Uma análise dos conceitos da química nos documentos curriculares oficiais

Abstract

This research aims to identify what chemical knowledge is in official curriculum documents. The methodological outline of this study is divided into two stages: in the first, a theoretical study was developed on the official curriculum documents (BNCC, RCGEM and Reference Matrices) with a view to understanding these documents, their action in educational policy and on the curriculum and, the constitution of the research analysis framework was also developed, centered on the field of Didactics of Chemistry. The second stage of the research was developed based on an empirical, qualitative study based on interview strategies with two professors who worked in the development of the RCGEM in the area of Chemistry. From the interviews emerged elements that, analyzed through Discursive Textual Analysis (DTA). The initial chapters of this work will present the Theories of the Curriculum and their trajectories, a brief history of the official curricular documents, the general presentation of the official curricular documents analyzed in this research and the classifications of chemical concepts, based on the categorizations created by Taber (2019). Next, the chemical concepts present in official curriculum documents will be presented. Finally, the units obtained based on the analyzes of the interviews carried out with the RCGEM writers will be described. In this sense, we evidenced, from the analysis carried out in the BNCC, that none of the skills highlights in a clear and objective way the direct relationship between the presented concepts and Chemistry. Therefore, when analyzing the RCGEM and the RM, we observed the emergence of some chemical concepts that were not identified in the BNCC, which motivated us to interview the two editors responsible for the Chemistry section in the RCGEM, with a view to further clarifying the way in which the BNCC was interpreted by them when they suggested these additional concepts to the generality of the BNCC. In this way, after conducting the interview, we understand that the concepts suggested in the RCGEM are an attempt to guide basic school teachers who will use the document to plan their classes. As we could observe during the interviews, the writers point out the need for an in-depth look at skills, seeking to make the contents lead to their development. They also mention that some teachers can carry out this process, while others cannot. Therefore, we consider that the authors themselves perceive the flaws that the document has, mainly due to the way it is presented. From the research question, it can be seen that little chemical knowledge, expressed through its concepts, is present in these curricular documents, which reinforces the characteristic of emptying the bases and foundations of an important area in the contemporary world.