The presence and treatment of human evolution in the PCN and BCNN of elementary education: a comparative analysis

ABSTRACT:

The aim of this research is to analyze the presence and treatment of human evolution in three national curriculum documents for elementary education: the PCN (1997; 1998) and the BNCC (2017). The research has a documentary nature, using Bardin's content analysis techniques. The units of analysis selected for the examination of human evolution were restricted to the area of knowledge of the Natural Sciences, nd were quantified and categorized according to their manifest and latent content. The data found reveals a scarcity of knowledge regarding human evolution in these documents and a comprehensive and superficial approach to this topic based on the most general aspects of evolution, without specifying content aimed at hominins. The study opens ways to question the incipience of biological evolution in elementary education, since the lack of long-term evolutionary understanding can have a detrimental effect on the public debate on science and impacts on citizenship and public health

Key words:
Curriculum; Guidelines; Basic Education