Beyond the Veneer of Inclusion: Visually Impaired Students in Brazilian Public Schools

• In Event: Cultivating Equitable and Racially Just Teaching and Learning: An Imperative in Brazilian Public Schools

Abstract

The inclusion of students with disabilities in mainstream education is a right supported by Brazilian law. Although the law ensures that students with disabilities be physically included in public schools, it fails to stipulate their inclusion in learning. As such, students with disabilities are often positioned peripherally in Brazilian schools. This is accentuated in public school classrooms, marked by lecturing as preferred pedagogical mode and pathological portrayals of students, who are majority Black and of low-/no-income. Within this broader context, we sought to understand the inclusion of visually-impaired students in Brazilian public schools. We found that although they can hear teachers’ explanations, they don’t always have access to learning, since they cannot see the figures and formulas which codify abstract mathematical concepts. Seeking to accept responsibility for their learning, this research study sought to understand what happens when mathematics pedagogical practices for visually-impaired students are designed, developed, and implemented collaboratively between teachers and researchers. It asked: How can collaborative Professional Development Workshops (PDW) inform inclusive pedagogical practices? In what ways do teachers’ evolving practices and their use of materials inform the learning of visually-impaired students? Informed by Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, this qualitative study seeks to answer these research questions through an interventionist methodology comprised of five PDWs within the context of one public school district. In these PDWs, mathematics teachers educating visually-impaired students in one school district collaboratively engaged as learners. These PDWs were informed by questions based on the Cycle of Expansive Learning (Engeström et al., 2013). Data were collected via field notes, participant observations, audiorecordings, and artifacts. Findings identify the conditions necessary for mathematics teaching to become truly inclusive. Implications shed light on the need for collaborations between teachers and teacher educators.

Authors

• Sani De Carvalho Rutz Da Silva, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná

• Marcio Pascoal Cassandre, Universidade Estadual do Maringa