Latin American Journal of Ethnomathematics: sociocultural perspective of mathematics education

Ethnomathematics and dialogue/confrontation of knowledge in the training of mathematics teachers

Ivonne Amparo Londoño Agudelo — 2025-08-15

Abstract

Within the framework of the evaluation processes of Licenciatura en Matemáticas program of the Universidad de los Llanos, the need to adjust its curriculum to respond effectively to the particularities of the territory was recognized; in this direction, the courses " Educación en la Diversidad" and " Etnomatemática" were incorporated. The latter was developed through a series of conferences that were preceded by the execution of a series of study activities; this was accompanied by the analysis of specific school tasks that incorporated research results of Ethnomathematics. The future teachers who joined the course modified their vision of mathematics and mathematical knowledge; they also recognized the importance of involving this knowledge in their pedagogical practice and of anticipating the possible challenges involved in integrating this knowledge into the mathematics classroom.

Within the framework of the Doctorado Interinstitucional en Educación, the implementation of the aforementioned course has been reflected on and three aspects that require attention have been identified, namely: (i) the coexistence in mathematics classrooms of discursive mathematical cultures arising from various sources, (ii) the emergence of the requirement of provisions in mathematics teachers, and (iii) the transformation of mathematics teacher training programs to promote that their graduates can professionally assume interculturality as a condition for learning mathematics. Training in and for the dialogue/confrontation of knowledge is thus shown to be an option that addresses these three aspects.

Etnomatemática na educação do campo e a valorização da cultura e saberes locais

Marilda de Liz Brockveld — 2025-06-28

In the educational sphere, Ethnomathematics is a transformative approach that recognizes and values the various mathematical systems present in different cultures. In this sense, this article aims to identify how Ethnomathematics has been worked on in dissertations that involve the context of Rural Education. With a qualitative approach and based on Discursive Textual Analysis (DTA), this text analyzed four dissertations that explore the field of Ethnomathematics and Rural Education. The analysis revealed that the dissertations addressed the inequalities between urban and rural life, highlighting the devaluation of informal mathematical knowledge of rural workers, highlighting the need to recognize and value the knowledge and practices of local agricultural communities, which are often ignored or distorted in educational materials, which perpetuates inequalities and limits a truly inclusive and representative understanding of the country's cultural and geographic diversity. Therefore, it is necessary to value the knowledge of Rural Education, to promote a more fair and equitable approach to teaching.

Una Ethnomathematical Approach to the Idea of Infinity

Jorge Alejandro Santos — 2025-06-28

In this paper we propose an approach to the idea of infinity from an ethnomathematical perspective. The hypothesis arises from a work with a group of students of the Indigenous Intercultural Degrees that Unochapecó develops in the Indigenous Lands of the Kaingang people. Starting from the discussion about the translation of certain words of the indigenous language, and especially about "goj-vêhn" which literally means "endless water", that is, a concept that involves a notion of infinity, we propose an approach to this concept that tries to explain how a language that has only five numbers: pir, régre, tãgtu, venhlãgra and pentar, (one, two, three, four and five) also has the notion of infinity. As the concept appears detached from words that refer to quantities, that is, it is not used to refer to quantity, our hypothesis postulates a logical-linguistic sense of this notion that we try to make explicit, relating it to some discussions around the concept of infinity within philosophical, logical, and mathematical thought in the Western tradition.

Ethnomathematics and STEAM: study of the banana activity for an interdisciplinary educational approach

Gilberto Chavarría Arroyo — 2025-06-28

This document presents an ethnomathematical analysis of banana cultivation as a cultural symbol in Costa Rica, assessing its potential for an interdisciplinary approach within the STEAM educational model. The research was conducted using a qualitative methodology and an ethnographic approach, including observations on a banana farm and ethnographic interviews with individuals connected to this cultural symbol. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were held with secondary school teachers from STEAM-related disciplines. This analysis enabled us to identify the connections between banana cultivation and various mathematical domains, such as numeracy, geometry, statistics, and algebra, as well as its links to scientific, technological, and artistic competencies. Furthermore, it highlighted the value of banana cultivation as a foundation for designing learning scenarios that integrate culturally significant contextualized problems. The findings of this analysis serve as a starting point for the future development of interdisciplinary teaching units aimed at enriching learning and fostering a deeper connection between STEAM disciplines and the sociocultural context.