Children who counted: in social risk situations and of mathematics learning exclusion

Abstract

The search for understanding the constitution of the mathematical being as a subject who learns and produces subjective meanings of their ability to develop mathematical knowledge finds, in the category “subject who learns”, of the Theory of Subjectivity-TS, a concept that both broadens and deepens the interpretive analyses of the mathematical constitution of children. The TS allows to expand the understanding of the phenomenon of mathematical learning beyond the strictly cognitive analysis, of microgenetic analysis of the mathematical records production, which we have carried out in the last decades supported by the Theory of Conceptual Fields. Supported by conversations that we obtained in playful mathematical workshops and with mothers about their educational histories, we sought subjective meanings in the history of the mathematical learning of four children at risk. In addition to the dialogue established during the playful workshops, we collected their mathematical productions. These records, added to the constant dialogues in context, allowed the analysis and explanation of mathematical schemes implicit in these mathematical productions and revealed important elements of complex mathematical learning processes. However, the microgenetic analyses were not enough to unveil the complex symbolic-emotional dimension of mathematical learning meaning by the subjects. The dialogue with the children and their mothers, which was video-recorded, supported a better understanding of the nature of the productions and their meanings beyond the situation of playful activity. This article is limited to present the analysis of only one of these investigated cases - a boy with hearing loss, who struggled with the organization of mathematical algorithms.