A biotecnologia na formação inicial de professores de biologia e de química: uma proposta do conceito de alfabetização biotecnológica

Abstract

Biotechnology education aims at developing, in both individual and society, the fundamental aspects of scientific and technological culture, essential for understanding debates that have embodied and defined the scope and limits of biotechnological applications. Therefore, it is essential to prepare teachers who are able to take part in scientific knowledge with technological innovations and socio-environmental issues. So, this doctoral research investigated Biotechnology contribution along the beginning of Biology and Chemistry professors’ training, enhancing Science, Technology and Society perspective, as well as understanding the concept of biotechnological literacy. This research was carried out using mixed methods and theoretical-methodological assumptions of the multiple case studies. Data collection occurred by bibliographic research, document analysis, and questionnaires application. The techniques applied for data analysis and processing were content analysis and descriptive statistical analysis, using Jamovi software. Students, professors, and coordinators from the undergraduate programs in Biological Sciences and Chemistry from the Federal University of Ceará and the Federal University of Campina Grande took part in this research. The doctoral dissertation text was structured in a multi-paper format, whose obtained results were organized in six papers that are aligned with specific objectives of this study. In the first and second papers, the scenario of national and international research was investigated regarding Biotechnology integration along Biology and Chemistry professors’ training, respectively. The third paper aimed at identifying the presence of Biotechnology in the curricula of undergraduate courses of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, and their relations with Education Science, Technology, and Society. In the fourth paper, students’ conceptions from undergraduate courses in Biological Sciences and Chemistry were analyzed regarding Biotechnology from a Science, Technology and Society (STS) perspective. The fifth paper highlighted the contributions of Biotechnology from a STS (Science, Technology, and Society) perspective to Biology and Chemistry teaching, in conjunction with professors’ and coordinators’ conceptions of undergraduate courses in Biological Sciences and Chemistry. In the sixth paper, the concept of Biotechnological Literacy was proposed based on theoretical frameworks from the STS area that discuss about Scientific and Technological Literacy. Thus, it was possible to ascertain that: (i) the relation between Biotechnology and professors’ training of Biology and Chemistry has been little studied in national and international research, which highlights the originality of this doctoral dissertation; (ii) the curricular matrices analysis of Bachelor's degree courses in Biological Sciences and Chemistry have shown the absence of mandatory curricular components that address the background, concepts and applications of Biotechnology, especially from a STS perspective; (iii) most undergraduate students in Biological Sciences and Chemistry do not consider themselves qualified to teach biotechnological content; (iv) course coordinators consider that biotechnological themes contribute positively to the Biology and Chemistry professors’ training; however, they pointed out challenges for their effective integration in the courses. For professors, Biotechnology contributes to Biology and Chemistry teaching in three essential aspects: integrating theoretical and practical knowledge, understanding and preserving biodiversity, and promoting scientific literacy; (v) the absence of Biotechnological Literacy concept in Brazilian scientific research; (vi) the concept of Biotechnological Literacy is proposed based on three main pillars: epistemological dimension, social dimension and environmental dimension of biotechnological applications. Therefore, the main contributions of this dissertation are focused on centralizing the debate that highlights the importance of Biotechnology comprehensive integration into the beginning of professors’ training in Biology and Chemistry, as well as the incorporation of Biotechnological Literacy concept into the Brazilian specialized literature. The obtained data in this research have indicated the confirmation of the initial hypothesis that training in Biotechnology in undergraduate courses in Biological Sciences and Chemistry tends to be reduced and fragmented. In addition, it did not critically emphasize the socio-environmental implications of biotechnologies. Therefore, we reinforce the argument that professors’ training in Biotechnology, grounded in Science, Technology and Society perspective, has the potential to foster Biotechnological Literacy insofar as it can contribute to the development of a critical view of Biotechnology in relation to social and environmental impacts of biotechnological products and processes.