Research evaluates scientific dissemination made by magazines

RAQUEL DO CARMO SANTOS

A Professor Hosana Salette Curtt Silva, a specialist in science teaching for over ten years, was surprised when carrying out research to analyze the concepts of Science, Technology & Society (CTS) published in Brazilian magazines that disseminate science. When exploring the editorial market to observe the ideas contained in each article, it was found that there is a concern among editors in including STS concepts that are often not present even in textbooks used in the classroom, and that are not included in the pedagogical discourse. of Science teachers.

When he began his work, he had a suspicion, based on existing literature, that the periodicals maintained a discourse of sublimation of science, as if it were the solution to all of society's problems. What the teacher found, however, does not correspond to this thought. “In the magazines there are indicators that provide a broader view of S&T in an attempt to overcome the empiricist view”, she analyzes.

Author analyzed 199 articles

On the other hand, Hosana observed that the five magazines chosen include aspects in their content that indicate a very strong concern with the consumer market and are marked by a business character. “All of them, in one way or another, are concerned with the marketing nature and, therefore, transform the news into a spectacle, often to the detriment of the information itself”.

These aspects can be observed in recent examples such as the case of human cloning. “We realized that the approach was strictly linked to the periodical’s sales interests.” Another case cited by the professor was the episode regarding the regulation of generic medicines. Although one journal took care to provide detailed information on the subject, another focused on cost and access information. “But in the end, we see the same interest in the market.”

All these considerations are contained in the master's work “Articles on Scientific Dissemination and Science Teaching: Conceptions of Science, Technology, Society”, supervised by professor Jorge Megid Neto. The dissertation was presented in September 2003 at the Faculty of Education.

Analysis – 393 scientific articles were selected, published in 2001, and covering topics such as health, environment, astronomy, among others. But for the analysis, a sample of 199 articles was considered. The author prioritized magazines easily found on newsstands and in accessible language for both primary and secondary school students and the general population.

Using 18 variables and five coders adapted from a methodology developed for evaluating textbooks, Hosana used tables and statistical methods to consider the constant ideology of the content. Although she has adopted a critical stance in her work, the teacher highlights the importance of seeking interaction between discourses produced within the school environment and those carried out and disseminated by the media. Therefore, in the analysis that she called component factorial, she found the presentation of S&T as a social activity, subject to structural changes, economic factors, political interests, social and ethical implications, among other aspects.

Also present in the articles is the need to reveal who or what the actors are in scientific productions with the aim of transmitting an idea of ​​effectiveness and credibility to the dissemination discourse. Hosana's observation also allows us to affirm that the articles place scientific and technological knowledge not centered on itself, but transcending the social sphere.

Standardized format – Teaching about dinosaurs, volcanoes and astronomy can find magazines an ally. The themes appear spontaneously in the classroom, as the language, rich in analogies and metaphors, catches the students' attention. This is the opinion of an expert on the subject and professor at an Application College, in Minas Gerais. “We noticed that some articles address issues that change the way in which some syllabus content is being treated in the Science curriculum”. She therefore assesses that scientific dissemination articles are suitable vehicles for working in the classroom as long as the teacher is able to understand the concepts and ideologies that permeate the articles to make the notions of STS well disseminated.

Cross-referencing the articles from the different selected magazines, however, indicated a very strong similarity between them. “Often, it even seems like the articles were written by the same person”, he highlights. In general, the magazines did not present any difference between them.