Understandings about Hermeneutic-Phenomenological research situated within the scope of Mathematics Education

Abstract

This article was developed on the occasion of the forty years of existence of the Postgraduate Program in Mathematics Education (PPGEM) at UNESP – Rio Claro Campus, representing a form of celebration of this milestone. The objective of the text is to present an understanding of Hermeneutic-Phenomenological research, highlighting this type of investigation in the field of Mathematics Education. With this aim, we carried out a descriptive study of a qualitative nature, starting the discussion from an understanding of the qualitative and quantitative research approaches, recognizing that all research requires attention to the reality of what it intends to investigate. Next, we turned our attention to a possible Hermeneutic-Phenomenological procedure, addressing considerations about Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, and Hermeneutics-Phenomenological, which led us to an investigative vision that places research phenomenon and researcher in an indissoluble relationship. As a result of the study, we understand that Hermeneutic-Phenomenological research seeks to understand, in a rigorous way, the complexity of phenomena and reflect on how they manifest themselves to us. In this aspect, it is understood that the human being is an interpretative and historical being, whose perception of the world is shaped by their cultural and social experiences and interactions.

Mathematics Education; Phenomenology; Philosophical Hermeneutics; Qualitative research; Quantitative research