An Ethnographic case study of a community-negotiated mathematics curriculum development project

Abstract

Many indigenous students do not achieve well in mathematics at school. It has been postulated that this is because there is conflict between the attitudes, values and background which are taught with mathematics and those learnt by students in their home environment. This research was based on the belief that if the curriculum were to be rewritten to include the background and aspirations of indigenous communities, then students would have greater chances of succeeding in mathematics. However, many school communities cannot be expected to have a background in mathematics curriculum development, so there is a need for support to be provided. A support document known as the Framework was designed for this purpose and its redrafting and trialling by a Maori school community formed the context in which this research was undertaken. The community of parents and teachers attended a series of meetings which were based around issues raised in the Framework The research was designed to discover how the Framework was used within this community-negotiated mathematics curriculum development. The research also examines of the role of an involved outsider as the designer of the support document and as a participant in the curriculum development project. It was found that the Framework provided opportunities for discussions about mathematics education to occur but did not determine what these discussions would be about. The community raised many ideas which had not been included within the Framework and so it is suggested that the community had developed a shared curriculum platform rather than a mathematics curriculum. A model of how an expert operates in cross-cultural educational situations was developed from examining several interactions between the expert and the community enabling an analysis of an outsider's role to be done. As power relations were also considered important, the ideas of Michel Foucault were used to analyse 'knowledge as power' within interactions between the expert and the community. It was discovered that power fluctuated as different participants' knowledge was accepted as the most valuable at different times. Previously there had been little research on attempts to improve indigenous students' chances of being successful in mathematics. This research highlights some of the ways that support can be provided to enhance indigenous communities' ability to make informed decisions. It also demonstrated some of the difficulties of working as an involved outsider. The Framework is now offered on the world-wide web so that indigenous communities can adapt it for their own use. It is recommended that for an involved outsider to take part in cross-cultural educational research or work, then adequate time needs to be provided for negotiation with indigenous communities. This research can be considered as one step in discussion about legitimate ways to act as an involved outsider in educational projects.