Embodying Ubuntu, Invoking Sankofa, and Disrupting with Fela: A Co-Exploration of Social Issues and Critical Mathematics Education with Sub-Saharan African Youth (2020)
Osibodu, Oyemolade Omoyosola (Author)
Michigan State University
Physical Details: 175
Language: English
The purpose of this qualitative research is to study if and how Sub-Saharan African youth use mathematics in understanding social issues related to the African continent. I co-explored with five Sub-Saharan African youth over the course of a semester and leaned on what Koro-Ljungberg (2012) termed methodological fluidity. I draw on decolonial theory from an African perspective (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2015, 2018) and African [decolonial] frameworks (Ubuntu, Sankofa, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti Music [FAM]) to center the perspectives of the colonized Other, decenter power within the research space, seek clarity on what we sought to disrupt, and find joy in the research space. Unlike previous research in this field, this study does not focus on learning new mathematics, rather, I sought to investigate what knowledges youth draw on in their exploration of these social issues.The findings of this study highlight the focus of Sub-Saharan's youth need to re-read and re-write their African world with and without mathematics. Youth were invested in re-writing false narratives about the African continent by calling forth African Indigenous ways of knowing. This rewriting led to epistemic freedom and cognitive justice - an essential component of social justice - that redresses the loss of Indigenous knowledges. Despite this, there was still tension in both recognizing and accepting African Indigenous ways of knowing along with the belief that school mathematics is neutral.In the final chapter, I discuss the implications of this research such as the bridging together of critical mathematics education, ethnomathematics, and Indigenous ways of knowing. I also discuss how decolonial theory and African decolonizing methodologies opened space in this research for insights that might not have been evidenced using other theories and methodologies.
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