Teaching Fractions in the Primary Education: A Cross-Sectional Study with Brazilian Polyvalents Teachers

Abstract

Math Education in Brazil has undergone important changes in the last two decades. Among these, we can highlight those that refer to methods and ways of developing the pedagogical work of Mathematics with children aged 6 to 9 years. Until the end of the 20th century, Brazilian Mathematics Education was directed towards a more technicist teaching, focusing on the development of operational contents and without much meaning for students. With some political changes and the growing need for internal investments, Brazil starts to operate within the international standards established by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, which establish as a priority for the granting of loans , the increase of educational levels, and the eradication of illiteracy. In view of this scenario, and allied to the evolution of curricular discussions, Brazilian basic education , mainly in the primary (6 to 10 years) , started to incorporate more and important elements related to the teaching methodologies of Mathematics in its discussions, which knowledge teacher occupies the central point. In this sense, the present paper seeks to understand how polyvalent teachers , pedagogues who work in the teaching of Mathematics in the early years , teach the content of fractions and what the essential aspects regarding the methods chosen for this purpose are. Therefore, the research information sources were obtained in a continuing education course with teachers working in public education systems. Such sources were characterized by records of responses to a problem-situation. Data were obtained from the ipsis litteris transcription of these responses, followed by the Content Analysis (CA), assuming the registration units as the initial parameter. As a result, the research evidenced three categories in which the contents discussed by the professors are classified: technicist, undifferentiated method and non-technicist. In addition, the study evidenced the difficulties of teachers in the focus group in differentiating methods from concepts, thus assuming different meanings for the fractions.