ETHNOMATHEMATICS AND THE TEXTBOOK IN QUILOMBOLA COMMUNITIES: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

This article is an excerpt from the author 1’s Postgraduate Course Final Project, supervised by author 2, and presents a theoretical reflection on ethnomathematics and the textbook offered to Quilombola communities. This paper's general objective is to analyze what the textbooks approach about ethnomathematics in Quilombola communities. In this article, the methodological procedures were guided by the qualitative approach of Chizzotti (2003), using document analysis, Lakatos (2003), and bibliographic research in the form of a theoretical essay by Boava, Macedo and Sette (2020). In conclusion, it was found that the textbook also brings a perception that agrees with the Eurocentric colonialist point of view and devalues the knowledge of traditional communities, in addition to the fact that the learning offered is of an instructive nature and is not associated with their real life experiences. The textbook and the teacher’s professional performance encourage the rejection of Quilombola student’s cultural identity. However, Ethnomathematics leads to the preservation of folk knowledge, as it shows that there are other types of knowledge and other ways of organizing knowledge,  and there is no superiority over each other.