Representações sociais de professores envolvidos no ensino de Matemática acerca da Educação Especial e Inclusiva

Abstract

The general aim of this research was to understand the social representations about special and inclusive education of teachers involved in teaching mathematics who work in two public schools in the municipality of Uberaba, one of which is considered a regular school and the other a specialized center for students with intellectual disabilities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five teachers, two of whom are mathematics teachers who teach in mainstream schools, two support teachers and one mathematics teacher who teaches in the specialized school. The data was interpreted based on the theoretical framework developed by Serge Moscovici, the "Theory of Social Representations". To analyze the data, the Content Analysis proposed by Bardin was used, so three categories were created: a) teaching mathematics to students with disabilities, with two subcategories: "adapting is the key" and "each student has a need"; b) the role of the support teacher for mathematics teachers, with two subcategories: "fundamental" and "does the evaluator have legitimacy" and c) special and inclusive education from the point of view of math and support teachers, with three subcategories: "far from ideal", "specific training is necessary" and "welcoming". It can be concluded that, for this social group, the realization of a special and inclusive education requires adapting the content, bearing in mind that each student has their own needs. To this end, mainstream school teachers see the support teacher as fundamentally important and question who legitimately assesses the student's need to be accompanied by a support teacher. Finally, for this social group, special and inclusive education is far from ideal, requires specific training and can be summed up as welcoming. In view of the above, it is necessary for the school community, public managers and those directly responsible to come together so that education is truly for "Everyone".