Knowledge for Teaching Geometry in Brazilian Primary Education: A Study Over Two Scholar Manuals by Theobaldo Miranda Santos

Resumo

Background: Studies about teacher education from a historical perspective have been outstanding in the field, above all, those that investigate teacher’s knowledge. In the data collection, we identified bibliographic research on knowledge disclosed by Theobaldo Miranda Santos, but most of them do it with a focus on mathematical fields of arithmetic. Therefore, we are going to study the geometry-related knowledge. Objective: To analyse from a historical perspective the possible knowledge for teaching geometry in primary education present in two school manuals by Santos: Noções de Didática Especial (1960) and Metodologia do Ensino Primário (1952). Design: This is a qualitative and documentary study. The analysis of the materials was based on cultural history and considered the knowledge for teaching. Setting and Participants: On the Repositório Institucional da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, we accessed the two books analysed in this work. Under the influence of the new school movement, subjects such as Didactics and Teaching Methodology started to be introduced in teacher education courses, which justifies the selection of these books. Data collection and analysis: We seek to identify knowledge primary school teachers must incorporate into their teaching practices to consolidate geometry learning. Results: The investigated handbooks have features oscillating between the intuitive and the new school perspectives. Conclusions: Santos introduced knowledge for teaching geometry in primary education with influences from the traditional and the new school that could influence and guide the practice of teachers who taught geometry in primary education.