Participant Observation as a research method for mathematical education: a sample case
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5007/1981-1322.2026.e101426Keywords:
Participant Observation, Research Method, Mathematics EducationAbstract
This work brings reflections on a method of producing research data common to Social Sciences, but applied within the field of Mathematics Education: Participant Observation. We present an account of how we studied this method, describing and analyzing our immersion in a group of Mathematics teachers who met to share their practices. This immersion took place in the context of a master's degree research project that investigated aspects of professional teacher development, but our objective here was to answer how the Participant Observation methodology can be carried out, considering that we want to research alongside these teachers who teach mathematics and not only about them. To achieve this, we promote a dialogue between anthropological-ethnographic theoretical references and our actions in the field, concluding that social relations are a complex and dynamic process and need to be considered, even in research where the subjects are mathematics teachers. The immersion in Participant Observation allowed us to access aspects that would probably be hidden in other research methods, such as those related to teacher identities.
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