Aboriginal Perspectives and/in Mathematics: A Case Study of Three Grade 6 Teachers

Abstract

The marriage of Aboriginal perspectives and mathematics is complex and comes with multiple interpretations. Through the research presented in this paper, we propose that one possibility for a lasting relationship between Aboriginal perspectives and mathematics lies in understanding more about teachers' experiences and stories from their own mathematics classrooms, with their own students. The purpose of this paper, and of the research project informing this paper, is to understand how Grade 6 teachers in one particular Canadian province (Saskatchewan) are addressing Aboriginal-focused curriculum goals/outcomes and to listen to teachers' perspectives on teaching mathematics with a distinctly Aboriginal focus. Data collection consisted of focus group discussions, individual interviews, and classroom observations with three case study teachers (Chris, Joe, and Lindsay). In this paper, we present three brief vignettes constructed out of the data, which provide a glimpse into the uniqueness of each teacher, each classroom, and each interpretation of what it means to teach mathematics through a distinctly Aboriginal focus. Keywords: Aboriginal education; mathematics curriculum; qualitative research; case study; Grade 6 teachers

Indigenous knowledge and classroom instruction: an introduction to examples from Latin-American countries

“…This applies in particular to indigenous cultures and their roots and knowledge. It is a topic that has been increasingly addressed in recent years in the field of education, for example in the U.S. and Canada (e.g., Nolan & Weston, 2015;Stavros, 2021) as well as in Australia and New Zealand (e.g., Meaney, McMurchy-Pilkington, & Trinick, 2012) with respect to their indigenous populations.…”