Ethnomathematics, Accountability, and Sustanbility

Riana Sinta Dewi

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Ethnomathematics, Accountability, and Sustanbility

Dr. Marsigit, MA

            Cocroft in Gloria Gilmer, the following definition of Ethnomathematics has been prepared for a dictionary of multicultural education:

(1) Ethnomathematics is the study of the mathematical practices of specific cultural groups in the course of dealing with their environmental problems and activities; For example, the manner in professional basketball players estimate angles and distances differs greatly from the corresponding manner used by truck drivers. Both professional basketball players and truck drivers are identifiable cultural groups that use mathematics in their daily work. They have their own language and specific ways of obtaining these estimates and ethnomathematicians study their techniques.

            The prefix 'ethno' refers to identifiable cultural groups, such as national-tribal societies, labor groups, children of a certain age bracket, professional classes, etc. and includes their ideologies, language, daily practices, and their specific ways of reasoning and inferring.

            'Mathema' here means to explain, understand and manage reality specifically by ciphering, counting, measuring, classifying, ordering, inferring and modeling patterns arising in the environment.

The suffix 'tics' means art or technique.

(2) Thus, ethnomathematics is the study of mathematical techniques used by identifiable cultural groups in understanding, explaining, and managing problems and activities arising in their own environment.

            As a research area, “Ethnomathematics” is often defined as the research on the relationship between mathematics (mathematics education) and the corresponding social and cultural backgrounds, namely the research to show “how is mathematics produced, transferred, diffused and specialized in diverse cultural systems” (Weizhong Zhang and Qinqiong Zhang, 2010 : 152)

            The term “account” entails giving a report on, furnishing a justifying analysis or explanation, providing a statement of explanation of one’s conduct, offering a statement or exposition of reasons, causes, grounds, or motives, or simply providing a statement of facts or events (Kenneth Leithwood, 2005:10)

            Brundtland definition of sustanbility , which states:

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

        

        We can divide education problem into 2, accountablelity and sustanbility. We should have an accountablelity to be trusted other people. If we don’t have accountablelity, we like crazy people. And sustanbility, it is like main food, if Indonesian people is rice, contunity.

            The prior knowledge and basic understanding of mathematics are logic and experience.

            If we talk about the deep of mathematics, we talk about education but it’s just basic knowledge because we have phylosophy or ontology as the nature of education. And the base of it are logic and experince.

            And if we talk about the up of mathematics we talk about evidence and the uppest is spiritual that known as spiritual knowledge.

REFERENCES

Gloria Gilmer. A Definition of Ethnomathematics .International Study Group on Ethnomathematics (ISGEm) Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 1, December 1995. Located at:http://web.nmsu.edu/~pscott/isgem111.htm.

Kenneth Leithwood. 2005. Educational Accountability Issues and Alternatives.Saskatchewan

Weizhong Zhang and Qinqiong Zhang.2010. Ethnomathematics and Its Integration within the Mathematics Curriculum. China :Journal of Mathematics Education.