Matemática e letramento racial: uma intervenção pedagógica decolonial para o ensino fundamenta

Abstract

This dissertation emerges from the paths I have taken in seeking to understand the challenges and possibilities of implementing a decolonial pedagogical practice in Mathematics Education, aligned with Ethnic-Racial Relations Education and with Brazilian Law No. 10.639/2003, which mandates the teaching of African and Afro-Brazilian History and Culture in basic education. Grounded in escrevivência, inspired by Conceição Evaristo, this study was constructed from my experiences, concerns, and discoveries as a teacher and a Black woman, in dialogue with the need to challenge a curriculum historically structured by Eurocentric and colonial foundations. In this movement, I seek to highlight possible pathways for valuing African cultures and their contributions to humanity, particularly in the field of Mathematics. The study was guided by the following research question: how can a decolonial pedagogical practice, grounded in the recognition of African contributions to the development of Mathematics, contribute to the racial literacy of middle school students? Accordingly, the main objective was to analyze the contributions of a decolonial pedagogical proposal, based on African history and culture, to the process of racial literacy in Mathematics classes. The methodological path unfolded in three interconnected stages: first, I conducted a theoretical study on the mathematical contributions of different African civilizations; second, I developed an educational product consisting of the children’s book The Book of Kemet and a teaching guide; finally, I implemented and analyzed the proposal in a 7th-grade class at a public school in the interior of Minas Gerais. This qualitative study employed questionnaires, field journal records, classroom recordings, and students’ productions as data sources. The analysis led to the construction of three thematic categories: Meanings, practices, and learning in Mathematics; Racial identity and representation; and Affects, dialogues, and decolonial practices. The results reveal a process of students’ engagement with Mathematics as a field also shaped by African cultures. Despite initial unfamiliarity, students demonstrated openness and critical engagement with the proposal, recognizing alternative ways of learning Mathematics beyond traditionally experienced approaches. The findings reinforce that incorporating a decolonial and anti-racist perspective in Mathematics Education can significantly contribute to the process of racial literacy, highlighting the school as a space for contestation, construction, and re-signification of knowledge.