Beliefs about Mathematics Teaching in the Mathematics Degree Course at UFRN
Teacher education; Mathematics teaching; Mathematics Education.
The present research emerged from the experiences lived in the investigations that we carried out on the field of Mathematics Education at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) and fostered by other researches that are related to the tensions and divergences regarding the field of mathematics teacher training that operates in Basic Education. Its relevance is anchored in the perspective of strengthening teacher training through discussions and reflections generated from the results of this investigation. In this sense, we sought to investigate the beliefs of Mathematics teachers and students, from the Degree and Bachelor of Mathematics Courses, at UFRN, about teacher professionalism, in particular, about the teaching of Mathematics in the formation of the Mathematics teacher, in order to infer about resistance to the field of Mathematics Education. We used a qualitative and quantitative approach as a methodology with exploratory techniques to analyze and collect data related to the beliefs of teachers and students. The place for data collection was UFRN. We carried out bibliographical studies based on the History of Mathematics Education and on the theoretical constructs of authors from Philosophy, History, Education and Mathematics Education to reflect on some events that reveal devices of resistance with effects of the power-knowledge relationship in the field of Mathematics Education, before and after its constitution and consolidation. The collected data underwent statistical treatment, namely: data organization in tables and graphs, frequencies, averages, standard deviations and Typicality and Polarity Indices. We also employ Bardin's (1977) content analysis. The meaning of this analysis is in line with the following Thesis proposal: Some beliefs of Mathematics teachers and Mathematics Degree students about the professionalism of Mathematics teachers in the context of initial training are associated with teaching Mathematics resistant to the field of Mathematics Education. The analysis of the quantitative data points out that the beliefs still have a tendency towards transmissive teaching, and the qualitative data show that the formative perspectives of a mathematician still persist, with some disciplines being developed without differences for the bachelor and the teacher in Mathematics. Based on these results, it is possible to infer that some beliefs of teachers and students about teaching Mathematics influence and enhance resistance to the field of Mathematics Education.