Challenges and possibilities of curricular integration: an analysis of the mathematics teaching in an Agriculture and livestock technicians training

Resumo

The present work analyses the teaching of mathematics in the technical professional mid-level education program integrated to high school in the process of training agriculture and livestock technicians in a campus of the Federal Institute of Espírito Santo. We performed a documentary research and observations of classes and pedagogical meetings, applying a qualitative method to analyse the data. The results suggest the importance of mathematics for the training of agricultural technicians, from its abstract and intuitive use to its applied use as basic mathematical concepts necessary for problem solving and execution of projects and practices related to the program field. In this context, we find that mathematics is intrinsic to the vocational courses and, thus, participates in and favours the process of curricular integration. However, we observed a unidirectional movement of pedagogical practices for curricular integration between vocational courses and High School Mathematics courses. Interdisciplinarity of mathematical knowledge occur in vocational courses, but mathematics courses do not integrate vocational courses knowledge. We believe in the search for pedagogical practices that allow students to develop abilities to operate, apply, and reflect on ideas, algorithms and mathematical procedures, not just for their practical application to market demands.