MATHEMATICS AND THE PLACE OF THE EARLY YEARS TEACHER: THE POINT OF VIEW OF PEDAGOGY STUDENTS

Abstract

The present paper investigates the process of knowledge building of Pedagogy students in relation to the nature of mathematical knowledge and to being a mathematics teacher in the early years of the elementary school. It is a qualitative, analytical-descriptive and longitudinal research which was held in the period 2007-2010, with Pedagogy students of Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da UNESP (College of Science and Technology of UNESP), in Presidente Prudente, a city in the west region of the state of São Paulo. The development of this research involved the use of a support questionnaire for the choice of the subjects of the course of Pedagogy and the application of semi-structured interviews at the end of each year, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The results were analyzed from a frame of reference about the natures of mathematical knowledge and teachers’ knowledge and show the changes of opinions of the subjects during the initial formation. In each year they were interviewed, the subjects, from reflection on their experiences as students in basic education, rebuild their knowledge through the influence of different disciplines studied on the course. The interviewed subjects show an approximation of the view of the mathematical knowledge as human built, a predominant concern with the teacher-student relation and the ability to suggest methodology of teaching. At the end of the course, they claim that although they do not have complete domain of some mathematical concepts, the relationship with the mathematical knowledge has improved and they fell more confident and prepared to teach Mathematics.

Keywords: Nature of mathematical knowledge; Knowledge; Teachers from early years; Mathematical concepts.