ethnomathematics and mathematics education: proceedings of the 10th international congress of mathematics education Copenhagen. Discussion Group 15 Ethnomathematics. Tipografia Editrice Pisana, Pisa, pp 119–137. Retrieved from: http://www.dm.unipi.it/~favilli/Ethnomathematics_Proceedings_ICME10.pdf
Namukasa IK, Quinn M, Kaahwa J (2010) School mathematics education in Uganda: its successes and its Failures. Procedia Soc Behav Sci 2(2):3104–3110
Parra AI, Trinick T (2017) Multilingualism in indigenous mathematics education: an epistemic matter. Math Educ Res J. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-017-0231-5
Sanders D (1999) Indigenous peoples: issues of definition. Int J Cult Prop 8:4–13
Shockey T (2017) Twenty-five years later: still learning about mathematics education in native communities. J Math Cult 11(3):160–187
Trinick T, Meaney T, Fairhall U (2017) Cultural and mathematical symmetry in Māori meeting houses (wharenui). In: Rosa M, Shirley L, Gavarrete MM, Alangui WV (eds) Ethnomathematics and its diverse approaches for mathematics education. Springer, New York, pp 235–255
Turner H, Rubie-Davis C, Webber M (2015) Teacher expectations, ethnicity and the achievement gap. N Z J Educ Stud 50(1):55–69
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
Meaney, T., Trinick, T. (2020). Indigenous Students in Mathematics Education. In: Lerman, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15789-0_76
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15789-0_76
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