Tensões nas aulas de matemática e contribuições para um currículo para a educação das relações étnico-raciais

Abstract

The Law 10.639/03 established the obligation of teaching Africa and African History in K-12 curriculum in all schools of every education system in Brazil. However, there is still a lack of studies to base the teaching practice in this field, especially in Mathematics education. Aiming to contribute to the discussion of the theme, this research investigated changes which take place in the Mathematics class when elements of African history and culture are introduced, as well as the contributions of these changes on creating an education curriculum for ethnic-racial relations. We conducted a qualitative research with empirical material from participant observation, interviews with students and the teacher, and notes on the students’ activities. The main instruments used to produce and organize the empirical material were field diaries, interviews, registries produced by the students throughout the activities, and audio recordings of the Mathematics classes. The field research took place in a municipal school in the city of Betim (state of Minas Gerais), where the researcher teaches. A set of 8th- grade Mathematics classes were observed during 2016. The observed classes were planned together with the Mathematics teacher, who introduced the African culture theme through the project “African culture experiences”. The data analysis was based on studies on the curriculum, in critic and pos-critic perspective, particularly the works focused on the curriculum for the education of ethic-racial relations, as well as official documents and works discussing public policies of racial equality. As a result, we could see changes in the teacher’s practices as well as the students’, regarding students’ involvement and interest in the Mathematics classes which approached the ethic-racial theme; more autonomy and agency from the students; and a change on the way students see the ethnic-racial debate in the school, which they consider a way to combat racism and prejudice against black people. In a way, the project “African culture experiences” was an initiative of decolonization of the curriculum, especially the one focused on ethnic-racial relations, promoting an approximation of types of knowledge and ways of being and living of the students and the community.