Saberes etnomatemáticos no contexto dos anos iniciais de escolarização em uma escola indígena no Alto Solimões

Abstract

Valuing the cultural knowledge of Indigenous peoples within the school context remains one of the central challenges of contemporary Indigenous School Education, particularly in relation to the teaching of Mathematics. In this context, the general objective of this study is to understand how mathematics is produced in the context of the early years of schooling in an Indigenous school in the Alto Solimões region, located in the community of Vila de Betânia, belonging to the Ticuna people. The specific objectives were: (a) to examine how the dialogue between mathematics teaching and the sociocultural context is established through teachers’ annual work plans and planning notebooks; and (b) to investigate whether and how teaching practices foster the production of ethnomathematical knowledge in everyday school practices. This qualitative research is grounded in the appreciation of cultural practices and mathematical knowledge constructed through the daily and school experiences of the Ticuna people. The theoretical framework is based on the perspective of Ethnomathematics, specially the contributions of Ubiratan D’Ambrosio, as well as authors such as Knijnik, Gerdes, Rosa, and Santos, who discuss the relationships between culture, knowledge, and mathematics education. Cultural Studies are also mobilized in order to understand the production of knowledge within specific sociocultural contexts. The study was conducted through the analysis of teachers’ planning documents, notebooks, and classroom records, aiming to understand how traditional mathematical knowledge is recognized, incorporated, or challenged within formal pedagogical practices. The results indicate that although mathematical knowledge is strongly present in the daily practices of the community — such as agriculture, counting processes, the making of utensils, and the organization of space — these forms of knowledge still appear only marginally within the school curriculum. Mathematics teaching remains largely guided by traditional and decontextualized references, revealing challenges for the development of intercultural pedagogical practices capable of valuing local knowledge and strengthening the relationship between school, culture, and territory.