About the EDL

The Ethnomathematics Digital Library (EDL) is planned as a resource network and interactive learning community for ethnomathematics, with emphasis on the indigenous mathematics of the Pacific region. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is extensively involved in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education (SMETE), and has funded the EDL as a collections project of the National SMETE Digital Library (NSDL) under grant DUE-0121749.

Overview

The EDL has three primary goals:

• To identify, review, seek copyright clearance, digitize, index, and archive high quality ethnomathematics materials (with emphasis on Pacific island communities), regardless of their current location or format
• To create an online database of these materials that is reliable, searchable across a range of parameters, and easily accessible to regional, national, and international users
• To establish a virtual ethnomathematics curriculum and research exchange network that will foster the development of culturally sensitive mathematics curricula and inform future research directions.

Over the past 20 to 30 years, ethnomathematics has developed as an academic discipline to explore the interaction of mathematics and the culture in which it arises. "Ethno" can refer to indigenous societies, as well as to groups identified by profession, religious affiliation, sport, ethnicity, and so on. "Mathematics" can designate a wide range of practices, including methods of counting, measuring, and calculating; symbolic systems; geometric and spatial applications; and ways of reasoning and inferring.

A basic premise of ethnomathematics is that mathematical ideas are mental constructs created by individuals and groups in response to cultural activities. In the Pacific region, these activities might include the following:
     Agriculture
     Architecture and building
     Astronomy
     Barter and trade
     Calendar development
     Decorative arts
     Design and construction of canoes, musical instruments, jewelry, and household items
     Healing
     Kinship relationships
     Navigation
     Religious practices
     Sewing, quilting, and weaving
     Tattooing and other body ornamentation
     Toys and games, including gambling.

Partners & Services

PREL will oversee the development of the EDL. The following collaborative partners will provide support through the establishment of the Pacific Ethnomathematics Collections Network (PECN):

• Australian Academy of Science
• Ohio State University’s Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education
• University of Guam
• University of Hawaii at Manoa
• University of the South Pacific.
• Other interested groups will be invited to join.

The EDL will provide ethnomathematics information relevant to the following groups of users:

• students and teachers in elementary and secondary schools
• undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty in institutions of higher education
• curriculum developers and publishers
• researchers and scholars.

The EDL will also encourage users to apply this information (for example, to carry out student projects, to customize curriculum materials, or to undertake related research) and to submit their own materials for inclusion.
The EDL will advance our current understandings of the mathematical constructs developed by indigenous communities and identifiable groups, and foster the creation and distribution of culturally sensitive instructional and research materials that acknowledge and respect these constructs.