Science Teachers’ Conceptions About the Importance of Teaching and How to Teach Western Science to Students from Traditional Communities

Abstract

We discuss the results of a qualitative research with science teachers that serve students from traditional communities. The aim is to analyze their conceptions on the importance of teaching and how to teach Western science to students from these communities. Data collection is carried out through semi-structured interviews with four teachers who work in a public school in the state of Bahia, Brazil. The analysis starts from the construction of narratives, generating thematic categories and epistemic positioning of teachers’ conceptions. The results indicate that, for those teachers, teaching Western science to students from traditional communities is important for the expansion of their knowledge and their active participation in different sociocultural environments, through methods that include intercultural dialogue. However, their answers have contradictions, which allow us to infer that their conceptions transit into the four epistemic positions on science teaching and cultural diversity: Epistemological Pluralism, Interculturalism, Multiculturalism, and Universalism, with the first two being the most emphasized. This reveals a dilemma between what they conceive as goals and links for science education, and what they practice as teachers, which is possibly influenced by school pedagogy provided by public policies of national education. We consider implications of these conceptions and positions for teacher education and science teaching sensitive to cultural diversity.

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