Multiculturalismo e livros didáticos de matemática: uma análise do discurso sob a perspectiva foucaultiana

Abstract

This dissertation, developed within the Graduate Program in Science and Mathematics Teaching at the Federal University of Grande Dourados (PPGECMAT-UFGD), aimed to investigate and analyze the representation of different cultures in mathematics textbooks adopted in Elementary School – Final Years. The focus was highlighting the discourses propagated in these textbooks and their potential influence on the cultural construction of subjects. The research was structured in a multipaper format and divided into two parts: the first includes the basic elements of a dissertation (introduction and theoretical and methodological frameworks); the second consists of four articles with interrelated but independent themes. The first article presents a survey and subsequent analysis of theses and dissertations produced in Brazil, listed in the CAPES Theses and Dissertations Catalog and the Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, which address multiculturalism in mathematics education, focusing on historically marginalized groups. The theoretical framework draws on studies of multiculturalism, with key references including Hall (2003), Moreira and Câmara (2013), Candau (2013), McLaren (1997), Silva T. (2005), and Silva and Brandim (2008). Additionally, the curriculum was approached based on the perspectives of Silva, T. (2005), Santos and Miola (2024), and Sacristán and Gómez (2007). Methodologically, the study employed cartography as outlined by Passos, Kastrup, and Escóssia (2015), and Discourse Analysis according to Foucault (2008, 2014a, 2014b, 2021). The remaining articles discuss, respectively, the themes of Indigenous peoples; Afro-Brazilian and Quilombola communities; and rural populations, as presented in mathematics textbooks. A significant portion of the research was grounded in the theoretical-methodological contributions of Michel Foucault, particularly the concepts of discourse, statement, and power-knowledge relations. The findings of the first article revealed, among other gaps, a lack of studies on multiculturalism in mathematics textbooks from a post-critical perspective. In the other articles, which focused on cultural representations of Indigenous, Afro-Brazilian, Quilombola, and rural peoples, it was found that cultural depictions were concentrated around the themes of “community, population, and territory,” mostly employing superficial and stereotyped texts and activities, omitting discussions on political struggles and cultural resistance. The discourses analyzed reinforced stereotypes and naturalized the superiority of Western culture, marginalizing the knowledge of these groups. A “pasteurization” of these cultures was observed, with their mathematical contributions treated marginally and confined to specific topics such as geometry, demographic data, counting, and area measurements. Through the identification of discourse control mechanisms, the analysis revealed how textbooks construct an empty notion of “multiculturalism,” carefully crafted to sustain the production of a specific contemporary reality without disruption. Rather than promoting an inclusive multicultural education, these materials reproduce inequalities and reinforce a Eurocentric perspective, underestimating the cultural plurality and historical complexity of these populations.