Mathematics Textbooks as Subject of Study: Producing Knowledge on the Presence of Geometry

Abstract

Textbooks have been subject of national and international research and, in the Brazilian scenario, this thematic has been drawing researchers’ attention since the beginning of the 21st century. Focusing on the scope of geometry, the objective of this paper is to the share results of a study about the presence of Geometry in Mathematics Textbooks, based on the map of the research conducted by the Theorem - Reflections on Geometry Mathematical Education research group, which take the mathematics textbook as subject of study. For this, the use of textbooks is contextualized and a literature review is subsequently presented, addressing studies that discuss geometry in general and in its particularities, and, lastly, we present the theoretical foundation of the investigations conducted by the group. The results of these analyses are divided into two fronts: investigations regarding geometric contents and concepts and development of other thematics associated with the presence of geometry in mathematics textbooks. Lastly, the section quilting and projecting revises the group’s research fronts in a reflective way, interrelating them and relating them with other national and international fronts, in the light of a macro perspective. With this “patchwork”, we hope to contribute with the discussions on mathematics textbooks and the production of knowledge, especially in the geometry scope.