MENTAL ARITHMETIC AND MATHEMATICAL SKILLS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL. A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE BETWEEN TWO POST-COLONIAL EDUCATION SYSTEMS: MARTINIQUE AND SENEGAL

Abstract

Several research studies have suggested that negative social representations associated with mathematics have an impact on school performance. These representations are the product of a culture, develop within a learning ecosystem and are dependent on the socio-economic context. In some post-colonial territories, for example, they have been shaped by prejudices and stereotypes inherited from the colonial past. This article presents the results of a study conducted among primary school pupils in two postcolonial contexts, Senegal (N=2973) and Martinique (N=2710) using a psychometric tool, the Test de Repérage des Difficultés en Mathématiques. The results obtained confirm the poor performance of the pupils in both contexts. The study was completed by a sociological survey on the mental representations of mathematics (N=470 in Senegal and N=86 in Martinique): the analysis of the results, which were sometimes contradictory, enabled us to identify avenues that would allow us to imagine more contextualized and effective didactic strategies