Analysis of primary school students’ process of understanding about the concept of ratio: A view from the Pirie-Kieren theory

The understanding process of primary education students was analyzed when they solve tasks related to the concept of ratio. The study was based on the theoretical framework of Pirie and Kieren (1994). The methodology was qualitative with the case study method. The study was carried out in three stages: planning, development and analysis, using the field observation technique. Data collection was carried out through a task and an interview. The data were analyzed based on theoretical articulation. The results revealed that students lack the prior knowledge necessary to understand the concept of ratio. In conclusion, it can be noted that students do not present logical arguments to formalize the concept, and their understanding process is reduced to memorization or the use of mathematical strategies without understanding the relationship between the task and the mathematical concept.