Incorporating Religious Mathematics In The Teaching And Learning Of Formal Geometry: A Case Of The Apostolic Church Sector In Zimbabwe.

This paper argues for the inclusion of cultural geometry in formal school mathematics curriculum. In Zimbabwe members of the apostolic church apply geometrical concepts with meticulousness without the practitioners receiving school education. A descriptive ethno mathematics research that revealed how religious-cultural geometry could enhance understanding of school mathematics was employed in this study. Data were collected through observation and interviews. Twenty households’ which were conveniently sampled and three purposively sampled mathematics educators constituted the sample. This paper highlights how geometry is used in the apostolic church sector and how it could be used in to enhance students’ geometry conceptual understanding in school mathematics as the concept is widely believed to be difficult. The inclusion of religious mathematics could bridge the gap between school and the cultural mathematics since improving mathematics education was the original motivation for ethno mathematics. One of the recommendations of this paper is to include a course on ethno mathematics in teacher education programmes that will enhance educators’ content and pedagogical content knowledge.