ABSTRACT:
This study presents the main results obtained through a research whose goal was to understand how learning and research took place in an undergraduate biology course for teachers working in public schools of the State of Bahia, Brazil, and assess recent graduates’ conceptions of research. Data was obtained from various documents such as: program design; students’ end-of-course works; the courses’ summaries; and interviews with teachers attending the course and teacher trainers. The assessment was carried out through content analysis. The results indicated that research in the pedagogical practice was scarce, as a result of three factors: curricular organization of the course; participants’ working conditions; and representations about biology training. The graduates expressed their conceptions of research relating to: updating; evaluation work; rigorous activities; and reflective practice. We concluded that there is a need to consider the purposes of research in teacher education programs more deeply, as well as to discuss students’ conceptions of research, with a particular focus on in-service training courses.
Keywords:
Undergraduate degree; Research; Teaching