This book addresses numerous issues related to ethnomathematics and diverse approaches to it in the context of mathematics education. To help readers better understand the development of ethnomathematics, it discusses its objectives and assumptions with regard to promoting an ethics of respect, solidarity, and cooperation across and for all cultures. In turn, the book addresses a range of aspects including pedagogical action, culturally relevant pedagogy, innovative approaches to ethnomathematics, and the role of ethnomathematics in mathematics education. Ethnomathematics offers educators a valuable framework for transforming mathematics so that it can more actively contribute to realizing the dream of a just and humane society. As such, its primary goal is to forge mathematics into a powerful tool to help people create a society characterized by dignity for all, and in which iniquity, arrogance, violence, and bigotry have no place.

This survey on the modernity of ethnomathematics addresses numerous themes related to both ethnomathematics and mathematics education. It offers a broader view of mathematics, including ideas, procedures, concepts, processes, methods, and practices rooted in distinct cultural environments. In addition, by reflecting on the social and political dimensions of ethnomathematics, another important aspect of this research program is the development of innovative approaches for a dynamic and glocalized society. Ethnomathematics recognizes that members of different cultures develop unique mathematical techniques, methods, and explanations that allow for an alternative understanding and transformation of societal norms. The theoretical basis of ethnomathematics offers a valid alternative to traditional studies of history, philosophy, cognition, and pedagogical aspects of mathematics. The current agenda for ethnomathematics is to continue an ongoing, progressive trajectory that contributes to the achievement of social justice, peace, and dignity for all. The debates outlined in this book share a few of the key ideas that provide for a clearer understanding of the field of ethnomathematics and its current state of the art by discussing its pedagogical actions, its contributions for teacher education, and its role in mathematics education.