The Impact of a Culture-sensitive Curriculum on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics in an Aboriginal Classroom

Considering the contributions of mathematics, science, and technology to today's world, one would have expected mounting interest in these disciplines, but the reverse seems to be the case. Indeed, there is declining enrolment in mathematics and science subjects among the youth, and poor performance in examinations, such as those taken in high school math and science courses (especially physics) by the brave few who enrol (Ezeife, 1999). It is ironical that in our pro-science and technologically oriented world, the youth who would take charge of global affairs in the future - the running of industries and the means of production, research laboratories, space technology, and international politics - are shying away from the very subjects that should adequately prepare them for such roles. Among the world's aboriginal students, the flight from mathematics and science is alarming (MacIvor, 1995; Binda, 2001), and their educational attainment levels are "historically lower than those of non-indigenous students" (O'Reilly-Scanlon, Crowe, & Weenie, 2004, p. 31).

The fact that today's aboriginal students shy away from math and science is a surprising development when we are cognisant of the historical fact that indigenous cultures of old were pace setters in mathematics and science and actually made notable scientific discoveries. It is known that these indigenous people enthusiastically studied nature, astronomy, and mathematics. The Gage dictionary (1998) defines the term 'indigenous' as "native to a particular country, region, etc.; not brought from elsewhere" (p. 780). Thus, 'indigenous populations,' as used in this study, refers to those people who were the original natives of a given country or region before contact, and often permanent modern-day societal interaction with people from other cultures and backgrounds; a situation that arose essentially through colonisation and large-scale historical movements of populations across erstwhile geographical borders and regions. Some examples of indigenous populations across the globe include the Aboriginal people of Australia, the Maori of New Zealand, the American 'Native Indians,' Canadian Aboriginal people, Mapuche Indians of Chile, the Masai of Kenya in East Africa, and the Ibos, Yorubas, Hausa/Fulani of Nigeria on the West Coast of Africa, etc. Several authors (Cajete, 1994; Hatfield, Edwards & Bitter, 1997; Smith, 1994) have documented the wealth of knowledge and experience of these indigenous peoples around the globe. For example, Smith (1994) cited the well-known case of the Skidi Pawnee, an aboriginal group who, in ancient times, were not just keen astronomers but actually went as far as identifying and describing the planet Venus. In addition, by correctly tracking the movements of the stars and planets, the same group "conceptualized the summer solstice," and "in this way they could predict reoccurring solar phenomena" (Smith, 1994, p. 46).

Aboriginal people of old displayed a high degree of expertise in mathematics and related fields. With this in mind, it would have been expected that the present generation of aboriginal students should enrol and participate enthusiastically in mathematics, not run away from it. Unfortunately, however, this is not the case, as amply established in current research literature. A few examples will suffice here. Schilk, Arewa, Thomson, and White (1995), in drawing attention to the fact that North American aboriginal people are under-represented in mathematics, science, and related fields, stated: "Native Americans have the lowest representation percentage of all minorities in scientific careers and are at risk in pursuing science in high school and in post-secondary education" (p. 1). Davison (1992) specifically focuses on mathematics education, stating: "What cannot be questioned is that the mathematics achievement of (American) Indian students as a group is below that of white students in the United States" (p. 24). Canadian aboriginal students fit into the same mould as their American counterparts -- low enrolment, substandard achievement, and high dropout rates in science, mathematics, and technological fields, as observed by MacIvor (1995). Berkowitz (2001, p. 17) painted the picture of aboriginal mathematics and science enrolment in Canadian tertiary education, thus:

According to Indian and Northern affairs Canada, less than 3.2 percent of the 27,000 First Nations students going to university or college full-time on federal funding last year were enrolled in programs leading to careers in science (including agriculture and biological science, engineering, and applied science, mathematics and physical sciences, and health professions).

Another researcher (Binda, 2001), while studying the situation in schools under local control and jurisdiction (Canadian First Nations' schools), observed that performance in mathematics and science is still far below expectation. Quoting statistics from the Manitoba (Canadian province) First Nations Education Resource Centre, the researcher noted that whereas schools under provincial management recorded a mean score of 55.6% in mathematics for 1997, the mean score of aboriginal schools was a meagre 19.6%. In 1998, the situation became even worse since the mean score of provincial schools rose to 61.2%, whereas the score of First Nations' schools dropped to 14.4%.

Reasons for alienation and poor performance

Several reasons have been cited for the general lack of interest in, alienation from, and poor performance of aboriginal students in mathematics and science courses. One of the key factors goes far back -- to the very roots of these students -- their families. Sloat and Willms (2000) point to the lack of English proficiency (English being the usual language of instruction in schools in English-speaking parts of Canada) and the low educational attainment of the parents of many aboriginal children, a situation that gives rise to poor literacy and numeracy of the children early in life. The parents' limited education, the researchers point out, makes it impossible for these parents to help their children with mathematics and science homework, or to offer guidance and support by referring the kids to relevant resources, since the parents themselves may not be aware of which resources or materials are appropriate. The limited financial resources of a sizeable number of parents in many aboriginal communities, and the obvious consequences of the limitations -- inability of these parents and guardians to provide adequate home academic support for children in the form of educational facilities like books and educational toys, technological equipment and computers -- was also adduced as a reason for the setback suffered by aboriginal children in mathematics, science, and related disciplines. The combined effect of these deprivations leads to a poor start at school, a situation that often, regrettably, persists for a greater part of school life since, as Sloat and Willms (2000) rightly observed, "school reinforces initial advantages or disadvantages" (p. 230).

With this initial disadvantage to contend with on entering school, the aboriginal student is further weighed down by a myriad of other problems in the school setting. Some current researchers have highlighted these problems. For instance, Doige (2003) draws attention to the fact that "Aboriginal students are still marginalized in the public school and university systems, through Westernized curricula and pedagogy" (p. 145). Continuing, the author further stated: "Being disenfranchised through education based on a non-Aboriginal way of thinking and learning has existed for hundreds of years with little change even though Aboriginal educators have been calling overtly for a holistic education for their children ... " (Doige, 2003, p. 145). In the specific physical science discipline of mathematics/science, several researchers (Cajete, 1994; Ezeife, 2003; Jegede & Aikenhead, 1999: MacIvor, 1995; Mel, 2001) have all opined that the problem of low aboriginal enrolment and poor performance arises due to the lack of relevance of mathematics and science taught in school to the aboriginal learner's everyday life and culture.

Tackling the identified problem

What can be done to attract more aboriginal students to the study of mathematics and, hopefully, improve their performance in the subject? Many aboriginal scholars and leaders have emphasized the need to re-orient mathematics and science education in aboriginal schools toward the development of culture-sensitive curricular materials and teaching strategies deemed appropriate for aboriginal students. In Canada, for instance, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (1999) suggested incorporating into the curriculum cultural practices, traditional values, ideas, phenomena, and beliefs that would relate the schools to the communities in which they exist and function. Supporting the call for a culture-sensitive curriculum, Kanu's (2002) study identified the Canadian aboriginal student as a multi-dimensional learner whose competence peaks when instructional material is presented through stories, activities, and traditional practices drawn from the student's culture and schema. In other words, it is implied that aboriginal students would learn better when a culture-sensitive curriculum is used in teaching them. Calls for an integrative aboriginal curriculum are prevalent in research literature (Cajete, 1994; Jegede & Aikenhead, 1999; Mel, 2001, Smith & Ezeife, 2000). However, there have not been sustained efforts, especially in the field of mathematics education, to address these calls. The study on mathematics and culture nexus involving aboriginal pre-service teachers (Ezeife, 2002) reported the overwhelming interest generated by the culture-based curriculum unit utilized in the project.

That study suggested a follow-up work that could integrate culture-sensitive materials into an existing mathematics curriculum and try out the integrated curriculum in an aboriginal classroom to determine the efficacy of such integration. This study is a follow-up to the 'mathematics and culture nexus' work, and its focus and purpose is to develop appropriate culture-sensitive curriculum materials and try them out in an aboriginal school setting. The specific objectives of the study were:

1. To compile a list of phenomena, materials, activities, and traditional practices from the culture and immediate environment of an aboriginal community in Ontario, Canada, that can be used for the teaching and learning of math in the Primary/Junior years (Elementary Grades).
2. To develop model math teaching units that can be incorporated into specific strands of the existing Ontario Grades 1-8 math curriculum, thereby producing an "integrated" curriculum.
3. To set up an experiment pitching the integrated (innovative) curriculum against the existing (regular) curriculum in an aboriginal school, with a view to determining what impact (if any) this approach would have on math teaching/learning in aboriginal settings.

The study tested the following null hypothesis at the 5% level of significance:

Ho: There will be no significant difference between the mean mathematics achievement scores of two equivalent groups of elementary school students taught using two different curricula for the same teaching duration.

Methodology

Phase 1 - Compilation of phenomena, materials, activities, traditional practices, folklore:

During this phase of the study, selected elders and other knowledgeable members of the aboriginal community where the research was carried out were interviewed and asked about the traditional practices, cultural dances, recreational activities, stories, games, phenomena etc. in their culture and environment that have relevance to math.. They were prompted to narrate how, in the past, they used these activities in adding and subtracting things, dividing plots of land, constructing and measuring, drawing and designing, keeping counts and records, and so on. Sites of mathematical interest in the Island were visited and photographed during this phase of the study. Additionally, archives and holdings of the research centre in the community that was set up in 1973 (Jacobs, 1992) were thoroughly examined to glean data about past traditional practices in the First Nation community that have relevance to mathematics teaching and learning. The purpose of this phase of the study was to gather relevant data about mathematical concepts, principles, and practices that are actually utilized and applied by community members on a day-to-day basis, even though it may not be obvious to them that they are, in effect, doing and living mathematics. These materials would then be built into the innovative, culture-sensitive curriculum. The idea behind this approach is to use what the students see, touch, and hear in everyday life, and whose mathematical import they may not have recognised or appreciated, to teach them mathematics in the classroom. It is anticipated that this approach would enable the aboriginal learners to see mathematics in a new light -- as a part-and-parcel of their everyday existence, a native subject, and not a far-off, foreign invention.

Phase 2 - Adaptation and integration of chosen materials into existing curriculum:

In this phase of the study, relevant materials from the resources compiled in phase 1 were adapted and incorporated into two units of mathematics instruction. The two units of instruction utilized were Set Theory, and elements of Geometry/Spatial Sense. 'Geometry and Spatial Sense' is one of the five strands into which mathematics is sub-divided in the operative mathematics curriculum used in the province of Ontario. Topics like angles and their formation, shapes and figures, plans and elevations, coordinate systems, etc. fall under this strand. Set Theory deals with the composition and classification of things and objects in nature. For example, under this unit, we talk of a set of houses, trees, animals, and various subdivisions and categorizations of things that form part of the student's daily life. Thus, local examples and illustrations, appropriate materials from the immediate environment of the aboriginal community where the research was carried out, traditional stories, composition and classification of component community groups based on language and geographical location, types and styles of buildings in the community, meal types, etc. were built into the two units of instruction. This gave rise to a culture-sensitive Grade 5 math curriculum in Set Theory and Geometry/Spatial Sense. This culture-sensitive curriculum was then called the "integrated/innovative" curriculum. The existing Grade 5 Ontario curriculum, which does not contain these culture-prone materials was left intact, and styled the "regular curriculum."

Research sample:

A convenience sample of 28 research participants was used in the study. This sample was made up of the two existing Grade 5 classes in the community school. After composition, the sample was divided into two groups, with 14 students in each group. Each of the two groups was then randomly assigned a treatment (curriculum type -- regular or integrated curriculum), with the students in the regular curriculum constituting the Control group (Group A), while their integrated curriculum counterparts formed the Experimental group (Group B). Subsequently, the two groups were given the same pretest, and then exposed to treatment as detailed in Phase 3 of the study.

Phase 3 - Actual teaching:

A highly knowledgeable aboriginal teacher served as the instructor for the study, teaching the same subject-matter content to each of the two groups for a period of four weeks. Thus, the course content or subject-matter coverage was the same for the two groups, but the students in Group A (Control group) were taught with the regular/existing curriculum, while those in Group B (Experimental group) were taught using the integrated (culture-sensitive) curriculum. After recruitment, and before the commencement of instruction, the researcher conducted a two-week training workshop for the instructor during which teaching habits and styles, course content, the need for an unwavering commitment to the study, and its importance to the teaching and learning of mathematics were extensively discussed. However, to control for instructor bias, the instructor was not given details regarding the intended comparison of the existing and integrated approaches. Similarly, to counteract a possible Hawthorne effect (Gay & Airasian, 2003), the impression was conveyed to the participants in the two groups that they were simply doing their normal school work, and that all groups were treated alike. Thus, such routine school practices as Continuous Assessment exercises and tests were given prominence in the study, and the teaching times and testing conditions were made uniform for all groups. The researcher monitored teacher-compliance and course material coverage during instruction ensuring that the intended curriculum materials were adequately implemented. After instruction, the two groups were given the same post-test.

Data Analysis

One-Factor Between-Subjects 'Analysis of Variance' (ANOVA) procedures were used to analyse the results of the study. The results and analyses are given is the tables below.

Results and Findings

Table 1 gives the mean pretest scores of the participants in the two instructional groups, while the ANOVA summary for the pretest scores is given in Table 2. Similarly, Tables 3 and 4 give the mean posttest scores and the ANOVA summary of the posttest scores, respectively. In addition, further descriptive measures for posttest scores specific to the participants' groups in the study are detailed in Table 5. These include such measures of spread as variance, range, and standard deviation, as well as the median scores of the participants in the two groups. Further discussion of these results and their implications are given under the heading "Summary and Discussion of Results."

Table 1 - Pretest mean scores of subjects in instructional groups (N = 28)

Table 2 - ANOVA summary for pretest scores

In Table 2, p > 0.05 (F is not significant at the 5% level). Critical value = 4.23.

Table 3 - Posttest mean scores of subjects in instructional groups (N = 28)

Table 4 - ANOVA summary for posttest scores

In Table 4, p > 0.05 (F is not significant at the 5% level). Critical value = 4.23.

Table 5 - Further descriptive measures for posttest scores by Group (N = 28)

In Table 5,

Lower B. = Lower Bound
Upper B. = Upper Bound
Conf. Int. = Confidence Interval
Std. Error = Standard Error

Summary and Discussion of Results

Table 1 shows that the mean pretest score of Group A (Control Group) was 33.85, while Group B (Experimental Group) recorded a mean of 35.85 on the same pre-test. An Analysis of Variance (as summarised in Table 2) showed that there was no statistically significant difference between these mean scores. The implication of this finding was that there was no significant difference between the mean pre-test score of Group A (Control Group) and that of the Group B (Experimental Group). Thus, on the average, the two groups were of the same standard in terms of their "Entry Behaviour," that is, at the time they started the study. No group was at an initial advantageous position over the other because of its mathematics attainment or preparedness. Hence, it was concluded from this finding that the groups were equivalent at the beginning of the study.

Hypothesis

The null hypothesis that guided the study stated that there would be no significant differences between the mean post-test scores of the Control and Experimental Groups. From the results in Table 3, it was seen that the Mean score of the Control Group (Group A) taught using the regular curriculum was 23.85, compared with a Mean of 26.42 for the Experimental Group (Group B) taught with the integrated curriculum. Thus, there was a difference between the Means of the two groups in favour of the Experimental Group, but the difference was not statistically significant, as shown in the ANOVA summary for post-test scores, given in Table 4.

Further descriptive measures

The descriptive measures shown in Table 5 give more insight into the performance of the two groups. Thus, whereas the Standard Deviation of the control group was 13.4, that of the experimental group was 8.6, indicating that the posttest scores of participants in the experimental group were closer together than those of the control group. This suggests that on the whole, the scores of participants in the experimental group - those taught using the integrated/innovative culture-sensitive curriculum - were closer to the Mean score of the group, while the scores of participants in the control group (taught with the existing/regular curriculum) were more scattered and farther from the group Mean. The implication of this is that the experimental group showed more consistency and uniformity in the mastery of course content as opposed to the control group which displayed heterogeneity, with several cases of high and low scores associated with the group. A comparison of the values of the Ranges (30.0 for the experimental group, and 44.0 for the control group), and Interquartile ranges (16.0 for the experimental, and 20.5 for the control) further confirms that the posttest scores of participants in the experimental group are closer together than the scores of their counterparts in the control group. This implies that overall; the integrated/innovative curriculum produced a more homogeneous group, in terms of mathematics performance, than the regular/existing curriculum. Also, comparing the median scores of the two groups, it was seen that the Median of the experimental group was 28.0 which was higher that the Median of 24.0 for the control group. This further points to the situation at the Centres of the sets of scores for the two groups - the middle-of-the-pack student in the experimental group performed relatively better than a similarly positioned student in the control group.

Discussion

From the results of the study, it was seen that the participants in the experimental group, that is, those taught with the integrated, culture-sensitive curriculum performed better than their control group counterparts taught with the regular curriculum. This is seen from both higher mean and median scores recorded by the experimental group over the control group. Additionally, there was evidence in the study that suggested that the experimental group displayed more enthusiasm and willingness to learn, as can be exemplified by the following cases. First, the participants in this group related warmly to the instructor all through the study, and at the end, made unsolicited positive comments about her and the course. One striking comment stated: "Ms. McKay is the best teacher in this school for now" (McKay is not the instructor's real name). The student's comment, especially the phrase "for now," seems to imply that the instructor was deemed the "best" in the school because of what she was teaching them, and how it was presented - using the culture-sensitive curriculum; and that so long as she continued using that approach, she would remain the "best." However, if she stopped doing exactly what she was doing, then her "best" qualities or attributes as a teacher would be lost, and she would become just a regular teacher - one of the pack. In addition to the notes of appreciation to the teacher, and comments like "Math is cool," "You are a good teacher," etc., almost all the participants in the experimental group made drawings that depicted math in their environment - petals and flowers attached at angles to stems and stocks, sets of different varieties and sizes of local trees, and local dwellings strategically perched on sloppy inclines. On the contrary, only one student in the control group (taught with the regular curriculum) wrote a note to the teacher, and expressed interest in math. Also, using attendance and punctuality as indices of interest and enthusiasm, it is instructive to note that during the study, the experimental group recorded 100% attendance, and the punctuality rate was equally high, unlike the control group where there were some suspected cases of truancy, and the participants generally did not seem to be in a hurry about settling down for lessons at the beginning of class.

Limitations

The small sample size (28 participants in the two groups) is a limitation of the study. However, this was an unavoidable situation because of the convenience sampling technique adopted in the study (there were 14 students in each of the two Grade 5 classes, giving a total of 28 participants when the two classes were pooled together to compose the research sample). Similarly, the short duration of instruction and the fact that only two mathematics curriculum content units were covered in the study are further limitations. It may be possible that a larger sample size, a longer time span for instruction, and wider math curriculum coverage would combine to produce a statistically significant difference between the performances of the control and experimental groups, which was not the case in this short-lived, limited pilot study. A situation that arose during the administration of the posttest on the experimental group also deserves mention. The time allowed for the posttest was 40 minutes. Unfortunately, after about 25 minutes, the school bell rang and this meant that the students were expected to report for assembly at the end of that class period. It was noticed that several of the participants seemed to have quickly completed the posttest, in readiness to proceed to the assembly hall. Even though they assured the instructor that they took time to carefully read and answer all the questions, it is reasonable to infer that the impending assembly might have distracted the participants, as they might have been torn between concentrating on the quiz before them, and thinking of the assembly they would go to after the quiz. This issue introduced an extraneous variable (Keiss, 2002) in the study, a situation which the researcher neither anticipated nor had an on-the-spot strategy to control. Considering that the situation arose only for the experimental group, it is difficult to surmise what effect it had on the results of the study, since participants in the control group were not similarly distracted by the assembly bell during the posttest. All in all, this extraneous variable introduced another limitation to the study.

Recommendations and Conclusion

Recommendations

The findings of the study warrant the following recommendations. First, I would strongly recommend the establishment of properly staffed and well-funded "Early Child and Parenting Centres" in all aboriginal communities in every Canadian province or territory. McCain and Mustard (1999), cited by Sloat and Willms (2000), have called for such centres to support all children from prenatal stage to school entry. In their words:

A key role of these centres would be to teach literacy and numeracy to parents and other caregivers to enhance their children's learning and development at home. ...A universal program that supports early childhood development should be an important and necessary part of Canada's social framework (p. 227).

It is my informed opinion that centres of this nature are critically needed in aboriginal communities where living conditions are poor, and there are a lot of low social economic status (SES) families. If parents are uneducated and lacking literacy and numeracy skills, then their children would definitely fare badly in developing these skills because they do not have home support and guidance from their parents. However, if the centres are established and they train parents and caregivers (especially mothers), then the training would obviously rub off on the children, who in turn, would be better prepared for their entry into, and early years of school. Being sufficiently equipped with home-grown, and school-reinforced early numeracy skills, such children should not have difficulty in coping with mathematics as taught in the early school years. A timely and early introduction of a culture-sensitive mathematics curriculum, which this study has found to be appealing and advantageous to aboriginal students, would enable the children build on and further develop mathematical skills. This, it is hoped, would lay a solid mathematics foundation for the students' right from their early years, leading to improved mathematics performance, and perhaps, an inclination to mathematics-related careers in later years.

The urgent need for the labour market in every country to adapt to innovations in world markets was stressed by Sloat and Willms (2000). Citing Romer (1993), the authors stated:

A country's economic performance now depends on the ability of its labour market to adapt quickly to innovation and to capitalize on the transformation and development of world markets. The ability of the labour market to do these things depends in turn on the knowledge and skills of the population (Sloat & Willms, 2000, p. 230).

Aboriginal people make up a sizeable percentage of the Canadian population. It follows, therefore, that if the Canadian labour market is to benefit from the contribution of aboriginal people, then the aboriginal communities have to be appropriately prepared, and then adequately mobilised to make this contribution. The obvious place to start this preparation is within the communities. At present, the standard of life in some of the communities leaves much to be desired - high unemployment rates, epileptic power supply, lack of facilities like good road networks, and potable water supply, etc. There is need for the communities to become viable and self-sufficient so as to be properly positioned to make meaningful economic contribution to the larger Canadian society. To become viable, there is need for the communities to invest in human knowledge and skills development, especially in the area of mathematics and related disciplines like science and technology - sectors in which they are currently conspicuously underdeveloped.

Conclusion

This paper has drawn attention to the low representation of aboriginal people in mathematics and science in the Canadian school system. It also addressed the issue of high dropout rates of aboriginal students from school. The dropout rate has assumed alarming proportions as can be inferred from the statistics cited by Katz and McCluskey (2003), thus:

In one Manitoba school in 1996, although about 10% of the 700 students were Aboriginal, less than 4% finished grade 12. Of the 23 Native youth who had entered that system in kindergarten, only 1 completed high school. In the same year in another district, only 1 of 25 students who had transferred from northern reserves graduated (p. 117).

Several researchers have adduced reasons to explain the high dropout rates and poor performance in school of aboriginal students. Findings of this study suggest that these students drop out of school or perform poorly in subjects like mathematics because of their estrangement from the school system, and alienation from school subjects like mathematics which is completely bereft of their schema, cultural and environmental content, and real life experiences. It seems to me that many of the aboriginal students display their frustration with the school system and some school subjects like mathematics and science by purposely engaging in "self-handicapping" tendencies. Dorman and Ferguson (2004) gave some examples of self-handicapping strategies which include "putting off study until the last moment, ...and deliberately not trying in school" (p. 70). It is my contention that most aboriginal students are dissatisfied with the mathematics, science, and probably many other subjects they are taught in school - they do not see much relevance between these school subjects and their daily lives and aspirations, and so they do not try hard enough, hence they perform poorly, and eventually drop out. A good way to address this problem is to adopt culture-sensitive and holistic curricula in teaching these students - an approach that this study adopted, and highly recommends.

Suggestions for Further Research

Due to funding and logistic limitations, this project was conducted as a pilot study that utilized a small sample size, relatively short time duration, and a convenience sampling technique. It is suggested that a follow-up study should be carried out over a longer time span (about 15 weeks of instruction), and that the study should use a much larger sample size, and if possible, adopt randomization procedures in sample composition. A sufficiently large sample would make it possible to include a sizeable number of male and female participants in the study such that more hypotheses could be built into the research design. For example, it would be interesting to investigate both the possible effect of gender on mathematics performance, and a possible interaction effect between treatment (curriculum type) and gender.

Acknowledgement

This study was carried out with grants from both the Office of Research Services, and the Faculty of Education, University of Windsor. The contribution (in kind) of the Aboriginal Education Centre (Turtle Island) of the University is also hereby acknowledged.

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Semken, S.C. & Morgan, F. (2000). Navajo pedagogy and earth systems. The Manitoba Science Teacher, 41 (3), 7-10.

Shirley, L. (1995). Using ethnomathematics to find multicultural mathematics connections. In P.A. House and A.F. Coxford (Eds.), Connecting mathematics across the curriculum, 34-43. Reston, Virginia: The National Council of teachers of mathematics, Inc.

Silberman, C.E. (1971). Crisis in the classroom. New York: Vintage books.

Simard, L. (1994). Curriculum adaptation: Just do it. In K.P. Binda (Ed.), Critical issues in First Nations Education, 78-86. Brandon: BUNTEP, Faculty of Education, Brandon University, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.

Sloat, E. & Willms, J. (2000). The international adult literacy survey: Implications for Canadian social policy. Canadian Journal of Education, 25(3), 218-233.

Smith, M.R. & Ezeife, A.N. (2000, May). Using the environment in science teaching: A cross-cultural perspective. Paper presented at the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE) conference, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.

Smith, M.R. (1994). Scientific knowledge and cultural knowledge in the classroom. In K.P. Binda (Ed.), Critical issues in First Nations Education, 38-54. Brandon: BUNTEP, Faculty of Education, Brandon University, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.

Stairs, A. (1995). Learning processes and teaching roles in Native education: Cultural base and cultural brokerage. In M. Battiste and J. Barman (Eds.), First Nations education in Canada: The circle unfolds, 139-153. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.

Academic Exchange Extra invites reader response to any writings in this issue--especially articles advancing the scholarly debate of issues raised.

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