SCHOOL GARDEN: THE AFFECTIVE DIMENSION OF ETHNOMATHEMATICS AND CURRICULAR ACCESSIBILITY IN PEDAGOGICAL COEXISTENCE

Abstract

This article presents a qualitative action-research study carried out at the Municipal School Vereador Dário de Oliveira Lins, in Japeri/RJ, during the 2024 school year, with a 2nd-grade elementary class. The study aimed to promote curricular accessibility and meaningful learning through the practices of the School Garden, integrating mathematical, cultural, and affective knowledge. Grounded in the affective dimension of Ethnomathematics, proposed by Sandra Mattos (2020), the research recognizes affection as a constitutive element of knowledge and as a bridge between learning and feeling. It also draws on the principles of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), as discussed by Souza, Cordeiro, and Paiva (2025), and on Pedagogical Coexistence, proposed by Guimarães (2021), which conceives education as an ethical, ecological, and loving practice. The garden activities integrated curricular content with everyday life, transforming the school space into a territory of inclusion and belonging. The results showed advances in communication, autonomy, and student engagement, especially among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, demonstrating that when the curriculum is accessible and affective, it flourishes as a practice of coexistence, equity, and humanization.