Supporting mathematics public school teachers’ professional development and the teaching of statistics in elementary and middle school: An imperative for teacher education in Brazil

Abstract

This research sought to understand the perspectives of 28 elementary school mathematics teachers, on equity, social justice, cultural, socioeconomic, and racial issues and their relationship with the teaching and learning of mathematics (statistical concepts) in an online collaborative mathematics course focused on teaching statistics in an equity view. Federal policy requires teaching statistics since elementary school in Brazil. The course was conducted in the context of a university-school partnership through an online professional learning community–PLC, involving teachers from eight public schools and researchers from eight public universities in three different states in the Northeast and one in the Southeast of Brazil. Teachers’ perspectives on equity, social justice, cultural, socioeconomic, and racial issues were analyzed under the lens of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) equity principles and Gorski’s (2019b) heritage literacy. Data was generated through responses to an on-line questionnaire. Data analysis involved the qualitative method of textual discursive analysis. Results focused on teachers’ understandings and interpretations regarding: how they define equity, equality, and social justice; opportunities in mathematics teaching to support student learning; school support in relation to racial, cultural, and socioeconomic issues of families. The findings point to the need to support the implementation of a professional development model that attends, at the same time, the learning of teachers and students, with a focus on equity in Brazilian public schools.