Effective mathematics instruction establishes a strong connection between mathematics and students' real-life experiences and cultural background. Ethnomathematical techniques aim to enhance the relevance of classroom mathematics for learners by leveraging the surrounding environment to reinforce comprehension of mathematical concepts (Gerdes, 2014); (Kyeremeh et al., 2024-07-27). Exploring the socio-cultural milieu in which mathematics learning occurs is crucial for facilitating effective learning. This exploration is necessary to benefit students and teachers in learning.

Teachers' instructional decisions, including the selection of effective teaching perspectives in mathematics teaching, are influenced by demographic factors such as teaching experience, gender, religion, and so on. This supports (Mabotja, 2022) assertion that demographic variables, including ethnicity and experiences, could influence teacher educators' integration of ethnomathematics. Hence, it is posited that these variables would exert a substantial impact on the comprehension of mathematics teacher educators about the incorporation of ethnomathematical perspectives into geometry teaching within the educational setting. The topics of gender, culture, and ethnomathematics were examined by (Gilsdorf, 2015). He observed the enduring pattern in Western culture of marginalizing women and their pursuits in the field of mathematics. He also noted that the marginalization of women in the field of mathematics within Western society has persisted for a considerable duration, spanning several centuries.

Women have historically faced both formal and informal exclusion from Western mathematics. For instance, until the early 21st Century, women were prohibited from attending Western universities. Additionally, there have been documented instances where women were specifically excluded from formal mathematical activities solely based on their gender (Gilsdorf, 2015). Gilsdorf lamented the persistence of those in contemporary society who maintain the belief that women and mathematics are incompatible. This phenomenon is prevalent throughout various domains of mathematical development, encompassing the topic of ethnomathematics as well. Consequently, gender possesses the inclination to impact how teacher educators integrate extracurricular mathematical concepts into their geometry instruction within the classroom setting.

In a mixed methods study conducted by (Pradhan, 2023), they examined the knowledge of ethnomathematics and the perception of Nepalese in-service teachers regarding the incorporation of ethnomathematics approaches in their teaching. The study also considered demographic characteristics such as gender, academic status, and teaching experience. The results of the study indicated that there was no statistically significant correlation between the gender of teachers and their comprehension of ethnomathematics. This finding indicates that there is a comparable level of comprehension among male and female mathematics educators regarding the ethnomathematics approach. Also, the study revealed a noteworthy correlation between the teaching experience of educators and their comprehension of ethnomathematics methodologies. Teachers' assessment of the usage of the ethnomathematics approach is influenced by their years of teaching experience.

In their study, (Aikpitanyi & Eraikhuemen, 2017) surveyed to examine the utilization of an ethnomathematics method by mathematics teachers in Nigeria. Although a considerable proportion of mathematics teachers indicated their utilization of the ethnomathematics approaches in their instructional practices, Aikpitanyi and Eraikhuemen observed no statistically significant disparity between male and female mathematics teachers in their adoption of ethnomathematics techniques. (Khalil, 2023) mixed-method study sought to present a comprehensive overview of educators' perceptions of ethnic mathematics, a pedagogical approach to school mathematics. It encompassed four primary dimensions: understanding of ethnic mathematics, the present degree of its incorporation in education, attitudes towards it as a pedagogical method, and barriers that hinder its integration. The findings showed that there are no statistically significant disparities in ethnomathematics integration related to gender or teaching experience. (Khalil, 2023) ascribed these findings to the uniformity of professional development programs received by all teachers.

(Thakur, 2019) conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the notable variations in teachers' perspectives on the incorporation of ethnomathematics in secondary education across several categories of independent variables, including gender, religion, and teaching experience. The results indicated that there was no statistically significant variation found between the demographic variables and teachers’ perspectives on the incorporation of ethnomathematics. Nevertheless, the dearth or absence of study in this domain concerning the incorporation of ethnomathematics suggests that further investigation should be undertaken, focusing on the religious inclination of educators. In South Africa, (Mutodi & Ngirande, 2014) conducted a study to examine the perspectives of mathematics teachers about the utilization of tangible materials in the process of constructing mathematical significance. The results validated statistically significant disparities in the perception of concrete materials between male and female teachers. Nevertheless, the teacher's expertise did not exert a substantial influence on their perspectives regarding the utilization of tangible resources.

Existing literature suggests a scarcity of studies (Aikpitanyi & Eraikhuemen, 2017); (Pradhan, 2023); (Thakur, 2019)ek that examine the impact of demographic factors on mathematics teachers' integration of ethnomathematical perspectives (mathematical forms found outside of school) into school geometry in the classroom. Furthermore, these limited studies have specifically concentrated on examining mathematics teachers in secondary schools. This study aimed to address the existing knowledge gap by presenting empirical evidence from the standpoint of mathematics teacher

educators regarding the demographic factors that predict the incorporation of ethnomathematical perspectives into school geometry instruction.

From an ethnomathematical standpoint, it is assumed that classroom instructions are inherently intertwined with the communities in which they are situated. Students enter school with pre-existing beliefs, conventions, and notions that they have acquired during their formative years. The implication is that students start from their own geometrical experiences and contexts they have from their own diverse cultures or environments; therefore, teachers are required to help students build upon these experiences and come to appreciate the need for more formal or classical applications in school geometry connected to real-life situations.

The framework for the geometry classroom framed by ethnomathematical perspectives that link geometrical activities in the students' culture and other cultures to conventional geometry (refer to Figure 1) used in this study is an adaptation of the ideas of both (Adam, 2004) and (Alangui, 2017). In Figure 1, the arrow between student teachers’ world and conventional geometry and its application characterizes the relationship between college geometry and student teachers’ geometrical experiences from their own culture and vice versa. Also, the arrows connecting the contextual framework of the student teachers’ world and their geometrical practices serve to illustrate the reciprocal interaction between the practice and the context. The arrows connecting college geometry and conventional geometry, as well as their applications, illustrate the connection between the practical application of geometry at college and the broader context of conventional geometry and vice versa.

The arrow between student teachers’ world, including their geometrical practices in their culture and geometrical activities from other cultures, characterizes the relationship between their cultural practice and the practice in other cultures and vice versa. The arrow between conventional geometry and its application and geometrical activities from other cultures characterizes the relationship between college geometry and geometrical activities from other cultures and vice versa. Mathematics teacher educators engage in geometrical thinking and practices by leveraging this rich knowledge to link geometrical activities in the students' culture and other cultures to conventional geometry. This ethnogeometric thinking is believed to be influenced by demographic factors such as gender, religion, and years of teaching experience (Pradhan, 2023); (Thakur, 2019). Given this framework, it is possible to connect student teachers’ geometrical experiences from their own culture and other cultures to college geometry during classroom instruction and that such connectedness is straightforward.

Although it is conceivable that the correlation between geometrical activities in culture and conventional geometry may be apparent, (Alangui, 2017)) contends that these actions are inherently linked to established concepts in conventional mathematics. The framework facilitates the examination of cultural activities for their intrinsic geometrical elements, which are subsequently analyzed in connection to established geometry. The purpose of employing ethnomathematical perspectives in geometry classroom instruction, according to(Adam, 2004), is to among other things enable students to establish connections between their understanding of geometry and similar contexts beyond their personal experiences or culture through the use of geometric reasoning. This perspective enables students to cultivate a sense of worth and appreciation for the present knowledge.

In this present study, a cross-sectional survey was employed. We chose to employ a survey on the viewpoint it allows for the collection of quantitative data on an extensive sample from a predetermined population in an attempt to determine the contemporary status of the phenomena being investigated for one or more variables (Asenahabi, 2019); (Mathers et al., 2009). In this survey, we used the collected data from explorations to make inferences about the population of interest by employing statistics. Specifically, the survey was used to investigate whether the explanatory variables (such as gender, religion, and teaching experience) predict the outcome variable ‘incorporation practices’ using the logistic regression model.

This present study was carried out in 22 out of 32 Ghanaian public colleges of education affiliated with four traditional universities that teamed up to develop new teacher education curricula as part of Ghana’s teacher education reforms. These colleges run a common B.Ed. curriculum developed by these four traditional universities supported by Transforming Teacher Education and Learning [T-TEL] under the supervision of the NCTE in Ghana. The purposive selection of these sites is because these colleges run the common B.Ed. program that demands that teacher educators employ culturally relevant pedagogies [ethnomathematical perspectives] (Education, 2017), (Education, 2018), such as the incorporation of mathematics found outside of school into mathematics teaching.

The estimated population for the study was 192 mathematics teacher educators who teach in the 32 public colleges of education. To obtain a representative sample, we relied sample size adequacy recommendation by (Gill et al., 2010) with a 95% confidence level and 5% confidence interval to obtain 128 mathematics teacher educators for the study. We clustered the 32 colleges of education by three belts (Coastal, Forest, and Savannah) and selected 22 using quota sampling to obtain a population-representative sample. Of these selected colleges of education, 18 had six mathematics teacher educators, while four had five mathematics teacher educators. Among these selected teacher educators, 73 participated in the web survey.

Due to the lack of existing instruments to measure the construct “incorporation practices”, the web-based questionnaire was self-developed. The existing body of literature on integrating ethnomathematical perspectives (Putra & Mahmudah, 2021); (Rosa & Orey, 2012), (Rosa & Orey, 2020) provided valuable insights into the constructs of incorporation practices. To provide evidence on content validity, we presented the draft of the questionnaire to two other experts in the field of ethnomathematics for their expert judgment. Based on their suggestions, four items were revised. After the expert reviewers’ comments on the instruments, we engaged four mathematics teacher educators in one-on-one interviews to share their thoughts and clarify issues while responding to the questions in the web-based survey. This was to help find out if respondents may understand the questions and choice of terminology used in the instruments. Based on the findings from the interview, we revised three items and returned them to the interviewees to determine if the revised questions were better.

We pre-tested the instruments among 20 selected mathematics teacher educators who were part of the sampling frame but not the sample to estimate its reliability. In estimating the reliability of the questionnaire based on the responses, T(Tayakol & Dennick, 2011) recommend Cronbach's Alpha as the most suitable method for assessing the internal consistency of an instrument. In light of this, the study employed Cronbach’s Alpha in measuring the internal consistency of scales for the questionnaire. The Cronbach's Alpha coefficient for the questionnaire sections was .80, indicating the acceptability of the instrument (Taber, 2018). The web-based structured questionnaire comprised of two sections: A, and B. Section “A” included three demographic questions. Section “B” consisted of 17 Likert-type items measured on four points ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree, related to mathematics teacher educators’ practices of incorporating mathematics found outside of school into geometry teaching.

In garnering data for this present study, we employed a web-based survey to reach out to participants to respond to questionnaires without our presence. The decision to use web-based surveys was to leverage its viability to reach out to large samples over a wide geographical area within a relatively short space of time (Callegaro et al., 2015). After securing permission from the Principals of the selected colleges of education to access mathematics teacher educators for study, we reached out to the heads of department with a cover letter, consent forms and link to a Google form inviting mathematics teacher educators to participate in the online survey. In line with this, the heads of the mathematics department were tasked to share the links to the survey on their various WhatsApp platforms and convince participants of the relevance of their voluntary participation in the study.

We first downloaded the Excel spreadsheet of the web-based survey responses and imported the data file into SPSS version 26. These extracted web-based questionnaires were edited for completeness and consistency. In analyzing the data, a logistic regression model was utilized to evaluate the prediction of explanatory variables (including gender, teaching experience, and religion) on the likelihood of mathematics teacher educators incorporating mathematics found outside of school into geometry teaching. The logistic regression model was employed due to its high permissibility regarding the inclusion of predictor variables (Pallant, 2016). This model allowed for the assessment of the suitability of explanatory variables, such as demographic factors, for predicting the outcome variable, which is ‘incorporation practices’ by differentiating between participants who integrate mathematics found outside of school in geometry teaching and those who do not. The dichotomous outcome variable in the logistic regression analysis was recoded as either 0 or 1. The outcome variable assumed a value of 1 when a mathematics teacher educator integrates the mathematics found outside of school into geometry teaching, whereas a value of 0 was assigned if a mathematics teacher did not integrate those forms of mathematics. The equation for the logistic regression model is given as follows:

where p(y) stands for the likelihood of mathematics teacher educators incorporating mathematics found outside of school into geometry teaching, b is the coefficients of the predictors, and x is the predictor variables such as gender, teaching experience, and religion.