Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, a Professor of Mathematics Education has observed that very little attention has been paid to social and cultural factors that impact Mathematics curriculum development and implementation on students’ performance.
Professor Kofi Davis, one of the premier Professors of Mathematics Education in Ghana, proposed that Mathematics be discussed in the classroom as a key ingredient of high-quality and inclusive Mathematics Education that prepares the student as a lifelong learner in the subject.
He mentioned that values in Mathematics should be projected in a balanced manner both in the curriculum and curriculum materials.
Professor Kofi Davis who doubles as the Provost of the College of Education Studies of the University of Cape Coast(UCC) was delivering his inaugural lecture which was held with the theme “Socio-Cultural Issues: A missing ingredient in Mathematics Curriculum Development and Delivery in Ghana”.
He lamented that Mathematics is often presented out of the context of students, making it extremely difficult for them to link the abstract Mathematical concepts they encounter in school to their everyday realities.
“I argue that students who are labelled as weak and eventually excluded from formal education may be so labelled not because they are weak in Mathematics, but because curriculum development and delivery systems continue to ignore and deny the existence of students’ everyday Mathematical representations and practices”. He disclosed
This, he explained, has resulted in situations where cognitive modes assumed in the curriculum do not often reflect the everyday realities of the students because of the colonial history of the Mathematics curriculum used in schools today.
“To make the teaching and learning of Mathematics relevant to students from indigenous communities and sub-Saharan African countries that were once colonized, however, there is the need to appreciate the local aspect of Mathematical knowledge, values and the local aspects of Mathematics pedagogy and their implementations for curriculum development and implementation” Professor Kofi Davis revealed.
Professor Kofi Davis underscored the need for social and cultural issues, citing that, values in Mathematics to be considered seriously in Mathematics curriculum development and delivery in the country to make the teaching and learning of the subject relevant to students
