Entre o prescrito e o praticado: o currículo de química no ensino médio do Colégio de Aplicação João XXIII/UFJF

Abstract

Recent Brazilian educational reforms — particularly the National Common Curriculum Base (BNCC) and Law No. 13,415/2017 — redefined secondary education by introducing formative itineraries and placing greater emphasis on competencies and skills in the schooling process. These changes, articulated with university entrance examinations such as the Mixed Selective Admission Programme (PISM) of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, directly affect curriculum organisation in schools, challenging the role of disciplinary knowledge and its formative function. Despite their relevance, few studies have investigated how such prescriptions are materialised in federal basic education institutions, particularly in the Chemistry curriculum component, and how they interact with the construction of curricular knowledge in initial teacher education. This research aimed to analyse the organisation of the Chemistry curriculum at the Colégio de Aplicação João XXIII/UFJF, establishing the degree of influence of official curricular guidelines and PISM on the school curriculum, and to understand the conceptions held by teachers, school administrators, and undergraduate Chemistry students regarding this process. The study adopted a qualitative approach grounded in document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation. Institutional documents pertaining to the implementation of Law No. 13,415/2017 and syllabi developed for the formative itineraries were examined, together with records and statements from teachers, administrators, and undergraduates enrolled in Chemistry teacher education programmes. Data analysis followed content analysis procedures, enabling the construction of categories that articulated teaching practices, official prescriptions, and students' perceptions. The results indicate that, although the BNCC and Law No. 13,415/2017 formally guide curricular structure, PISM has consolidated itself as a decisive point of reference, determining priority content and influencing the selection and hierarchisation of knowledge taught. Within this context, teachers at the Colégio de Aplicação João XXIII demonstrated sustained efforts to mediate between legal requirements and students' needs, mobilising curricular knowledge as a practice that articulates disciplinary content, evaluative demands, and the formation of citizenship. Similarly, undergraduates developed understandings of curriculum that reflect the tensions between prescribed and enacted perspectives, underscoring curricular knowledge as fundamental to both teaching practice and professional teacher education. The research concludes that the Chemistry curriculum at the Colégio de Aplicação João XXIII is organised as a field of disputes and negotiations among official prescriptions, selective examinations, and pedagogical practices. Curricular knowledge emerges as a key analytical category for understanding how educational policies and teacher education intersect. As a scientific contribution, this study advances the debate on the secondary school curriculum and highlights the relevance of curricular knowledge for consolidating school practices that foster students' integral formation and the development of a professional identity in prospective teachers.