Conceptions of Mathematical Literacy and Financial Education among Future Teachers of Mathematics and Pedagogy Programs

Abstract

This text aims to present the conceptions of future teachers from Mathematics and Pedagogy programs at the Regional University of Cariri (URCA) regarding Mathematical and Financial Literacy, concepts underlying ideological literacy. To this end, we developed an online questionnaire using the Google Forms tool, consisting of 30 open questions — open-ended, closed-ended, and multiple-choice — about Financial Mathematics, Financial Education and Mathematical and Financial Literacy. The questionnaire collected responses from 78 students, 43 from the Mathematics program and 35 from the Pedagogy program, which were categorized and analyzed based on the principles of content analysis. We found that the conceptions of future teachers are, for the most part, formed by characteristics of the concept of autonomous literacy, which emphasizes the acquisition of reading and writing skills detached from the contextual reality of individuals engaged in learning Mathematics and Financial Mathematics. However, some conceptions exhibited characteristics of ideological literacy, demonstrating concern for critically and reflectively contextualizing concepts to promote social justice, both in teaching practices and in society as a whole.