Demystifying the Myth of Mathematics Learning At the Foundation Phase: The Role of Akan Indigenous Games (Challenges and Opportunities for Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in the Education System)

Despite the indispensability of Mathematics to development of human life there is a perception among some people that it is too difficult to learn. This negative perception put in the minds of school children makes most of them dislike the subject. To dispel this negative perception, teachers need to devise teaching methods that can make the learning of the subject enjoyable. This paper discusses how some selected Akan indigenous games can be used in teaching to demystify the myth surrounding the learning of mathematics at the foundation phase. It is believed that indigenous games such as oware and dame can be adopted as methods for teaching and learning mathematics. The objective of this paper is to project the value of indigenous games as a means of providing a strong foundation for the learning of mathematics. Through indigenous games basic mathematical concepts such as counting, addition, subtraction, division and multiplication could be learnt to make mathematics learning meaningful and culturally relevant.