Rich and purposeful mathematical knowledge of mothers and children in a Torres Strait Islander community

Bronwyn Ewing

doi:10.1186/2193-1801-3-42

Abstract

This paper focuses on a pilot study that explored the situated mathematical knowledge of mothers and children in one Torres Strait Islander community in Australia. The community encouraged parental involvement in their children’s learning and schooling. The study explored parents’ understandings of mathematics and how their children came to learn about it on the island. A funds of knowledge approach was used in the study. This approach is based on the premise that people are competent and have knowledge that has been historically and culturally accumulated into a body of knowledge and skills essential for their functioning and well-being (TIP 31:132, 1992). The participants, three adults and one child are featured in this paper. Three separate events are described with epiphanic or illuminative moments analysed to ascertain the features that enabled an understanding of the nature of the mathematical events. The study found that Indigenous ways of knowing of mathematics were deeply embedded in rich cultural practices that were tied to the community. This finding has implications for teachers of children in the early years. Where school mathematics is often presented as disembodied and isolated facts with children seeing little relevance, learning a different perspective of mathematics that is tied to the resources and practices of children’s lives and facilitated through social relationships, may go a long way towards improving the engagement of children and their parents in learning and schooling.

Highlights

At a time when a number of strategies have been implemented to increase Torres Strait Islander parents’ participation in education with their children, for example, reading and dance programs, going beyond the simple dichotomy between Islander parents’ ways of knowing—experience, out-of-school, intuitive, tacit and, academic—in-school, linear, deliberate is important
Background to the project In 2009, members of the YuMi Deadly Centre at the Queensland University of Technology were commissioned by the Torres Strait Islander Education Council (Torres Strait Islander Regional Education Council 2011) to conduct a one year project that focused on contextualising the teaching and learning of the mathematics strand of measurement (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority 2011) to the Islanders’ culture and home language/s in six schools from Prep to Year 7
The learning context becomes a site for co-sharing ideas that draws on multiple ways of knowing—funds of knowledge that are activated and tied with mathematics curricula

Summary

Introduction

In 2009, members of the YuMi Deadly Centre at the Queensland University of Technology were commissioned by the Torres Strait Islander Education Council (Torres Strait Islander Regional Education Council 2011) to conduct a one year project that focused on contextualising the teaching and learning of the mathematics strand of measurement (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority 2011) to the Islanders’ culture and home language/s in six schools from Prep to Year 7 During this process, informal conversations were held with the community, including the Head of School Campus, teachers, parents, Elders and Senior Women about working with parents and their young children (0–5).

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion