Sami Culture and Values - A Study of the National Mathematics Exam for the Compulsory School in Norway

Abstract

Norway ratified the ILO convention 169 concerning indigenous and tribal people in independent countries in 1990. In accordance with the convention the education programs for the Sami shall address their value systems and their cultural aspirations. Our aim is to investigate the implementation of this convention. The focus is on how Sami values are reflected in the national mathematics exam for the compulsory school. In Sami traditional knowledge the term "knowledge" means knowledge as a process, not just the final outcome of a process. The tasks are analyzed with respect to four different Sami values. We present an overview of one complete exam and more profound analyses of three selected tasks. The analyses reveal that the tasks more or less reflect some Sami values. A stronger focus on modeling problems in school mathematics may open up for forms of teaching that focus on Sami values to a larger extent than today.