Abstract
The majority of research in mathematics education in Brazil focuses on aspects related to urban schools. Although
there has been a discussion for decades about the need for a curriculum in schools located in rural areas that
considers the importance of the local culture and the concept of context-based knowledge, there is still precarious
teaching of mathematics in these schools. This paper discusses research data that addresses the teaching of
mathematics in rural schools located in Pernambuco, Brazil. The method used is a qualitative research method
based on interviews and discourse analysis. We focus on the discourse of teachers who participated in the empirical
study by analyzing their views on rural education, the conceptualization of resources, and on their performance in
mathematics teaching. Although most teachers positively evaluate their performance when they teach mathematics,
they do not identify differences between teaching in the city and in rural areas. Generally, the teachers were
unaware of the field schools' specificities. The results lead us to reflect on the possibilities of teaching mathematics
to empower rural communities.
Keywords: Field Education; Teaching of Mathematics; Rural Schools; Teacher Discourse.