Matemática no ensino fundamental: reflexões decoloniais sobre os processos de ensino e aprendizagem

Abstract

The dissertation addresses the theme of Decoloniality, introducing reflections on how colonial structures of mathematics teaching and learning may reinforce racial, social, and pedagogical inequalities. To this end, research was conducted centered on the objective of analyzing how decolonial reflections on the teaching and learning processes of Mathematics in Elementary School – early years can contribute to strengthening the representations of Black children, discussing these aspects in an intersectional manner (race and class) in education, highlighting the need for anti-racist and inclusive pedagogical practices. Grounded in the concepts of Ethnomathematics, Decoloniality, engaged education, and critical pedagogy, the research was guided by the following question: How can decolonial reflections on the teaching and learning processes of Mathematics in Elementary School – early years contribute to strengthening the representations of Black children? The relevance of the study lies in its contribution to deconstructing traditional approaches to mathematics teaching and problematizing structural racism in education and its implications for the school failure of Black children. Methodologically, this is an exploratory qualitative research with data analysis based on Content Analysis. The investigation was organized into three stages: bibliographic review (focusing on productions about decoloniality and ethnomathematics); field research, with the application of questionnaires; and the implementation of a formative intervention with teachers from the state public school system of a city located in the north of Rio Grande do Sul. Data analysis gave rise to three categories of analysis: Sensitive Practices, Approximation with Reality, and Multiculturality. The first concerns the act of listening, welcoming, and lovingness as possibilities to counter the colonial logic in which the teacher is seen as an unattainable being that holds knowledge. In the second category, everyday Mathematics teaching practices emerge with potential for dialogued work with Decolonial Theories and Ethnomathematics, pointing out limits and challenges when bringing mathematics teaching closer to children's lived experiences. The third category focuses on the presence of social, economic, and cultural diversity in the school context, factors that demand from the school and the teacher a social, emotional, psychological, and pedagogical preparation that public education is still precarious in offering. As a result, the research emphasizes the importance of racial, gender, and multicultural discussions in the school context, as well as highlighting the relevance of promoting studies and reflections on Ethnomathematics and Decolonial Studies in continuing education processes. The research points to the presence of a functional interculturality present in the curricula, since contextualized teaching is something provided for in normative documents, but due to bureaucratic issues, training, and lack of commitment from public spheres, it does not reach formative spaces. The research also points to the importance of the representation of Black people in the field of sciences as well as in the field of Mathematics Education. Finally, this work is like a spark that does not go out in thinking about the representations of Black children, but that shatters into other sparks, pointing us to the urgent need to rethink teaching practice in an anti-racist and emancipatory manner