Paulo Freire in Science Education: Trends and Articulations between Scientific Literacy and the STSE Movement

Abstract

This work aims to articulate Paulo Freire’s studies and the field of science education. We focus on the scientific literacy (SL) perspective and on the mediations on Science, Technology, Society, and Environment (STS/STSE) Education. In his work, the roles of literacy and dialogue are a key to understanding both the common grounds and tensions with scientific literacy and STS/STSE. We recognize that Freire is present in the foundations of STS/STSE studies, however there is still a distance between this body of work and SL in Brazil, especially in its deeper social senses. This is a significant theoretical and practical challenge, as it is necessary to emphasize socio-political assumptions on science education in view of the unfavorable scenario for Brazilian education in its entirety.