Knowledge in (Trans)Training and the Role of Experts: Curricula, Mathematics Education and Teacher Training, 1920-2020

Abstract

Background: Mathematics for basic and elementary schools and teacher education changes over time; and their official expression is given by these documents that guide teaching work in schools. Objective: What processes and dynamics are involved in the systematisation of new knowledge in the production of curriculum references? In particular, the text focuses on mathematics for the first school years. Design: The analysis of curricular reforms, considering official documents, prioritises the role of specialists, treated as experts, considering that following the actions of these researchers it may be possible to answer the main question of the study. Results: Analysis shows that the changes that have occurred over time, from teaching programs to the current BNCC, are linked to the progressive stratification of experts who go from being a highly visible public authority to an increasing set of representatives from different social segments interested in the curricular debate. Conclusions: This stratification makes it more difficult to locate those specialists responsible for the internal organisation of the proposals with regard to teaching objects, the content of mathematics to be present in teaching and teacher training.

Specialised Knowledge Network Activated in Teacher Education to Answer to a Mathematical Why on Fraction Division

“…The construction of specialised knowledge comes both from scientific sources -such as content and didactic books, journals and scientific articles, meta-analyses, legislation, policies, curricula, among others (Courant & Robbins, 1996;Petit et al, 2010;Becker, 2019;Moriel Junior et al, 2019;Silva & Fonseca, 2019;Valente et al, 2020) -, and from professional sources from school culture, derived, for example, from experience and dialogue with other teachers.…”