This article presents some results of a research on the use of mathematics textbooks by elementary school teachers. The empirical material consists of interviews of ten teachers from public and private schools in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, using the methodology of oral history. The focus of the article is the role of textbooks for the education of teachers for pedagogical practices related to mathematical knowledge. The teachers' narratives show criticisms on their manual, recognition of the textbook as an important element, although not exclusive, for curriculum development, and an emphasis on teachers' own knowledge about their students and school realities.
Mathematics textbooks; early years of elementary school; narratives of teachers; education of teachers who teach mathematics