RESISTÊNCIA EPISTÊMICA E EXTENSÃO UNIVERSITÁRIA: SABERES AFRICANOS NA CONSTRUÇÃO DA APRENDIZAGEM CRÍTICA NA PERSPECTIVA MATEMÁTICA

Abstract

The Escola Sem Fronteiras project, implemented by the Federal Institute of São Paulo in partnership with EMEF Espaço de Bitita, serves 8th- and 9th-grade students living in socially vulnerable contexts, aiming to strengthen learning, enhance cultural appreciation, and democratize access to public technical education. In 2023, within the subproject Africa and Africanities from a Mathematical Perspective, activities were carried out with 8th-grade students that integrated mathematical content with African cultural elements, guided by historical-critical pedagogy and the principles of university outreach. The inseparability of teaching, research, and outreach was evident in the preliminary study of scholarly texts, in the planning and implementation of activities by student fellows, and in the dissemination of results to the community. Dialogical interaction took place through collaborative planning with the partner school and a public exhibition of the outcomes. Mathematical contributions encompassed plane and spatial geometry, basic operations, proportion, fractions, symmetry, the Cartesian plane, equations, pattern recognition, and combinatorial analysis, as well as logical-deductive reasoning, applied in activities such as Papercraft Art (geometry and scale), Afro-Brazilian Recipe Book (proportion and fractions), Ahmes Papyrus, African Masks (symmetry and Cartesian plane), Mancala (equations), and Cowrie Shells and Sieves (patterns and combinatorics). The formative dimension was reflected in the development of mathematical reasoning, the appreciation of African heritage, and the pedagogical and social training of student fellows, underscoring the social relevance of university outreach as a critical and transformative practice.