06/04/2021

'The training given to teachers in Brazil is deficient,' says Viana.

In an interview with the YouTube channel Dois Físicos e um Vetor (Two Physicists and a Vector) , the director-general of IMPA (Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics), Marcelo Viana, stated that shortcomings in teacher training and the low valuation of professionals are obstacles to improving basic mathematics education in Brazil. “The training we offer teachers in our private and public undergraduate programs is deficient, and the career paths we offer to teachers in state and municipal school systems are not very encouraging. There is practically no teaching career path in Brazil,” said Viana.

Led by physics students Geovanni Garcia and Henrique Reis from the University of São Paulo (USP), the conversation also addressed Brazil's entry into Group 5 of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), which brings together the most developed nations in mathematical research in the world. They also discussed initiatives to popularize mathematics.

The emergence of more graduate programs in the discipline in the country over the last 30 years has been one of the pillars for the increased contribution of national mathematics to the world, explained Viana. “The geographical distribution of these programs has improved significantly. What was previously more restricted to the Southeast has spread throughout the country. We have master's programs in all the states of the Northeast.”

To illustrate the expansion of Brazilian mathematical research, the director-general of IMPA highlighted data from a report produced on the occasion of Brazil's candidacy for Group 5 of the IMU. “In the 1980s, we accounted for about 0.7% of the world's mathematical output. By 2018, the number was around 2.5%. In percentage terms, our output has tripled. That's no small feat,” he emphasized.

The disparity between the high level of Brazilian research in the field and the poor performance of the discipline in basic education is glaring. Besides the inadequate training of teachers, Viana believes that family education also impacts this scenario. “There’s no such thing as ‘I was born a humanities person’ or ‘I was born a science person.’ Neuroscience research says that we are all born with an extremely plastic brain, capable of adapting to anything. What determines whether you will be a humanities or science person is what happens in the first years of life.”