DISCOURSE STATEMENTS OF MATHEMATICAL LITERACY FOR THE FIRST YEARS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Abstract

The goal of this study was to identify discourse statements for mathematical literacy present in various curriculum material which guides the teaching of mathematics and training Mathematics teachers through the first years of Elementary School. We have taken, as reference, the Foucauldian studies existing literature around discussions on mathematical literacy, parting from their thoughts on discourse, statement, and enunciation. Curricular and teacher’s training material from the Ministry of Education (MEC) were examined from 2000 to 2020. The examination fell upon a well-defined corpus; many different nomenclatures were considered: mathematical literacy, numeracy, materacia and matemacia. Starting from the examination of enunciations found within the examined documents three statements on mathematical literacy were identified, in the first years of Elementary School: a) “mathematical literacy is an essential skill to daily social practices”; b) “mathematical literacy guarantees the development of problem-solving skills”; c) “mathematical literacy should be nurtured since early childhood”. The identified statements evidence that the documents in question adopt a perspective regarding mathematical literacy, which prioritizes knowledge with a specific end in detriment of intelectual dimension, suggesting a utilitarian approach to Mathematics. Before this, we must point out the importance of a thorough examination of the implications of these statements within early-years Elementary School mathematics teachers’ pedagogical decisions, with the intention of questioning the teaching objectives of this curricular component in the Basic Education stage.