Inclusion, Student with ASD, Autistic Disorder, Social Representations, Mathematics Learning.
The debate about school inclusion in Brazil has increasingly become a real clash, causing controversy, stridency and polarization. One of its greatest impacts has been on the arena of special education, with one of the recurring arguments being the proposition that it is a new paradigm that will radically change the education of children and young people with specific educational needs in the Brazilian reality. The growing number of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), enrolled in the regular school network, has led to many debates within the school community about inclusion strategies. Even with all the legal planning and guidelines regarding Special and Inclusive Education, the school still presents itself as a challenging space for the student with ASD. In this scenario, there are teachers, assistants and parents apprehensive about their roles in front of such challenges. Faced with this situation, our interest arose in seeking an answer to the question: How do Basic Education Mathematics teachers perceive the inclusion of students with ASD and how does this understanding affect their teaching action? Thus, this investigation aims to analyze the social representations of students with autism spectrum disorder learning Mathematics by Basic Education teachers. The research began with a pilot study, with which we analyzed and identified partial results and later the final study. Initially, the purpose was to identify the social representations of students with autism spectrum disorder learning Mathematics by Basic Education teachers. To be able to carry out this analysis, we resorted to Social Representations Theory (MOSCOVICI, 2003) from the perspective of Central Core Theory (ABRIC, 2000). Data collection was done through a free association test, in which 200 teachers participated, of which 110 were from various disciplines and 90 mathematics teachers. The results of this study indicate that teachers perceive that students with ASD in school are protagonists and are concerned about the inclusion process of these students. However, when it comes to teaching-learning concerns, they leave it for second place according to TALP analysis.