PPGEC

The Area of Concentration of the PPGEC is Science Education

The area of concentration “Science Education” takes as the central problem of its activities—namely, knowledge production, academic training, and the preparation of educators for higher education and basic education—the processes through which meanings and understandings of science and its technologies have been historically and socially constructed, as well as their impacts on contemporary societies.

In particular, this area of concentration focuses its investigations on the role of Science Education in the process of constructing meanings related to science and technology.

Moreover, this area addresses the current context of major challenges faced by contemporary societies with regard to the meanings and understandings that have been developed around social practices related to science and its technologies, especially those involving Science Education.

In addition, this area of concentration is grounded in the assumption of social and political commitments within a social reality marked by the severe economic, social, and cultural consequences of prevailing models of the relationship between society and nature, which contribute to an increasingly critical scenario of socio-environmental injustice. In this sense, it is also important to consider the role of research in Science Education, as well as educational practices, in providing elements that enable the population to critically analyze scientific and technological development policies and, as citizens, to participate in the formulation of science and technology policies that contribute to the construction of democratic societies oriented toward socio-environmental equity. Likewise, it cannot overlook the current and complex context of the accelerated production of knowledge across different scientific fields and the development of technologies that permeate everyday life, yet are not always accessible to all in unequal societies marked by disparities in quality of life.

If, in the 20th century, intellectuals and educators in this field warned of the risk of viewing science and its technologies as the great “myth of a safe harbor,” and, from this perspective, the possibility of the “fetishization of the place and role of science and technology in our societies,” we have now entered the first half of the 21st century facing the risk of fostering post-truth narratives, fake news, movements that deny scientific knowledge, the demonization of technology, and participation in anti-vaccination movements—even amid a pandemic of unimaginable proportions.

These social and political contexts have thus been taken into account in defining the overarching mission and potential impacts of this area of concentration, as well as the objectives envisioned for the program, namely:

a) to develop investigative and educational proposals guided by the overarching goal of building democratic and socio-environmentally just societies, contributing to the democratization of critical access to scientific knowledge and technological products;

b) to propose and conduct research related to science education, grounded in theoretical and methodological frameworks consistent with the program’s research areas of specialization;

c) to prepare researchers and educators for work in higher education, in primary and secondary school settings, and in non-formal educational contexts, through the analysis and development of educational processes and products aimed at improving science education and its associated technologies;

d) to disseminate theories, investigative practices, and educational approaches in Science Education, particularly through publications in various scientific journals and other media dedicated to the dissemination of scientific and technological practices and outputs.

The Program is structured into three research areas of specialization: