The Role of Ethno Mathematics within Mathematics Education

Every country has its own culture. There is a different culture between Indonesia and Malaysia, also between Indonesia and Japan. There’s also different culture between one province and another province in Indonesia. It is because Indonesia is a country with thousands of islands spanning out from the West (Aceh, Sumatra) to the East (Merauke, Irian Jaya). It is located between two oceans, the Pacific and Indian, and two continents, Asia and Australia. The population would be about 350 million residents. In fact by 2011, the population had grown to 375 million. Those different cultures we usually called as ethnology.

Mathematics learning process is also different between one country and another country. It depends on the culture of the country. For example, in Europe we can use mathematics problem based on four seasons. But we can’t do this in Indonesia, since Indonesia only has two seasons. This difference usually called as ethno mathematics. Ethno mathematics consists of the culture of mathematics, mathematical culture, the uncultured of mathematics, and also the context of mathematics.

In mathematics education, ethno mathematics is the study of the relationship between mathematics and culture (D'Ambrosio, 1999, 146). Often associated with "cultures without written expression" (D'Ambrosio, 1997, may paraphrases Ascher 1986), it may also be defined as "'the mathematics which is practiced among identifiable cultural groups'" (Powell and Frankenstein, 1997 quoting D'Ambrosio). It refers to a broad cluster of ideas ranging from distinct numerical and mathematical systems to multicultural mathematics education. The goal of ethno mathematics is to contribute both to the understanding of culture and the understanding of mathematics, and mainly to lead to an appreciation of the connections between the two. ⁽¹⁾

The process of ethnomathematics such that it has role within mathematics education is:

1.      Etnomathematics that is come from ethnography and hermeneutic principle combining with the value of studying mathematics is already use by people in every era. The values of studying mathematics consist of the nature of school mathematics and the nature of students learns mathematics. The nature of school mathematics consist of:

a.       Search of pattern and relationship

b.      Problem solving

c.       Communication

d.      Investigation

And the natures of student learn mathematics is:

a.       Unique

b.      Collaboration

c.       Motivation

d.      Contextual

The eras of the ethnomatics are:

a.       Archaic

b.      Tribal

c.       Traditional

d.      Feudal

e.       Modern

f.       Post modern

2.      From every era, teaching learning mathematics that is depend on the anthropology and environment’s psychology and based on the source of mathematics knowledge (logic and experience) will make a contextual teaching learning process that usually symbolize as ice berg. The components of ice berg are:

a.       Concrete mathematics

b.      Concrete model

c.       Formal model

d.      Formal mathematics

Those contextual teaching learning process are used on the extrinsic learning and intrinsic learning.

3.      From step two, then ethnomathematics can be used on teaching learning process in class. The cycles of teaching learning process based on ethnomathematics is:

Subjective mathematics will be publish and become objective mathematics. The objective mathematics then will develop as teaching learning process and this teaching learning process will be student’s knowledge or turn back into subjective mathematics. There is also interaction between subjective mathematics and objective mathematics.

The final of these three processes is a meaningful learning such that teacher can enculure mathematics into students. The scheme of the role of ethnomathematics within mathematics education can be shown below: