THE RELEVANCE OF MATHEMATICAL LITERACY IN YOUTH AND ADULT EDUCATION (EJA): A CASE STUDY

Abstract

The present study carried out an investigation in public schools in Ceará on how mathematical literacy is worked on in EJA - Youth and Adult Education. This theme involves social practices as well as the relationships between school contents and the everyday life of students, in order to better prepare them to deal with challenging situations in the use of mathematics in a critical way. For this, authors such as Perrenoud (2013); Soares (2002, 2003, 2004 and 2018); D`Ambrosio (1985,1993,2009 and 2012); Fonseca (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2014 and 2018) and Smolle (2001 and 2008). The central issue addressed in this research refers to the identification of factors that hinder the process of mathematical literacy in the learning process of EJA students. The central objective was to show the importance of mathematics in the lives of EJA students and that, through mastering it, subjects are able to face the challenges relevant to their needs throughout life. Guided by a qualitative approach and in the format of field research, this thesis had as object of study two schools of the Municipality of Fortaleza and worked with a sample of 20 students from the First Segment (EJA II); 10 educators from the First Segment (EJA II) and Second Segment (EJA III) classes and 08 school managers. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the perceptions of the sample of education actors in the EJA format in both schools. The collected data were organized into themes and analyzed based on the subjects' statements, records and preliminary results of the experiment involving the problem-solving strategy. The results revealed that mathematical literacy is present in the educators' discourse, but, in practice, its materiality is still far from being conquered since its viability involves a solid and differentiated formation of the educators, in addition to the inclusion of mathematical literacy in the curriculum of the EJA.