Trajetórias de pessoas surdas no ensino superior: acesso, permanência e aprendizado de disciplinas de matemática

Abstract

In this study we investigate the favorable paths in the academic trajectory of deaf university students, especially in subjects with mathematical content. The work is an offshoot of Master's research in which teachers teach mathematics to deaf students in regular schools, and are heard through the application of questionnaires. In view of the results found, together with the experience of listening to the trajectory of a deaf math teacher, we turned our attention to deaf students attending university. The general objective was to analyze the academic path of deaf students in the Mathematics course or another course with mathematical content at a public higher education institution; the aim was to present successful experiences and obstacles that were difficult to overcome, as well as reflecting on the training of students. Our theoretical framework approaches the deaf subject from a medicalized position and looks from a socio-anthropological perspective of deafness, which offers an identity according to the acceptance of this subject, without the imposition of a hearing culture. Another point considered was the family, the foundation of the schooling process even before Kindergarten, whose encouragement contributes to the internalization of the language. We also carried out a literature review in the main repositories of articles, dissertations and theses in order to find out about work involving deaf students in mathematics degrees. The search resulted in a total of 178 papers; of these, only seven met the inclusion criteria. In addition, we discussed the legislation pertaining to access, the professional Libras interpreter as a fundamental part of accessibility, the strategies adopted for teaching mathematics through the experiences of other universities, as well as the actions of the researched institution. This research looked at this institution from two perspectives: on the one hand, the accessibility directorate; on the other, listening to four deaf students from different courses, bringing up their university experiences, memories of school and language acquisition. We used semi-structured interviews to produce the data, using Libras to meet the specific needs of deaf people. The qualitative analyses and discussions show the family configurations and the respective trajectories of the participants. The results show that the university is still mostly built with a profile geared towards hearing students, and that there is a need for institutional alignment with new inclusive practices, with the aim of an equal university education. We hope that the results will contribute to the reflection of teachers and managers, to the relevant literature and to other deaf students achieving improvements during their academic career with a view to completing the course.