Abstract:
This study sought to investigate the effect and interconnections of basic Akan
ethnomathematics activities that can support the teaching and learning school
mathematics. The Ethnomathematics approach was demonstrated practically in a formal
school stream to further investigate its interconnection with school mathematics, its
effect on students „interest and perception of its integration in the teaching and learning
process. The study adopted an explorative mixed research approach where both
qualitative and quantitative methods were applied. The purposive and convenience
sampling techniques were used to select 112 teachers from Techiman West and North
Districts of the Bono-East region of Ghana with two adopted classes at Techiman
Senior High School. The instruments used to collect data were observation,
questionnaire guide, and interview guide and test scores for the analyses. A quasiexperiment
design was employed. Content analyses, field exploration and statistical
analyses using descriptive and inferential tests were done. Findings revealed that Akan
communities had a lot of basic ethnomathematics, and their ethno-technological
applications existed in various forms. This Basic ethnomathematics existed in the form
of artefacts that could serve as resource-base in the teaching and learning of school
mathematics. The ethnomathematics approach in teaching school mathematics was
tested to have significant effect on student's academic achievement in the teaching and
learning process, as reflected in the mean test difference of students' observed scores
under t-test statistics. Though challenges and problems existed in making the
interconnection of ethnomathematics to school mathematics, students and teachers
perceived ethnomathematics integration in the formal teaching of school mathematics
as useful. The integration of Akan ethnomathematics was seen to have significant
motivation in building student interest in mathematics lessons. It was recommended that
ethnomathematics application as a resource base and contextual applications be
encouraged in the formal school mathematics lesson integration in the curriculum
implementation process.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Mathematics Education,
Faculty of Science Education, submitted to the School
of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(Mathematics Education)
in the University of Education, Winneba
JULY, 2022