Práticas epistêmicas e questões sociocientíficas: uma análise de interações em aulas de Biologia no ensino médio

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the specificities of epistemic practices developed in discussions about Socioscientific Issues. The literature in Science Education, as well as curriculum documents, has advanced proposals that promote a more contextualized view of science, highlighting the focus on epistemic practices as an alternative to the traditional teaching model. However, the ways in which these practices emerge and develop in socioscientific contexts, which involve discussions about controversial problems of a social nature linked to science, remain underexplored. We were guided by the principles of Educational Ethnography as our investigative logic. Data were collected in Biology classes of a first-year high school group through participant observation and video and audio recordings. From a macroscopic analysis of the classes, we identified the one with the greatest analytical potential, in which a Socioscientific Issue was under discussion. We selected an event from this class to anchor the analysis of how epistemic practices emerged and developed in this context. At a microscopic level, we analyzed discursive interactions from this event and subsequently from other related events. The analysis highlighted how elements inherent to the nature of Socioscientific Issues are connected to students' engagement in epistemic practices, conferring specificity to these practices in this context. The results indicate that: i) different epistemic practices emerge as the multidimensionality of Socioscientific Issues expands the criteria under discussion beyond scientific aspects; ii) specific forms of these practices are shaped by to the centrality of moral values and ethical issues in Socioscientific Issues; iii) the way students engage in these practices is influenced by the coexistence of competing perspectives in Socioscientific Issues, which generates tensions, conflicts, and negotiations throughout the interactions. Another key finding is that the socioscientific context can foster discussions on aspects that are usually tacit in the classroom and tend to remain unspoken in other contexts. Finally, we discuss the implications of this study for research in Science Education and for pedagogical practice, also pointing to possible directions for future investigations.