Preconceptions of science shared by students from a public rural school in Brazi

Abstract This article aims at discussing discursive representations of science shared by students from a 7th-grade class at a rural school in the Northern Region of Brazil. The research draws on discourse perspectives of language and Applied Linguistics-oriented science education studies based on theoretical assumptions of science teaching and literacy studies. Data consist of semi-structured interviews with nine students, all of which were transcribed and organised into discursive sequences pointing to enunciative patterns. Their utterances evoke two major discourses: a “dominant science discourse”, which represents science practices associated with the natural sciences and excludes the social sciences and language studies; and a “copying discourse”, which relates to typical school tasks, such as research tasks that assume students’ learning through information copying. The present analyses contribute to challenging naturalised discourses about science in basic education and eventually to fostering science education for and amongst the social actors at school. A critical approach to teaching (one based on various research practices) can help students find meaning in the instructional contents addressed in the various curricular activities.