RURAL EDUCATION AND THE TRAINING OF MATHEMATICS TEACHERS: AN ANALYSIS OF CURRICULAR DOCUMENTS FROM THE STATE OF RONDÔNIA

This article reports an investigation on the presence or absence of the principles of Rural Education (Educação do Campo - EdoC) in the Pedagogical Course Projects (PPC) of Mathematics Teaching degree programs offered by public higher education institutions in the state of Rondônia, Brazil. Grounded in the historical demands of social movements advocating for teacher training that is contextualized to the specificities of rural areas, the study analyzes curriculum documents using a documentary analysis. The work highlights the importance of Rural Education as a discursive field based on principles of social justice, land rights, and agrarian reform. From the dimensions analyzed, gaps are identified in the explicit articulation between the curricula and the principles of EdoC, despite the fact that the Rondônia State Development Plan (PDES 2015–2030) includes guidelines for creating a State Rural College. The results show that while some aspects, such as Mathematical Education and Ethnomathematics, are recurrent in the PPC analyzed, the approach to Rural Education appears limited and fragmented. Only the PPC of a few of the investigated programs include direct references to the subject, and even then, without theoretical depth. Furthermore, there is a lack of specific training for Mathematics teachers designed for the rural school context. Finally, the article reflects on the need for curricular revisions in Mathematics Teaching degree programs and the expansion of the Rural Education Teaching degree program (LEdoC) to encompass the training of Mathematics teachers. It concludes that by integrating the principles of EdoC into their curricula, public institutions can act as agents of social transformation, promoting an emancipatory education aligned with the needs of rural populations.