Mathematics learning by students with intellectual disabilities: discussions from the perspective of the cultural-historical theory

This article analyzed how the conceptions of development and learning from the cultural-historical theory can stimulate the mathematical learning of students with intellectual disabilities. The investigation used data from a master’s degree research project and preliminary analyses of an ongoing doctoral research work. In the master’s research, we identified that the tasks offered only considered students’ current level of development. In the doctoral project, we observed that the mathematical tasks applied in a regular classroom were outside the zone of imminent development and disregarded students’ previous knowledge. Given this context, the subsequent stages of the doctoral research will be planned according to the zone of imminent development. These two studies contain proposals for students to acquire new mathematical concepts based on the perspective of development and learning of the cultural-historical theory, thus disregarding intellectual disability as an impediment.