Pedagogia do Oprimido

This article makes a case for why teaching about ‘ideas and evidence’ requires more attention t o the teaching of argument in school science. Based on research work at Kings’ College London conducted with local teachers, it outline s various practical methods and strategies b y which this might be achieved. The difficulties and obstacles are also explored. Why argument ? Contemporary science impinges directly upon man y aspects of people’s lives. Individuals and societies have to make personal and ethical decisions about a range of s ocio-scientific issues, such as genetic engineering, reproductive technologies and food safety, based on information available through the press and other media. Often accounts of ne w developments in s cience report contested claims. Evaluating such reports is not straightforward as it requires, for instance, the ability to assess whether the evidence is valid and reliable, to distinguis h correlations from causes or hypotheses from observations (Millar and Osborne, 1998). Within the context of a s ociety where scientific issues increasingly dominate the contemporary landscape (Beck, 1992; Giddens, 1999), there is an urgent need to improve the quality of y oung people’s understanding of the nature of scientific ‘argument’. Consequently, an important task for science education is to develop children’s ability to understand and practise valid ways of arguing in a s cientific context. They need to be able to recognise not onl y the strengths but also the limitations of s uc h arguments. In our work, then, we have sought to stud y whether the quality of y oung people’s ‘argument’ about scientific issues, and their critical capabilities, can be enhanced in science lessons. For instance, ca n the abilities to r eason, use and criticise argument within a scientific context be taught? And, perhaps more importantly, can these abilities be improved? This is what we are attempting to do in our project ‘Enhancing the Quality of Argument in School Science’ (EQuASS), funded by the Economic and Social Science Research Council. First, it is important to point out that by ‘argument’ we do not mean the pejorative use of the word wit h its confrontational connotations. We mean the putting forward of r easons where claims are justified b y relating them to the dat a on which they are based. Evidence for any claim consists of at least tw o components – dat a and warrants. Warrants are essentially the means by which the data are related t o claims providing the justification for belief. Thus the claim that diversity of species is a product of random variation and selection by the environment was supported originally by Darwin’s data on the variety of finches’ beaks found in the Galapagos. The warrant was that each adaptation gave each species a competitive advantage that ensured their survival on a particular island. A s imple representation of a n argument is provided by Toulmin (1958) (Figure 1).

Enhancing the quality of argument in school science: developing teachers' practice

It is apparent that many of us live in a hyper-economized world, in which personal identities and routine practices are significantly oriented towards production and consumption of for-profit goods and services. Extreme consumerism resulting from this orientation often is associated with many personal, social, and environmental problems. Implicated as an agent, among many, in this problematic hyper-economized process is science education. Briefly, our literature reviews suggest that, under influences from apparently hegemonic forces of neoconservatism and neoliberalism, school science often functions to generate knowledge producers, including engineers, scientists and other theoretical workers—who, in turn, may develop and manage mechanisms of production of goods and services on behalf of global economic elite. At the same time, it also is apparent that school science generates a large class of citizens who are prepared, essentially, to serve as consumers—both in terms of faithfully following labor instructions from the aforementioned knowledge producers (who may be accountable mainly to their financiers) and also enthusiastically engaging in repeating cycles of consumption of goods and services. Such a use of education seems undemocratic, at the very least, and highly problematic, assuming an association between school science and many personal, social, and environmental problems. To perhaps bring about a more just and sustainable world, we offer a theoretical framework, along with a more pragmatic version of it, for organizing science and technology education in many contexts. Although based on principles like holism, altruism, realism, egalitarianism, and dualism that we suggest may help school science generate a citizenry willing and able to proactively contribute to the common good, we also urge readers to use it as a basis for further research and development. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 648–669, 2011

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Globalizing students acting for the common good

No presente artigo, partindo-se do movimento ciencia-tecnologia-sociedade – CTS ou ciencia-tecnologia-sociedadeambiente – CTSA, propoe-se uma abordagem de contextualizacao no ensino de ciencias em uma perspectiva critica, apresentando como exemplo o modelo curricular desenvolvido pelo Projeto de Ensino Quimica e Sociedade – Pequis na Universidade de Brasilia. Para isso, sao discutidas concepcoes de contextualizacao de CTS e orientacoes curriculares estabelecidas pelos documentos dos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais – PCN. A partir dessas consideracoes, sao delineadas questoes sobre o que seria um ensino de CTS/CTSA na perspectiva critico-social, incorporando ideias de Paulo Freire. Ao final, sao apresentadas sugestoes de abordagem dessa perspectiva e desafios a serem enfrentados pelos professores.

http://files.gpecea-usp.webnode.com.br/200000358-0e00c0e7d9/AULA%206-%20TEXTO%2014-%20CONTEXTUALIZACAO%20NO%20ENSINO%20DE%20CIENCIAS%20POR%20MEI.pdf

Contextualização no ensino de ciências por meio de temas cts em uma perspectiva crítica

Contemporary policy statements from government and reforms to science curricula in schools emphasise the importance of educating a scientifically literate public for democratic participation in science and technology. While such an aspiration is seemingly uncontentious and appears consistent with progressive educational thinking, the reality of democratic participation is problematic. I propose four frameworks for describing democratic participation in schools. The first two – deficit and deliberative democracy – fulfil a limited role for democratic participation. ‘Science education as praxis’ and ‘science education for conflict and dissent’ present more radical programmes but reflect tensions with the dominant discourse of scientific literacy and citizenship as reflected in school curricula. To operationalise aspects of democratic participation, teachers need to make explicit the role of scientific knowledge and decision-making within each framework. While radical change is likely to meet with resistance, this process will in turn generate new discourses about the problems and opportunities of democratic participation.

Science education and democratic participation: an uneasy congruence?

Desde a decada de sessenta, curriculos de ensino de ciencias com enfase em CTS – ciencia, tecnologia e sociedade – vem sendo desenvolvidos no mundo inteiro. Tais curriculos apresentam como objetivo central preparar os alunos para o exercicio da cidadania e caracterizam-se por uma abordagem dos conteudos cientificos no seu contexto social. No presente artigo, discutimos criticamente os pressupostos desses curriculos, de modo a fornecer subsidios para a elaboracao de novos modelos curriculares na area de Ciencias da Natureza e suas Tecnologias os quais possam contemplar a finalidade da educacao basica em preparar o aluno para o exercicio consciente da cidadania.

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Uma análise de pressupostos teóricos da abordagem C-T-S (Ciência - Tecnologia - Sociedade) no contexto da educação brasileira

The main goal of the STS curriculum is to provide scientific and technological literacy for students so they can act as citizens and participate on decision making on the perspective of social responsibility. This paper discusses this educational goal and provides a review of the literature about its implications for science education. It also reflects on the National High School Curriculum related to the same objectives.

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Tomada de decisão para ação social responsável no ensino de ciências

In this article, a rationale for advancing a new idea in humanistic science education is developed from a Paulo Freire perspective. Paulo Freire developed a well-known approach to adult literacy based on his humanistic ideas through the dialogical process. From Freirean educational principles, the idea unfolds that a Freirean humanistic science education perspective is a political commitment to sociopolitical action, considering conditions of oppression in society. Although some humanistic science education approaches to school science have incorporated a sociopolitical perspective, it is showed that not all of them necessarily focus on the political purpose of transforming oppressive conditions in society as stressed by Paulo Freire. From this Freirean humanistic perspective, an approach to science education is then highlighted, which implies the introduction of socially relevant themes and socioscientific issues, the establishment of a dialogical process in classroom, and the development of sociopolitical action. Hence, a Freirean perspective of science education is presented as a radical view of scientific literacy. Some implications of a Freirean approach to science education are outlined at the end of the paper. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed93: 361–382, 2009

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/sce.20301

Wildson Luiz Pereira dos Santos

Papers

Uma análise de pressupostos teóricos da abordagem C-T-S (Ciência - Tecnologia - Sociedade) no contexto da educação brasileira

Contextualização no ensino de ciências por meio de temas cts em uma perspectiva crítica

Tomada de decisão para ação social responsável no ensino de ciências

Scientific literacy: A Freirean perspective as a radical view of humanistic science education

Educação em química : compromisso com a cidadania