Conceitos químicos nos anos finais do ensino fundamental: uma análise do referencial curricular da rede Municipal de Juiz de Fora

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the approach to Chemistry within the Matter and Energy thematic unit in the final years of Elementary Education within the context of municipal schools in Juiz de Fora, Brazil. To achieve this purpose, the following specific objectives were established: (I) to understand the process through which the Referencial Curricular da Rede Municipal de Juiz de Fora (RCRMJF) was developed; (II) to analyze the Natural Sciences area in the RCRMJF for the final years of Elementary Education in light of the Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC), identifying similarities, possible additions and adaptations, as well as the objectives proposed for the teaching of chemical concepts; (III) to investigate the objectives proposed by a municipal school in Juiz de Fora for the teaching of Natural Sciences, within which Chemistry is included, in the final years of Elementary Education; and (IV) to examine how Natural Sciences teachers from a municipal school in Juiz de Fora perceive chemical concepts in the final years of Elementary Education. The investigation adopted a qualitative approach, based on documentary research and semi-structured interviews. The RCRMJF and the Political-Pedagogical Project of the investigated school were analyzed, as well as records and statements from the technical team responsible for developing the RCRMJF and from Natural Sciences teachers at a municipal school. Data analysis followed the assumptions of content analysis, enabling the construction of categories that articulated the analyzed documents and the perceptions of the research participants. The results indicate that chemical concepts are predominantly addressed within the thematic unit Matter and Energy, with an organization closely aligned with the BNCC, maintaining the thematic unit, knowledge objects, and the wording of some skills in their entirety. Other skills, however, underwent modifications. The verbs used in these skills reveal a tendency toward discontinuity in cognitive progression, according to the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, which is not desirable for the learning of concepts. Furthermore, there is a greater tendency to address chemical concepts at the macroscopic level, without prioritizing the three levels of representation proposed by Johnstone (2000). The findings also show that the RCRMJF values a Science Education approach, including chemical concepts, focused on developing student autonomy and protagonism through different aspects such as contextualization, scientific literacy, inquirybased teaching, and the Science-Technology-Society-Environment (STSE) perspective, enabling students to mobilize scientific knowledge to address real-life demands, in accordance with the guidelines established by the BNCC.