“New African” or “Old African”: Storylines of African Immigrant Parents’ Evolving Perspectives and Experiences of Their Children’s Mathematics Learning

Using theories of Afrocentricity (African Indigenous Knowledge) and of positioning, we investigated how Sub-Saharan African immigrant parents (SSAIP) support their Grade 6–9 children’s mathematics learning in Canada. Individual interviews were collected from twelve immigrant parents living in an urban community in Alberta and new to Canada (within five years). We ask: what are the mathematics experiences and perspectives of Sub-Saharan African immigrant families? We analyzed interview data from 12 SSAIPs from Greater Edmonton, Canada to identify the storylines they shared regarding their experiences and perspectives of mathematics learning. The prevailing storylines were interpreted through an African Indigenous Knowledge lens. We found that parents adjust their mathematics learning support for their children by negotiating their experiences from two cultural worlds of education: pre-colonial (African Indigenous Knowledge) and colonized worldviews, their home and host cultures, generally. We identified these storylines, some of which sit in tension with each other: “mathematics learning is a communal responsibility”, “mathematics teachers share responsibility for the moral upbringing of the child”, “mathematics as memory work is feared and stressful”, “adults tell children what to do”, “adults negotiate with children about what to do”, and “success in mathematics is a gift from God”. We interpreted the storylines through the Akan Adinkra epistemologies which manifest in the Adinkra symbols and sayings, and through our experiences living and working in Sub-Saharan Africa, to determine the way each storyline aligned with old African or new African ways. This study will be beneficial for educators wishing to adopt culturally responsive ways of engaging immigrant families in their children’s mathematics learning.