History of Sciences in Textbooks in the Early Years of the Elementary School: an analysis proposal from a CTS perspective in the Brazilian context

Abstract

Considering the Brazilian context, science education in the early years of elementary school presents several gaps in the initial training of teachers, culminating in the recurrence of conceptual errors and limitations in teaching methodologies, in addition to lesson planning, almost exclusively supported by sequences proposed in textbooks. From a more specific perspective, within an STS conception, we started from the fact that scientific content knowledge is articulated with a historiographical vision that brings cultural elements as influencers to the development of Sciences. Therefore, this article analyzes how elements and episodes from the History of Science (HC) are inserted in Brazilian textbooks intended for the initial grades of basic education. From a methodological point of view, the investigation in question brings the observation of two collections of textbooks, widely commercialized and suggested by government evaluation programs, based on Prose Analysis. The results pointed to a few discussions involving scientific historical episodes. Furthermore, the analysis carried out enabled the categorization of such discussions, identifying the reinforcement of pseudo-historical positions, such as the linear view of the construction of scientific knowledge, the Europeanization and masculinization of scientists’ work, in addition to treating the development of sciences as a simple sum of purely individual activities.