Reflexões sobre o coronavirus com licenciandos da UFSCar : a percepção dos futuros professores de ciências sobre o papel da ciência e tecnologia no contexto da pandemia

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2 has done a lot of damage to global health. Due to the fact that it is a new virus to humans, with no treatments or specific vaccines, classic measures, like social isolation, were taken to stop its spreading. Education, as other areas, were widely affected- the university and school closures and the inversion of the knowledge flow pointed to the importance of technological and scientific literacy, that is one of the objectives of the teaching focused on science, technology, society and environment (STSE). In this scenario, we set out to comprehend the perception of graduate students of Biology Sciences at UFSCar about the role of science and technology on the context of the pandemic. We tried to map the level in which the pandemic affected the students; the dimensions of the knowledge about viruses perceived and lived by them during the pandemic; how they evaluate the importance of working on the relation between science, technology, society and environment in the classroom and if they feel that they are prepared for that. For this, we developed a quiz with socio-scientific issues (SSI) concerning coronavirus controversies and having the VOSTS (Views On Science-Technology-Society) quiz as a base. The results showed us that although the undergraduates have recognized all dimensions of knowledge that we set out to investigate (C, T, S and A) and give plausible answers, they have greater proximity and concern with issues related to scientific and cultural aspects, while distant from technological and environmental aspects. Thereby, we promoted reflection on the background of the science teachers, the importance of sciences, scientific and technological literacy in the context of the pandemic.