Teachers’ Understanding and Application of Cultural Context Integration in Teaching Geometry: A Ghanaian Case Study

Abstract

This qualitative study examines mathematics teachers’ understanding and classroom application of cultural context integration in the teaching of geometry. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with eight Ghanaian senior high school mathematics teachers, the study used thematic analysis to interpret participants’ conceptualisations and pedagogical practices. The study employed a phenomenological research design to capture teachers’ lived experiences and understandings of cultural context integration in geometry teaching. The findings reveal that teachers possess a clear theoretical grasp of the approach, viewing it as the incorporation of students’ cultural experiences and artefacts to make learning meaningful, but face challenges translating this understanding into practice due to curriculum rigidity and resource constraints. Teachers who applied the approach employed storytelling, project-based learning and local artefacts such as Adinkra symbols and Kente designs. These practices align with cultural semiotic theory, the three-tier model and radical local theories of learning, affirming that mathematics becomes more engaging and comprehensible when grounded in cultural reality.