Epistemologia da formação do futuro professor de biologia: uma análise dos conhecimentos sobre criacionismo e evolução biológica

Abstract

The present study explores the discussion between the synthetic theory of evolution and creationism within the perspective of the formation of Biology teachers, understanding how this discussion is explored within a Licentiate course and how the professors of Biology in formation face the dialogue between these two different conceptions. Understanding this discussion is of fundamental importance for the formation of a biology teacher, assuming that evolutionary theory is the central axis of the fields that form this Science. This research aims at analyzing the epistemological perceptions of the students of the last three periods of the Licentiate in Biology course at the Federal University of the Recôncavo of Bahia (UFRB), in the topics tangible to creationism and the synthetic theory of evolution, in order to identify the controversies and misconceptions inherent in the discussion of these two conceptions. The research has a qualitative, exploratory approach. The methodological procedure used was the application of a semistructured questionnaire to the students of the last three periods of the course in question. This cut is motivated by the fact that students who are enrolled in the last three periods have already passed the curricular component "Evolution". The data obtained were analyzed in light of the content analysis proposed by Laurence Bardin. In this context, the results obtained here point out that all the informants of the research have epistemological deficiencies related both to elementary concepts of biological evolution and to knowledge pertaining to History, Philosophy and Epistemology of Science, especially to those necessary to differentiate and understand scientific knowledge and religious knowledge. Due to these gaps, numerous misunderstandings and controversies have been identified in their positions. However, most subjects understand the relevance of evolutionary theory in the study of biology, in addition to showing a remarkable interest in learning more about evolutionary concepts and structuring and functioning of science.