"The Role of Educational Policy in Supporting Indigenized Mathematics Pedagogies in Southern Province, Zambia"

This study examines how educational policy in Zambia enables—or constrains—the indigenization of mathematics pedagogy in Southern Province. Framed by culturally responsive and decolonial perspectives, we used a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design: a survey of 55 mathematics teachers followed by 15 in-depth interviews. Quantitative results indicate teachers view current policy support as moderate (M=3.2/5). One-sample t-tests showed significant deficits in culturally relevant resources (t=−2.72, p=.01) and significant positives for teacher confidence (t=2.76, p=.01) and student engagement when local knowledge is used (t=4.62, p<.001). A multiple regression (R²=.52) identified professional development (β=.35, p=.002), community collaboration (β=.28, p=.015), resource availability (β=.31, p=.007), administrative support (β=.24, p=.049), and teacher confidence (β=.36, p=.001) as significant predictors of perceived policy effectiveness. Qualitative themes corroborated these patterns, highlighting: (1) implementation challenges (training and materials gaps), (2) observable gains in engagement and conceptual understanding when local languages/contexts are used, (3) the necessity of community and traditional-leader co-design, and (4) uneven support from authorities alongside teacher-led innovation. Findings suggest Zambia’s 1996 National Education Policy and 2013 Revised Curriculum provide a normative basis for indigenized mathematics, but classroom translation hinges on clear implementation guidance, targeted CPD, and material provision. We recommend: explicit policy mandates for IKS and local-language integration in mathematics; funded, practice-based CPD; development and distribution of culturally grounded task banks; participatory curriculum governance with communities; and assessment adaptations that value cultural reasoning. Strengthening these levers can align equity aspirations with day-to-day teaching, improving mathematics outcomes while affirming cultural identity.

Indigenized pedagogy; mathematics education

1. Adams, E., Nathan, A., Trost, S., Schipperijn, J., Shilton, T., Trapp, G., & Christian, H. (2023). Play active physical activity policy intervention and implementation support in early childhood education and care: Results from a pragmatic cluster randomised trial. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 20(1). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Adewale, S. (2022). School administrators' and teachers' perceptions on policy change implementation strategies adoption in technical colleges in south-west Nigeria. E-Kafkas Eğitim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 9(2), 735-750. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Bos, C., Nahmias, M., & Urban, M. (1997). Implementing interactive professional development in a workshop course on educating students with AD/HD. Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, 20(2), 132-145. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Cherubini, L. (2009). "Taking Haig-Brown seriously": Implications of indigenous thought on Ontario educators. Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, 7(1), 6-23. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Coates, S., Trudgett, M., & Page, S. (2020). Indigenous higher education sector: The evolution of recognised indigenous leaders within Australian universities. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 50(2), 215-221. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Dominikus, W. (2024). Ethnomathematics in Caci dance of Manggarai community and its integration in mathematics learning. Journal of Law and Sustainable Development, 12(2), e3035. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Finch, M., Stacey, F., Jones, J., Yoong, S., Grady, A., & Wolfenden, L. (2019). A randomised controlled trial of performance review and facilitated feedback to increase implementation of healthy eating and physical activity-promoting policies and practices in centre-based childcare. Implementation Science, 14(1). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Hambulo, F., & Higgs, L. (2017). Catholic secondary education and identity reformation in Zambia’s southern province: An outcome of a conflict of educational policy values or not? Koers - Bulletin for Christian Scholarship, 82(1). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Hambulo, F., & Higgs, P. (2017). Identity and educational reform in Catholic secondary schools in Zambia's Southern Province. International Journal of Educational Development, 57, 43-51. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Hauser, V., Howlett, C., & Matthews, C. (2009). The place of indigenous knowledge in tertiary science education: A case study of Canadian practices in indigenising the curriculum. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 38(S1), 46-58. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Howe, E., Johnson, S., & Momo, F. (2021). Effective indigenization of curriculum in Canada and New Zealand: Towards culturally responsive pedagogies. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 16(1). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Howe, K. R., Davidson, C., & Sloboda, J. A. (2021). Indigenizing education in Canada and New Zealand: Lessons and policies. Journal of Education Policy, 36(5), 678-694. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Iversen, J. (2020). Comparing language ideologies in multilingual classrooms across Norway and Zambia. Multilingual Margins: A Journal of Multilingualism from the Periphery, 7(3). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Jalil, A. (2023). Indigenous pedagogy approach in teaching mathematics among Orang Asli primary school students. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH), 8(9), e002494. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Kadonsi, K. (2023). Exploring mathematics teachers’ attitudes towards indigenizing pedagogies in mathematics education in Southern Province, Kalomo, Zambia. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, VII(X), 1931-1955. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Kadonsi, K. (2023). Exploring secondary school students’ perceptions of indigenizing mathematics pedagogies: A path to inclusive mathematics education in Southern Province, Zambia. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, VII(X), 1851-1881. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Kalinde, B. (2024). Cross-country document analysis of play-based learning in early childhood education in Zambia and beyond. Journal of Law and Social Sciences, 5(4), 1-20. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Kalinde, B. (2024). Cultural diversity and educational policy alignment in Zambia. African Journal of Education, 30(3), 212-228. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Kumatongo, B. (2021). Barriers to the inclusion of learners with hearing impairments: A review of literature on Zambia. Isagoge - Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(3), 67-85. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Laato, S., Hamukwaya, S., Major, L., & Hamukwaya, S. (2021). Hunter-gatherer approach to math education - Everyday mathematics in a San community and implications on technology design. In Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing (pp. 478-487). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Le, T. (2023). Adapting corpus linguistics for primary EFL education in Vietnam: Perspectives from linguistics scholars. Journal of Innovation and Research in Primary Education, 2(2), 55-66. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Malcom, A. (2024). Integrating indigenous knowledge into livestock policy formulation. International Journal of Livestock Policy, 3(1), 30-42. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. McNamara, S., Rizzo, T., & Townsley, M. (2021). School administrators’ intentions to promote adapted physical education. NASSP Bulletin, 105(4), 276-292. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Md-Ali, R., Veloo, A., Shanmugam, S., & Hashim, R. (2021). The issues and challenges of mathematics teaching and learning in Malaysia Orang Asli primary schools from teachers' perspectives. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 18. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Mpolomoka, D., Chikopela, R., Muvombo, M., Matimba, M., Banda, S., Nherera, S., & Sampa, R. (2022). Portfolios of distance education students in selected colleges and universities in Zambia. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 9-19. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Owuor, J. (2008). Integrating African indigenous knowledge in Kenya’s formal education system: The potential for sustainable development. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 2(2). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Owuor, J. A. (2008). Integrating African indigenous knowledge in Kenya's formal education system: The potential for sustainable development. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 3(2), 22-35. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Prest, A., Goble, J., Vazquez-Cordoba, H., & Tuinstra, B. (2021). Enacting curriculum ‘in a good way:’ Indigenous knowledge, pedagogy, and worldviews in British Columbia music education classes. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 53(5), 711-728. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Sari, T., Suhartini, S., & Aloysius, S. (2023). Starling Lawu dance as a learning resource for movement system for junior high school students. JPI (Jurnal Pendidikan Indonesia, 12(2), 395-407. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Saye, J., Kohlmeier, J., Brush, T., Mitchell, L., & Farmer, C. (2009). Using mentoring to develop professional teaching knowledge for problem-based historical inquiry. Theory & Research in Social Education, 37(1), 6-41. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Schweisfurth, M. (2013). Learner-centred education in international perspective. Journal of International Comparative Education, 2(1), 1-8. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Wotherspoon, T., & Milne, E. (2020). What do indigenous education policy frameworks reveal about commitments to reconciliation in Canadian school systems? International Indigenous Policy Journal, 11(1). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Wotherspoon, T., & Milne, E. (2020). Indigenous education policies and practices in Australia. Australian Educational Researcher, 47(2), 255-270. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Zheng, Y., Zhang, X., Sun, X., Shi, Y., & Chang, C. (2020). Evaluation of the college-based HIV/AIDS education policy in Beijing, China: A mixed method approach. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 25(1). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Interplay of Students’ Emotional Intelligence and Attitude toward Mathematics on Performance in Grade 10 Algebra
• Numerical Simulation of Fitzhugh-Nagumo Dynamics Using a Finite Difference-Based Method of Lines
• Fixed Point Theorem in Controlled Metric Spaces
• Usage of Moving Average to Heart Rate, Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar
• Exploring Algebraic Topology and Homotopy Theory: Methods, Empirical Data, and Numerical Examples