Reforms of Mathematics Curriculum Guidelines for Middle Education in Brazil and Paraguay

Marcelo De Oliveira Dias

doi:10.29333/pr/10950

Abstract

The construction of the National Common Curricular Base (NCCB) for the area of Mathematics and its High School Technologies in Brazil and the last update of the Mathematics Program for High School in Paraguay are prescribed curriculum documents in force for the teaching of Mathematics in these countries. The construction of each one of them exposed intense political elements and has been a constant target of conflicts and tensions in these countries. The policy cycle approach, established by sociologist Stephen J. Ball and collaborators, has usually been applied by curriculum policy researchers, as well as from other sectors. Therefore, it has been configured in an important methodological bias for the understanding of the documents’ approval processes from the contexts of production and influence, as well as the standards that guided this construction and the ideological constraints that emanate from the involvement of multilateral organisms. In order to achieve this objective, this article presents a comparative analysis of documents in specific circumstances during the processes of the recent reforms of the prescribed documents for mathematical learning in Brazil and Paraguay. It starts from the methodological phases of Comparative Education, summarized by Pilz (2012), by which it reflected on the vertical models and the reductionism and emptying of the area, as well as the contents as instruments of management and performance to meet the varied demands of the globalized world. The theoretical hybridization carried out in the study also pointed to a greater number of specific competences prescribed for the teaching of Mathematics in Brazil, and in Paraguay, a curriculum that prioritizes more functional Mathematics.

Highlights

The choice for attempting to compare reforms in High School in Brazil and Paraguay is justified because they are neighboring countries in South America and due to the complex diversity of factors related to the development and development of curricula, that of Mathematics, of which the programs intend to deal with in their educational trajectories
Through the analysis of the contexts of influence and production, members of the Policy Cycle proposed by Ball (1994), of the phases of the Comparative Education methodology summarized by Pilz (2012) and through the literature review, it was proved that the production from National Common Curricular Base (NCCB) in Brazil and the last update of the Mathematics Program (2016) in Paraguay are configured in approved prescriptions for High School seen as political texts resulting from tensions, disputes and agreements
Popularity was gained by new voices and nodes of interest in the process of reforming the mathematics curricula in these countries, being represented in their processes and political contexts (Ball, 2013) by groups and organizations with apparent influences and a tendency to comply with processes that are part of a international reform agency (Ball, 1994, 2013; Passos & Nacarato, 2018)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The objective is to question the recent Curricular Reforms in Mathematics in Brazil and Paraguay, around, the questions:. The choice for attempting to compare reforms in High School in Brazil and Paraguay is justified because they are neighboring countries in South America and due to the complex diversity of factors related to the development and development of curricula, that of Mathematics, of which the programs intend to deal with in their educational trajectories. It should be noted that the reform of regular Basic Education in both countries, of a non-professional nature and qualification, was considered, as they are configured in a mandatory stage. It deals with knowledge known as essential for the area of Mathematics

METHODOLOGY

COMPARATIVE METHOD PHASES

CONCLUSIONS