Influences of Paradigmatic Conceptions of Science in Texts on Ecology of Undergraduates of Biology Sciences

Abstract

This article analyzed texts by undergraduates in Biological Sciences on the ecological theme, having as reference the paradigmatic conceptions of contemporary science: complexity, systemic and Cartesian. The research context was the Ecology Practice that is a curricular component of an undergraduate course in Biological Sciences at a public university in the Brazilian Northeast. The investigation employed a qualitative and quantitative approach with the objective of identifying the influence of paradigmatic conceptions of science in the construction of meanings of ecological themes by the undergraduate students participating in the research. The methodology combined the development of conceptual schemes and Statistical Implicit Analysis (SIA), which allowed viewing the implications of complexity and depth of the relationships established between conceptual variables present in the texts. The results indicated that different ecological themes suffer different paradigmatic influences. Systemic and complex conceptions were present in themes with conservationism and environmental impact, while consumerism was linked to the Cartesian paradigm. The research also corroborated the adequacy of mixed research approaches for the science teaching area.