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Dynamics of change of mathematics education in Brazil and a scenario of current research

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Abstract

Mathematics education in Brazil, if we consider what one may call the scientific phase, is about 30 years old. The papers for this special issue focus mainly on this period. During these years, many trends have emerged in mathematics education to address the complex problems facing Brazilian society. However, most Brazilian mathematics educators feel that the separation of research into trends is a theoretical idealization that does not respond to the dynamics of the problems we face. We raise the conjecture that the complexity of Brazilian society, where pockets of wealth coexist with the most shocking poverty, has contributed to the adoption and generation of different strands in mathematics education, crossing the boundaries between trends. At a more micro level, we also raise the conjecture that Brazilian trends in research are interwoven because of the way that Brazilian mathematics educators have experienced the process of globalization over these 30 years. This tapestry of trends is a predominant characteristic of mathematics education in Brazil.

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Notes

  1. http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/populacao/condicaodevida/indicadoresminimos/tabela3.shtm .

  2. http://conteudoweb.capes.gov.br/conteudoweb/ProjetoRelacaoCursosServlet?acao=pesquisarIes&codigoArea=90200000&descricaoArea=MULTIDISCIPLINAR+&descricaoAreaConhecimento=ENSINO&descricaoAreaAvaliacao=ENSINO+DE+CI%CANCIAS+E+MATEMATICA.

  3. See the special issue of ZDM, volume 42(1)—historical aspects of the use of technology and devices in ICMEs and ICMI for more on this issue. http://springerlink.com/content/tg0p335l0863/?p=3d350d4862ce4fb589a6ce8d120e5b64&pi=1.

Acknowledgments

Although they are not responsible for the contents of this article, we would like to thank Jhony Alexander Villa Ochoa and Ricardo Scucuglia, members of GPIMEM, UNESP for a critical reading of an early version of this paper. We would also like to specially thank Anne Kepple for her critical reading and for editing our writing, without distorting our ideas, to fit the canons of a native Anglophone.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State University of Campinas, UNICAMP and UNIBAN, São Paulo, Brazil

    Ubiratan D’Ambrosio

  2. São Paulo State University, UNESP, São Paulo, Brazil

    Marcelo C. Borba

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  1. Ubiratan D’Ambrosio
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  2. Marcelo C. Borba
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Correspondence to Marcelo C. Borba.

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D’Ambrosio, U., Borba, M.C. Dynamics of change of mathematics education in Brazil and a scenario of current research. ZDM Mathematics Education 42, 271–279 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-010-0261-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-010-0261-x

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