Avaliando livros didaticos de ciencias. analise de colecoes didaticas de ciencias de 5 a 8 series do ensino fundamental

Abstract

This book chapter presents an analysis of science instructional collections in use at primary schools in Brazil during the 1980's and 1990's as part of a nation-wide project commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The analysis investigates how scientific knowledge and science teaching research inform and are incorporated into instructional collections through their graphic project, theoretical and methodological aspects, including general aspects and content specific and teachers' manual. It follows an analytical framework which comprises major trends in science teaching, i.e. theoretical-methodological themes, namely: environmental conceptions; health conceptions; science, technology and society conceptions; use of students' prior learning experiences; broad consideration of students' learning abilities; interdisciplinary context; curriculum flexibility; and educational functions. The results indicate that the majority of the collections require improvements to adequately incorporate both current scientific knowledge and aspects derived from science teaching research.