Scientific Initiation in Basic Education: reflections in the light of STS Education

Abstract

The article presents a preliminary study, carried out with the objective of identifying converging points and challenges between the development of pedagogical approaches called scientific initiation (SI) in the context of basic education and the principles of STS Education. To this end, we initially present considerations about SI developed in the context of Brazilian basic education, based on the analysis of Dissertations and Theses published in the period 1997-2022. Next, we define principles of STS Education announced by scholars in this field. We emphasize that STS Education can constitute a strong theoretical orientation to support SI activities carried out in both elementary and secondary education. Among the converging points, we highlight: critical analysis of the development of science; discussion of interests and values ​​that underlie the development of technology, aiming to overcome a conception of technology as an applied science; encouraging social participation and informed decision-making, as a way of overcoming technocratic decisions; development of autonomy; education for the emancipation of people; overcoming the traditional and transmissive teaching model, to develop teaching approaches based on dialogical practices; encouragement of a socially significant scientific culture with interpretation of social reality; development of topics of interest and social relevance focused on problem solving; and interdisciplinary pedagogical practice. The main challenges identified concern the training of teachers to guide investigative proposals for curricular integration and the institutional conditions that are offered so that teachers can guide research activities in schools.