The Impact of Bilingual Mathematics Education in Panama

Ethnomathematics, an approach to teaching mathematics that incorporates local cultural understandings of mathematics, may improve student learning in indigenous communities. Researchers worked with IPA and the Inter-American Development Bank to conduct a randomized evaluation of an ethnomathematics program called JADENKÄ developed by Panama’s government for preschool students in the country’s Ngäbe-Buglé region.

Researchers:
Emma Naslund-Hadley, Juan Manuel Hernández-Agramonte, Horacio Alvarez, Cynthia Hobbs, Humberto Santos, Ana Grigera, Carmen Albertos
Country:
Panama
Program Areas:
Education
Topics:
Education Quality
Status:
Results
The Effects of a Bilingual and Intercultural Preschool Math Program in Panama

Basic “pre-math” skills in young children have been shown to be important for developing later mathematics competency. In Panama, math scores are lower than other Latin American countries and there are large performance gaps between indigenous and non-indigenous areas. Researchers are evaluating the impact of bilingual and intercultural preschool math curricula on the math skills of preschool-aged children.

Researchers:
Emma Naslund-Hadley, Juan Manuel Hernández-Agramonte
Country:
Panama
Program Areas:
Education
Topics:
Education Quality, Information & Communications Technology (ICT)
Status:
In Progress