CHILDREN, PETS AND STATISTICAL INVESTIGATION: A

SOCIOCRITICAL DIALOGUE
Sandra Gonçalves Vilas Boas
UNIUBE- Universidade de Uberaba - Uberlândia - Brazil
Viviane Carvalho Mendes
UNIUBE- Universidade de Uberaba - Uberlândia - Brazil

We present the theoretical framework, development, and reflection on the application

of one of the investigation contexts of our ’master’s research developed in the Post-
Graduation Program Professional ’Master’s Degree in Education of the University of
Uberaba - Uberlândia- Brazil. In the research, we seek to understand: “What
statistical competencies (literacy, statistical reasoning, and statistical thinking) do 6-
year-olds in a 1st-grade class of elementary school constitute when conducting a
statistical investigation?” In our analysis, we found that the tasks and the methodology
chosen contributed to developing these competencies and allowed the children to
reflect on the society in which we live.

INTRODUCTION
This paper presents a synthesis of the theoretical framework and methodology of our
research (MENDES,2020), developed in the Professional Postgraduate Master’s
Degree Programme in Education: Teacher Qualification for Basic Education of the
University of Uberaba - Uberlândia- Brazil and the development and reflection on the
research context “Mistreatment of the pet dog.” We present a discussion pervaded by
the questions “what, why, and how.” This investigation context approaches the
importance of knowing and identifying what animal mistreatment is and the types of
mistreatment inflicted on pet dogs. Therefore, we sought to insert the children into the
universe of statistics by collecting data, organising them in tables, and displaying them
in a graph.
When introducing this investigation context, we intend to show that the statistics
education we assume is focused on social praxis, involving a theme that encompasses
real problems and situations from a contextualised perspective, in a reflective and
critical investigation. This research aimed to identify and understand what statistical
competencies (literacy, statistical reasoning, and statistical thinking) do 6-year-olds
attending a 1st-grade class of the elementary school constitute when conducting a
statistical investigation.
Fundamentals of the Theory: Statistics Education, the Research Theoretical
Perspective
Whatever the area or object of study of the researcher, he/she may use statistical
concepts. Daily newspapers are rich in graphs, indexes, and comparative analyses of
all species. In the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education -
GAISE (FRANKLIN et al., 2007), we can observe that statistics are important in
several professional activities such as providing nutritional information and
establishing the safety and efficacy of medicines among others. Frankenstein (1987),
cited by Borba and Skovsmose (2001), states that the incorrect use of mathematical
information leads to discrimination and proposes the use of mathematical problems
inserted in social situations as a way to empower students through mathematical tools
that will enable them to have a critical view of the world. To the author’s statement,
we add that the teaching of statistics can play this role.
Thus, mathematical and statistical data can be a reference during several debates in
society, can provide a reading of the world, i.e., a broader view of everyday situations,
can “become part of the language with which political, technological, and
administrative suggestions are presented” (BORBA & SKOVSMOSE, 2001 p. 127),
and can contribute to social justice, equality, and autonomy.
We believe that critically worked statistics can contribute to the characteristics of
critical education. Thus, we approach the concept of critical statistics education defined
by Campos (2007, p.125), who understands that the objective of teaching statistics
must always be accompanied by the objective of developing the students’ criticality
and engagement in political and social issues relevant to their reality as citizens who
live in a democratic society and who fight for social justice in a humanised and non-
estranged environment.
The Place of Statistics Education in the National Common Curricular Base –
BNCC- for the Early Years of Elementary School
The National Common Curricular Base – BNCC (Brasil, 2017) is concerned with
establishing knowledge, skills, and competencies students should develop during basic
schooling (age group from 4 to 16 years). Its main objective is to systematise the
mandatory national reference contents to develop or adapt curricula and pedagogical
proposals for public and private schools throughout the country.
Regarding the study of statistics, “The reading, interpretation and construction of tables
and graphs play a fundamental role, as well as the form of written text production for
data communication” (BRASIL, 2017, p.273). Regarding how to approach the objects
of knowledge established in the BNCC, Vilas Bôas and Conti (2018) informs us the
teacher or students can suggest that problem situations, however, the authors emphasise
that it is essential that throughout the process, the students participate in the discussions
and are the protagonists of the action of organising the data in the table or graph,
observing which variables should be considered and where to put the information and
data, and finally, that in the phase of interpreting the data, the students know how to
question them by raising important aspects when comparing information.
Statistics Education and its Competencies
Campos et al. (2011) propose that it is crucial to teach in an environment that provides
research and reflection on problems related to the students’ daily lives. Thus, students
are called to take responsibility for the information, understanding and reflecting and
then drawing their conclusions about the results obtained.
In this perspective, according to Campos et al. (2011, p.14), in terms of statistics
education, students should “be prepared to raise problems of interest, formulate
questions (...), collect data, (...), reflect, discuss and critically analyse the results.”
Thus, for learning in statistical education to happen, authors such as Rumsey (2002),
Garfield (1998), Chance (2002), and DelMas (2002) argue that three statistical
competencies are essential: literacy, statistical reasoning, and statistical thinking.
Garfield (2002) sees statistical literacy as the understanding of terminology, symbols,
and statistical terms and the skills to interpret graphs and tables. The author also
explains that statistical reasoning is related to the way individuals reason with statistical
ideas, i.e., how statistical information makes sense to them. For Chance (2002),
students with developed statistical thinking can think beyond the problem raised; they
can seek beyond the information they are offered, i.e., statistical thinking is an ability
to see globally, to understand the process altogether.
Process/Cycle/ Phase of a Statistical Investigation
Lopes (2004) proposes that the investigative perspective should be present in the
teaching and learning process because students would experience the conception and
analysis of data. The author highlights five steps that make up the statistical
investigation process: Defining the question; Collecting data; Representing data;
Interpreting data, and Making decisions. GAISE (FRANKLIN et al., 2007) names the
five steps above as Phases of the Statistical Method and classifies them into four other
stages: Formulating Questions, Collecting data, Analysing data, and Interpreting
results.
Although those authors address different denominations (investigative process and
phase of the statistical method), we can see that they all converge to the same
movement to carry out a statistical investigation: Formulating questions to be
investigated; Elaborating hypotheses; Choosing sample and collection instruments;
Collecting data; Interpreting and representing them.
Investigation Contexts:
“Conducting an investigation means abandoning the comforts of certainty and getting
carried away by curiosity”.” (Alro & Skovsmose, 2010, p. 123)
By investigation context, we understand what Campos (2017, p.113) explains to us as
a “set of tasks, which are, first of all, a context of development of knowledge, skills,
and, therefore, a space for data production.” As in the landscape of investigation
proposed by Skovsmose (2010), in the investigation contexts, students are responsible
for the investigative process. Thus, the investigation context is the means/locus by
which the data was produced.
METHODOLOGY: PROCEDURES OF THE RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Our qualitative research was conducted in the second half of 2019 with weekly
meetings. It was developed at the Municipal Elementary School Mario Alves de Araújo
Silva. The institution is maintained by the Municipality of Uberlândia (PMU) and
administered through the Municipal Department of Education. Twenty-eight children
(aged between 6 and 7 years) attending a 1st-grade class of elementary school
participated in the research. We developed our research in four stages: i) bibliographic
study; ii) elaborating tasks performed in each phase of the statistical investigation; iii)
collecting data/developing the research contexts, and iv) analysing data.
While planning the investigation context and development of tasks in the classroom,
we used different resources from the children’s universe that allowed them to recognise
various kinds of information, in other conditions and configurations and daily contexts
that involved the statistical investigation. To ensure the success of the research data
collection, we used different instruments: audio and video recordings of the
development of tasks and field notes. The data production space happened during the
research contexts when the processes/cycles/phases of a statistical investigation were
carried out. The data were always produced through questions to the children: what
theme will be researched; how to search for data collection; what will be part of the
research; how this data will be collected and tabulated; how to present and interpret
them.
For data analysis, we chose to cross the data collected by the triangulation technique,
involving the following participants: the student, the teacher, and the researcher; the
registers: the field diary, the audio and video recordings, and we skimmed the two
frontlines of our work, which are the statistical competencies and the
process/cycle/phases of a statistical investigation.
Throughout the research, we developed 12 research contexts, including 28 tasks that
were divided into three themes: “What kind of pet do you have?” “Care for the pet
dog,” and “Mistreatment of the pet dogs.” The statistical research developed with the
first two themes involved investigating the population of the classes of that school, and
the third theme went beyond the school walls, involving children’s families and friends.
The Research Context: Mistreatment of the Pet Dog
In Brazil, every day, we hear about numerous cases of animal abuse, understood as
violence and physical disrespect against animals, for example: “abandoning; beating;
striking; mutilating; poisoning; keeping trapped in chains permanently; keeping in
small and unsanitary places; not sheltering from the sun, rain, and cold; denying them
water and food daily; denying veterinary assistance, and others” (DIAS, 2000, p.156 -
157).
In this sense, the investigation context happened during two weeks, in a total of seven
hours, aimed to dialogue and alert children about the mistreatment of pet dogs,
stimulate their awareness and evoke their critical census to this problem, and combine
statistical development skills with social justice issues.
Guimarães (2019) explains that the teaching of statistics should have research as its
structuring axis, and it is a strategy of autonomous appropriation of knowledge,
allowing a reflective practice of the world. For this reason, the tasks of this
investigation context were proposed in such a way that it would allow children to
conduct an investigation autonomously and freely. Besides, it favoured the interaction
between students and social practices, approaching another field of knowledge,
contributing to an interdisciplinary learning.
Task 1 - Establishing the research theme: (2 hour-class)
According to the theoretical option made in an investigative task, children must
recognise the situation and the challenge involving it. Thus, to ask the following
question - “What kind of mistreatment of the pet dog have you ever seen?” we created
an environment that provided dialogue on the subject. We played two
movies/cartoons,1 “The Abandoned Dog” and the “Kitbull,” for the children. The
objective was to sensitise and enhance the dialogue on the subject in such a way that
the subject would emerge more easily and allow children to remember facts already
witnessed regarding animal mistreatment.
In a second moment, we exhibited slides with photos that involved situations of
mistreatment precisely to enhance the critical dialogue on this topic further. With each
slide, we asked the children what they thought of the image, and then they shared an
animal mistreatment they had already witnessed. With this movement, we sought to
propose teaching in an environment that provides a reflection on problems that are
related to the students’ daily lives, so that the activities worked make meaning, as
emphasised by Campos et al. (2011).
The last slide featured a phone number to report animal abuse, and all children asked
to write it down. With this action, we were in line with what was proposed by BNCC
(2017, p. 265) by presenting as competence to be developed by the students to discuss
social urgency issues based on ethical, democratic, sustainable, and supportive
principles.
Task 2 - Data collection:

1
The drawings can be found at the following addresses:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZS5cgybKcI and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFiZEm0ww8k
Once we established what to investigate, we decided with the group the population that
would be investigated. We thought of going beyond the” “school walls,” so we agreed
that they should be the children’s kins and neighbourhood friends.
As a data collection tool, we used an investigation sheet2 with the following variables:
cruelty, chaining, beating, abandoning, not providing help, lack of hygiene, lack of
food, dirty place, and tick-infested animals, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Investigation sheet on Figure 2: Table mistreatment of

mistreatment puppies

Source: Mendes, 2020, p.140 Source: Mendes, 2020, p.141

Then, we reinforced that the dynamics of data collection would be with five kins or
neighbourhood friends. The investigative question was: “Which animal mistreatment
have you ever seen? ”
Task 3 - Data organisation: (2 hour-class)
Each child received a table, Figure 2, to register the data collected. We explained that
after they collected the data, they should tell us and write them in the table we had
handed to them.
During the explanation of how to execute the activity, we sought to establish a dialogue
with the children so that it was possible to make them aware of the importance of
organising the data collected with an investigative look at the results. The children
collected and tabulated data without the teacher’s or the researcher’s intervention in an

2
Term chosen by the children, since the class associated the word investigation throughout the research as a way to
discover something that is not known.
individual and autonomous way, which are essential characteristics for the formation
of critical citizens.
Task 4:Ddoing a pictogram. (3 hour-class)
We constructed the graph, Figure 3, using the chips cut from the investigation sheet,
considering only the options marked as mistreatment witnessed by the investigated.
We invited the children to go to the schoolyard, arranged them in a circle, and placed
a cardboard representing the graph in the middle, and explained that each child would
put on it the chips they had cut from the sheets.

Figure 3: Children building the graph

Source: Mendes, 2020, p.141

After everyone completed the graph, we explained that we built a pictogram at that
moment. Once it got too big, we proposed replacing ten small pieces of paper (chips)
with a large one to make the pictogram more visible.
In the dialogue during the task, it was possible to conduct, without conceptual rigour,
the movement towards the statistical reasoning competence in the specificity presented
by Garfield and Gal (1999), i.e., reasoning about data representation, which is the
understanding of how each type of graph is suitable to represent a set of data.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
With the development of the tasks of this investigation context, it was possible to go
through the four phases of the statistical method: the first phase, which includes the
survey of the problem, the second phase comprising data collection, and the third phase
of the statistical method comprises selecting the appropriate graph and numerical
methods for data analysis. We explored subjects such as data organisation and
representation, as cited in GAISE (FRANKLIN et al., 2007). Throughout the process,
we were concerned with not intervening and with proposing situations that would lead
the children to think, not to jeopardise the process of knowledge construction.
During the execution of tasks 2 and 3, we observed that when we handed the children
the table and the investigation list, they were already familiar with those terms and
already knew how to perform data collection by themselves. With this, we realised that
statistical literacy competence was already in development, since they demonstrated an
understanding of the statistical terminologies (Garfield, 2002).
In our dialogue with the children about the construction of the pictogram, it was
possible to approximate the statistical reasoning, since the “Reasoning about data
representation, which addresses understanding how the graphs can be modified to
represent the data better” was present (CAMPOS, 2017, p. 98).
Although this investigation context does not allude to statistical thinking competence,
we can observe that this competence existed, even if implicitly, as, by encouraging
children to think of a way to collect data, we instigated them to find an action strategy,
which, according to Wodewotzki and Jacobini (2009), pervades statistical thinking.
When developing the tasks presented in the investigation context, we observed that
they provided for aspects that went beyond statistics education, such as moments when
we used resources to open discussions on the topics, such as videos and discussions
with children about the topic. In this environment, they had space to speak, discuss,
expand their communication skills, and dialogue on the theme chosen and the phases
of the statistical investigation.
Thus, we can affirm that 6-year-olds can develop, even initially, statistical
competencies such as literacy, statistical reasoning, and statistical thinking when
conducting a statistical investigation and combining this process with critical statistics
education. It is important to emphasise that for this, we must propose tasks that address
themes of the children’s interests, that are planned based on curriculum guidelines
aimed at teaching statistics and that, during its development, the children are made
protagonists of the process, which may enable them, as stated by Lopes (2004), to
experience from conception to data analysis.
We emphasise that the aim was to develop a study that would enable children to
experience a researchers’ role in the statistical process, since they come to school full
of curiosities and questions. Thus, we should motivate them, encourage existing
curiosities, and provoke others so that the process/cycle/phase of a statistical
investigation develops.
Here is our contribution to reflection on the development of statistical skills and their
role in the formation of critical citizens.
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