The genesis of the taste for science in secondary education
Science Education, Taste for Science, Sociology of Education.
In several countries around the world, a decline in interest in careers related to science and technology (S&T) among school-aged youth has been observed. At the same time, women and lower-class families are underrepresented in these careers, indicating that an interest in science can incorporate social inequalities. As a response to this problem, this thesis introduces the concept of fondness for science as a tool to investigate, from a critical perspective, the development of students' interest in science. Based on a dialogue between the works of Pierre Bourdieu and John Dewey, the notion of taste for science allows placing the scientific interest between the structure of class relations and the aesthetic experiences individually experienced at school. Thus, the taste for science is defined as the practical sense that guides students to distinguish which languages, procedures and people belong to science. As they learn to make these distinctions competently, some students are recognized (by peers or by themselves) as people of science. Therefore, the development of scientific interest goes beyond merely commemorative experiences, integrating feelings, understanding and belonging. The public image of science and the scientist can substantially influence students' professional decisions. A part of this research investigated how young people from Basic Education in two private educational institutions see science and how this perception guides (or not) their professional choices. Another part of this research was conducting interviews about the life history of five former students of basic education, currently attending higher education. The students have different social conditions (gender, color and social class), although they had the same high school Chemistry teacher. The interviews situated family and school experiences in the elaboration of the Sociological Portraits with the objective of identifying dispositions that allowed answering how the continuity of the experiences of the interviewees contributed to the development of the taste for science and in what way the school and the teachers contribute to the students move away from/identify with science. The analysis of the first part leads to the conclusion that students' contact with school science can produce lasting and prescriptive impressions about science and its relationship with society. It is common to find a distorted image of science as a risky activity practiced by brilliant men, discouraging talented girls and boys from identifying themselves as participants in science. Some attitudes promoted by teachers are presented and can reduce this distorted image. The results of the interviews showed that dispositions are built by family experience and students remember little of episodes that have distinguished themselves during a school scientific practice, despite having demonstrated distinctions in other situations both at school and in the family. The personality of science teachers proved to be substantially relevant to developing some students' taste for science. Students, although they remember little of the classes they experienced, are able to identify a teacher who respects their individuality. Some characteristics of a teacher valued by students are presented. The school proved to be relevant to the choice of a professional career, although in a revocable way. Furthermore, there is always, to some extent, family influence on the professional career. Potential teaching attitudes are presented to develop a taste for science and influence students regarding a scientific career, despite acknowledging that the school will have limitations. This thesis defends a look at situations, often overlooked, at school during science classes as ways of acting, speaking, respecting individuality with doses of humor and encouraging the participation of excluded and/or ignored individuals.