Geosciences Content in Science Textbooks for Elementary School I: Identifying its Presence and the Addressed Themes

Abstract:

A number of researchers point out the importance of Geosciences content in the construction of the elementary school curriculum. However, over the last decades this content has been reduced in the school curriculum and is currently present mainly in the subjects of Sciences and Geography in Elementary School. Studies in this area have focused on understanding geosciences, especially in elementary and high school. This research, however, sought to understand the presence of geosciences content within the thematic units proposed by the Common National Curriculum Base (BNCC) in Elementary School I by using, for this purpose, didactic Science manuals adopted by Plano Nacional do Livro Didático 2019 for the municipal education network of a Brazilian city. To quantify this content, a counting methodology is described using ¼-page increments. It was found that geosciences content is significantly present in this cycle of education, distributed in all analyzed manuals and in all thematic units proposed by BNCC.

Keywords:
Basic education; Textbook content; Geosciences teaching; Common national curriculum base