Abstract

The unsatisfactory mathematics performance of South African learners has long been a concern. South Africa is ranked among the lowest performing countries in mathematics, calling for a rethinking of the way the subject is being taught. Mathematics needs to be contextually relevant and interesting for learners to be motivated to learn. Ethnomathematical games provide a means of making mathematics meaningful to learners because of the potential mathematical knowledge embedded in them. Playing games is a fun way of learning, and indigenous games are an integral part of learner culture. The aim of this article is to explore the games played by community elders to determine how the games can be used in the classroom. We employed observations and interviews to collect data from community elders on the indigenous games. This article is framed by the following research question: which indigenous games, with mathematical relevance are played by community elders, and what mathematical skills and knowledge are identifiable in the games? The study offers four (4) main findings that are relevant to address the crisis in mathematics teaching and learning. This study identified various ethnomathematical games and various mathematical operations embedded in them. Based on these findings, recommendations are made to use ethnomathematics to improve the mathematics performance of learners in the intermediate phase. A further recommendation is that mathematics teachers need to be trained in alternate methods of mathematics instruction such as the use of indigenous games. Future research comprises the piloting of indigenous games in intermediate phase mathematics classrooms.