Uma Revisão de Literatura sobre a presença da História da Ciência nos currículos dos cursos de formação de professores da área de Ciências da Natureza

Abstract

The History of Science (HS) in higher education curricula has been highlighted in the academic literature as an important perspective for teacher education, especially when aiming to build a more accurate understanding of Science. This study aims to identify the contributions of academic research on the presence of HS in the curricula of undergraduate teacher education programs (Bachelor’s Degree) in Biological Sciences. To this end, we conducted a literature review focused on master's theses and doctoral dissertations published in Brazil. This is a qualitative study in the "state-of-the-art" research format, in which dissertations and theses were analyzed from the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD) using the descriptors “History of Science,” “Higher Education,” “Curriculum,” and “Teacher Education,” with no time frame restriction. In the initial stage, 564 works were retrieved; after screening titles, keywords, and abstracts, nine works were selected for analysis—two doctoral theses and seven master's dissertations. The material was analyzed using Content Analysis, from which two emerging categories were identified: (i) History of Science with a utilitarian focus; (ii) History of Science with an interdisciplinary and contextualizing focus. Based on the analysis, we found that the utilitarian approach to HS is the most common in the reviewed research, characterized by a superficial focus and emphasis on quantitative data, without deeper reflection on its role in teacher education. However, some studies, though fewer, did present discussions on an interdisciplinary and contextualized approach to HS, emphasizing its potential for teacher education and for shaping more accurate views of Science and scientists. We conclude that the historical approach is present in teacher education curricula in Brazil mainly through the offering of specific courses. However, there is still a lack of discussion on how the theme is integrated into the curriculum. We highlight the need for more effective reflection on the formative potential of historical aspects of scientific knowledge construction in teacher education programs, emphasizing the importance of further research with this focus.