Educação financeira e empreendedorismo no ensino fundamental

Abstract

This study presents the development, implementation, and evaluation of a didactic sequence designed to teach Financial Mathematics through entrepreneurship to sixth-grade students in Basic Education. The proposal emerged from the need to connect mathematical content to students’ everyday experiences, promoting more meaningful learning and helping to overcome the widespread perception that school mathematics is detached from real-life situations. Grounded in the principles of Critical Mathematics Education, contextualized teaching, and Financial Education, the didactic sequence consisted of eight lessons and two educational games covering topics such as entrepreneurship, cash flow, percentages, costs, expenses, fixed capital, working capital, pricing, investments, and planning. The research adopted a qualitative approach supported by quantitative data and was conducted with three sixth-grade classes at Escola Municipal Professora Carlota de Andrade Marquez, located in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil, with a total of 83 students, including 29 students in sixth grade A, 27 in sixth grade B, and 27 in sixth grade C. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposal, a diagnostic assessment was administered before the intervention and reapplied at its conclusion, allowing for a comparison of students’ performance. The results showed improvements in students’ understanding of the mathematical concepts addressed, increased classroom participation, and greater engagement in the proposed activities. In addition to the quantitative evidence obtained from the assessments, classroom observations indicated positive changes in students’ attitudes toward Mathematics, reflected in their increased interest, participation, and ability to relate mathematical concepts to everyday situations. It is concluded that the proposed didactic sequence contributed to making Financial Mathematics more meaningful to students and resulted in an educational product that can be adapted and used by Basic Education teachers interested in teaching Financial Mathematics through contextualized learning experiences.