SCHOOL FAILURE IN MATHEMATICS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY IN THE LIGHT OF HISTORICAL-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY
Historical-Cultural Psychology; Pedagogical Mediation; School failure; University education; Mathematics.
Teaching and learning relationships are inserted directly or indirectly in international contexts of a new globalized economy, so that these relationships are permeated by international political-economic decisions; investments from countries with a strong economy and abdications from countries with a weaker economy. When we refer to courses in the technological area, an area that is very much viewed by the international market, we cannot ignore the context in which they were created, for what purpose and the issues involving the teaching of mathematics. technologies as a potential for economic growth in the countries, strategies for training qualified labor are thought of, and the educational processes involved, necessary for the full development of their students, are left in second place, which is expressed in the phenomenon of school failure in these courses. This research aimed to analyze determinants of school failure in mathematics in technological higher education, in the discipline of Pre-Calculation of Bachelor of Science and Technology in Natal / RN, from the perspective of Historical-Cultural Psychology. In the section on theoretical chapters, we first discussed the constitution of educational policies in Higher Education and the context for the creation of Interdisciplinary Bachelor's degrees, so that it is possible to visualize the international political context in which these courses are inserted. Then, we articulate the discussion about the history of mathematics as an area of knowledge historically permeated with divergences and how this history contributes to the phenomenon of school failure in mathematics in the context of Higher Education; and, finally, we discuss the social function of the school (in this research, of the university), its importance in the appropriation of scientific concepts by students for Higher Psychological Processes and the damages caused when this non-appropriation. The second part will consist of data from the research carried out in the Pre-Calculation discipline of the Bachelor of Science and Technology course, which is composed of basic mathematical content; it is introductory to the course and has the highest failure rates among students. This research takes a look at the phenomenon of school failure in mathematics in Higher Education, from the theoretical point of view of Historical-Cultural Psychology, thinking about the training model of these students and their development. The results point mainly to poorly qualified pedagogical mediation processes; distancing relations between teachers, students and other collaborators and an urgent need for investment in collaborative actions involving the various actors of the institution.