The Interplay of Culture and Mathematics: The Rural Shona Classroom

Abstract

Introduction The learning of mathematics and English at all levels is an issue that has attracted the attention of educators, researchers and other stakeholders in Zimbabwe. These two subjects have earned more prominence for the wrong reasons of low passes or high numbers of failures in the subject areas. This is despite the fact that the two subject areas are a requirement for any entry into college or the job market. One has to pass them at Ordinary ('O') level. Despite that, many learners pass or still fail these key subjects after several attempts. This situation has assumed alarming proportions more so in the rural areas which are beset by lack of resources since Zimbabwe is an emerging economy. The Sunday Mail [1] of 17-23 January 2010 recorded that some rural schools recorded zero (%) percentage pass rate from the 2009 Grade Seven examinations. The Grade Seven (7) examinations used to comprise only mathematics and English until recently when an indigenous language (Shona or Ndebele) and General papers were added. Though there are many parallels regarding the learning of English and mathematics in Zimbabwe, this paper is focused on mathematics. The researchers explore the link between mathematics and Shona culture, or ethnomathematics, with the view that this may help the rural Shona learners see and appreciate the link and the relevance of the subject in their day to day activities. Most people in Zimbabwe are quick to confess their hatred and fear of mathematics and how they fared in the subject during their school days. What the USA National Research Council [2] (1989) assets of mathematics is also very true of Zimbabwe and Mathematics: Mathematics is the worst curricular villain in driving students to fail in school. When mathematics acts as a filter, it only filters students out of careers, but frequently out of school itself. Cited in Ezeife [3] (2002: 176) The situation is worse for the Zimbabwean rural learners whose harsh rural background puts them at a disadvantage when compared to their urban counterparts. This paper focuses on Zimbabwean rural schools where the researchers would like to suggest some intervention strategies. The reasons for the high failure rate in rural schools include the medium of instruction, English. Urban learners are better placed at understanding the English language as compared to the rural ones because they start using English from pre-school and creche. Most rural peoples come across English for the first time when they enrol for Grade One (1) while urban ones start using English from creche and Grade Zero. Also the urban people have high chances of supervised homework by their mainly literate middle and working class parents who can even afford to send them for extra lessons. On the other hand, the rural learners face a lot of challenges where they have to balance school and family chores. They are part of family labour. They work in the fields; they herd cattle if they are boys and do the dishes if they are girls. In short, they have to fend for their upkeep in addition to school work. Most rural parents do not have any formal education and therefore, have no capacity to supervise their children's homework. They are also not formally employed which means they do not have extra cash to pay teachers who can take their children for extra tuition. The textbooks also present the rural learners with very difficult challenges. To begin with, they are written in the English language which poses a huge challenge for them. Secondly, the examples used are in the majority of cases far removed from the rural setting. These include supermarkets, banks, and masses of truck loads, cricket and wickets. This paper exploits the close link that is there between mathematics and Shona culture. It is hoped this will enable the rural learners see the link between mathematics and their rural life which will lead in their appreciating the relevance of the subject in their day to day lives. …