Ethnomathematical practices in tahiti farming: Integration for a localized and authentic mathematics curriculum

• Main Author: Juntilla, Wrendell Coralde
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2023
• Subjects: Ethnomathematics; Ethnoscience; Science and Mathematics Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_scied/39; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdm_scied/article/1047/viewcontent/Ethnomathematical_practices_in_tahiti_farming__Integration_for_a.pdf1.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

The study centers on the indigenous tahiti farming practices of the Obo Manobo community of barangay Manobisa, Magpet, North Cotabato. Using an ethnomathematical lens, I attempted to understand the community’s knowledge and its connections to the basic education mathematics curriculum. Ethnographic participant observation and community immersion were employed, and gathering data was done through interviews and field notes. Narrative research analysis through second-generation didactical engineering was utilized in making sense of the data gathered. Findings revealed that the small-scale farmers of tahiti use the following ethnomathematical practices: (a) using dupa in measuring the distance between planted tahiti clumps, (b) abre puno, (c) abre kalsada, (d) proportioning of harvested tahiti stalks (inupat, linima, tersya, and tunga), (e) measurement that uses body parts, (f) soft broom production, and (g) accounting of finished soft brooms. These practices were connected with ten learning competencies of the K to 12 junior high school mathematics curricula. Across these competencies are the concepts of measurement, estimation, perimeter, circumference, ratio and proportion, inverse proportion, and counting principle. These ethnomathematical practices will be a great resource in contextualizing and localizing mathematics curricula, further making mathematics teaching more relevant. Mathematical tasks or problems were designed and their integration into the curriculum was discussed with math teachers from a nearby school. The research findings provide insights into the perceived benefits of integrating ethnomathematics into mathematics education and shed light on the ways these practices might enhance students' mathematical understanding and application. The implications of this study concerning representing indigenous knowledge in the curriculum will be discussed. Keywords: ethnomathematics, indigenous knowledge, contextualized mathematics curriculum