Solidarity Economy and Inclusive Mathematical Education for Adults with Special Needs

Abstract

This chapter addresses the processes of teaching and learning Mathematics of adults with special needs in the context of solidarity economy. It focuses on an enterprise in solidarity economy whose members are adults with some type of mental illness and special educational needs. The enterprise aims at their inclusion in the job market and the paper recycling for the production of handicrafts. Some aspects of solidarity economy, ethnomathematics, and inclusive education were considered for the theoretical basis. The research follows a qualitative approach, that is, a case study, and involves action-research elements. Data were collected from the participants’ observations and semi-structured interviews and recorded in the researchers’ field casebook. The educational interventions focused on mathematical concepts involving numerical operations with natural numbers of the Brazilian monetary system. Such concepts were approached through problem situations contextualized for the enterprise’s activities and the use of three different concrete materials. According to the results, the consideration of the ethnomathematics elements of the group was fundamental for the creation of problem situations that related mathematical concepts to the everyday work of those individuals. The use of diverse concrete materials, according to the participants’ needs, enabled the understanding of the concepts involved. The methodological approach employed has contributed to the group’s learning of mathematical concepts and attitudinal changes that favor their greater autonomy in the enterprise’s tasks, hence, their inclusion in the job market.