The Coordination for Improvement of Higher Education (CAPES) approved the Masters of Science Teaching and Mathematics Education Graduate Program from Londrina State University (UEL) in 2001, to meet the demand for teachers/researchers (Strictu Sensu) in the area of Science Teaching and Mathematics Education, to work in the different education levels. The team responsible for submitting the initial proposal included teachers from different university departments (Physics, Math, Biology, History and Philosophy), who were already working with teacher/researcher development through Latu Sensu graduate courses and different continuing education programs. They created the RENOP program – Northern Paraná Network for Scientific Dissemination, Pro-Math (a Brazil-France partnership), among others, to promote joint productions and the necessary infrastructure for the development of investigations in the area.  

 The Academic Masters modality constituted, at the time, an innovative initiative in the state of Paraná and became stronger as a knowledge generator center, which, throughout the years, started to exert great influence on the development of professionals in Paraná, other states from Southern Brazil, Northwest of São Paulo and Southern Mato Grosso do Sul. Thus, with the impact of the Masters course on the area of Science Teaching and Math Education, a Doctoral Course was proposed and approved in 2007 to consolidate investigations in these areas and to constitute new practices and methods to produce knowledge and develop professors/researchers.

In the couple of years, PECEM has contributed to the construction of knowledges and development of Higher Education and Basic Education teachers and of Brazilian researchers, many of them with a strong presence in the organization and coordination of other graduate programs and in the production of knowledge in the area.

General Objective
Prepare Science Teaching and Mathematics Education teachers/researchers to work in all levels of education and develop research to promote greater understanding of the development/construction of teachers and students knowledge about the teaching-learning process in areas related to the program.  

Specific Objectives
1. Develop reflections on Science and Mathematics teaching and learning processes, investigating forms, models, strategies, methodologies and approaches to promote appropriation of scientific and mathematics knowledge.

2. Contribute to the process of Science and Mathematics teaching and learning, with investigations and reflections on the epistemological, social and cultural foundations of school and scientific and math knowledge.

3. Investigate the use of different teaching resources (texts, equipment, experiments, games, videos and software), as well as of the so-called new technologies (computers, internet) for the construction of school knowledge in the process of teaching/learning of Science and Mathematics.

4. Investigate the impact of different environments (classroom, labs, Science centers and museums) on the preparation of school knowledge.  

5. Build effective solutions for issues raised by the teaching practice, through investigations of real classroom situations, at all teaching levels, and develop an integrated reflection among the areas involved.