Abstract

CAMELO-BUSTOS, Francisco Javier; MANCERA-ORTIZ, Gabriel  and  SALAZAR-AMAYA, Claudia. A Look at Equity in our Practices from the Political Dimension of Mathematics Education. Rev. colomb. educ. [online]. 2017, n.73, pp.283-300. ISSN 0120-3916.  https://doi.org/10.17227/01203916.73rce281.298.

In this document we propose a challenge to the meaning of equality from the theoretical framework of the field of education, seeking to promote a reflection about equality in mathematics education. To that end, we rely on the three dimensions that constitute the concept of equality (access, retention rates, and success) to illustrate how we have contributed to promote equality using our pedagogic and investigative practices in mathematics education. This approach has allowed us to question, to some extent, how the policies of the Colombian education system have promoted the mechanisms for a false equality. Our assertions rely on three key issues: (i) access has been considered mostly from the perspective of increased coverage, without a clear understanding of who the children and the youths admitted into the system really are; (ii) retention rates are sought by a mere extension of the permanence in the school programs, without the generation of a learning environment that promotes the participation of children and youths in a meaningful use of mathematics that helps them advance their life projects; (iii) success has been understood in terms of individual achievement without considering the importance of promoting collective comprehension and cooperative actions that provide skills to overcome social problems. In summary, we argue that the existing policies to promote "equality" do not guarantee school practices that promote subjectivities and inter-subjectivities that nurture the possibilities of being and working with others.

Keywords : equity; access; permanence; learning environments.

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