Differences and similarities in cross-cutting theme approach Environment in mathematics textbooks used in southern Brazil and in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany

Abstract

The inclusion of environmental education in the school curriculum, proposed by the PCN's through the theme Environment, implied a process of educational innovation. The textbook of mathematics, to be in line with this guidance, should also concern with this issue.This article is the result of part of a doctoral research in which was performed the exchange of pedagogical information about the approach of cross-cutting theme "Environment" in Brazilian and German mathematics textbooks, promoted by PPGECIM Program, from the Lutheran University of Brazil, in the year 2014. In this study, were taken as reference and investigated 14 collections of teaching math books: 8 from Brazil, used by the final grades of primary school in the city of Sao Sebastiao do Cai, Rio Grande do Sul state and 6 collections from Germany, used by secondary education (SekundarstufeI), in the city of Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg. The results of this study indicate that environmental issues appear very little in textbooks of mathematics, and when they appear, they are in the form of problem-situations and in the introduction of content. The mathematical contents more explore the theme in both countries are Statistics, Percentage and Rule of three; deforestation and consumption of electricity are the most explored themes in Brazilian books and the use of raw materials and energy sources in German books. The research also showed that there are common concerns with environmental issues in both countries, but many of them differ in the dimension of the approach of this study, it is, they could explore more the critical and contextualizing conception of mathematical knowledge, emphasizing the work with attitudes, with the formation of values, with teaching and learning of procedures that contribute to the formation of aware and committed citizens.