STS pedagogical practices in the early years of science teaching: a study based on Brazilian academic researches

Abstract

The study of Natural Science, from an STS perspective, may contribute to enhance the public
understanding of the Nature of Science and to aid in the construction of students’ active citizenship, if
conducted through a contextualized teaching methodology that implicates critical decision-making
on socio-controversial themes and solving problems from the social reality (Cachapuz, Paixão, Lopes & Guerra, 2008; Vieira, Tenreiro-Vieira & Martins, 2011). In Brazil, the number of educational researches
following this approach has increased since the mid-1990s. On a database of Brazilian essays and
theses in the area of Science Education, developed between 1972 and 2012 (www.fe.unicamp.
br/cedoc), we identified only 87 researches that investigate pedagogical practices related to
science teaching during the five initial years of formal education, out of a total of approximately
five thousand researches. From these 87, only five were developed following an STS perspective. This
study discusses the main characteristics and innovations of the pedagogical practices investigated
on those researches. The research was motivated by an interest to analyze scientific argumentation
and literacy, as well as, by the need to integrate the Science-Technology-Society approach and the
desire to teach in a motivating way. The five analyzed researches tended to use didactic sequences
focusing problem-solving situations relevant to the students’ reality and to employ varied didactic
resources, such as scientific newspaper, magazines or films. These investigations generally sought the
students’ active involvement under teacher mediation. Finally, it discusses contemporary society’s
challenges within school context, through critical, reflexive, active and contextualized teaching,
enhancing learners’ understanding on the importance of science and technology in society.