A LOOK AT THE FIRST DECADE OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN RONDÔNIA, BRAZIL (1973-1983): A FORMATIVE SPACE DEVELOPED FROM THE INPUT OF DIFFERENT FEDERAL HIGHER-EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

This article, which addresses key aspects of M.G.A.’s ongoing doctoral research in the field of History of Mathematics Education, focuses on a professional training program for teachers of Mathematics in Ji-Paraná county, Rondônia, covering the historical development of local higher-education institutions, since their inception in 1973—before Rondônia was raised to its current status of Brazilian state—to the subsequent establishment of a federal university, in which a Sciences undergraduate program was launched in 1983. Articulating local and global historical developments, the investigation draws on official documents and elements from a previous master’s thesis. Writings by Marc Bloch, Jacques Le Goff, and Roger Chartier—authors associated with the Annales School—constituted the theoretical and methodological framework. The earliest local teacher education programs were found to originate from the national Rondon Project in the 1970s. The first decade of teacher education in Rondônia was shaped by an input from a range of institutions from other Brazilian states, usually in the form of courses taught in the months between school terms. With the creation of the UNIR, teaching-degree programs were finally implemented, meeting the state’s growing demand for qualified teachers.