Learning Ethnomathematics from Vygotsky's Social Constructivism

Abstract

The research aimed to develop a set of didactic guidelines based on Vygotskian social constructivism for the learning of ethnomathematics in environments where ancestry takes precedence. The methodology employed is rooted in the qualitative-ethnographic approach, utilizing participant observation and interpretative document analysis as research methods and techniques. Discursive hermeneutics was employed within this approach to study both ancestral mathematical knowledge and the fundamental principles derived from the Vygotskian constructivist perspective for learning. In the selected context, elders, who preserve the mother tongue—L1—Wayuu, serve as inexhaustible sources of knowledge, acting as a link between school and community, with the teacher serving as a facilitator of learning through practical engagement. The study explores how, through indigenous pedagogies, teaching and learning occur in life and for a lifetime. The results of this analysis demonstrate the application of constructivism in ethno-educational environments. It is concluded that meaningful learning is based on motivation, mediated by the teacher as a facilitator, enabling students to solve problems by applying what they have learned to real-life situations that arise in their daily lives.