As políticas de inclusão e o currículo escolar: normalidade e anormalidade no ensino de ciências da natureza

Abstract

The dissertation presented here is linked to the Research Line “Educational Policies and Curriculum” of the Graduate Program in Science Education at the Federal University of the Southern Frontier (UFFS). The research problem stems from a reflection on the notions of normality and abnormality present in school curricula, understanding that these are guided by standards of normality, which assume that students' bodies share the same conditions. In this context, there is a biopolitics that guides curricula to take care of life through attention to health, nutrition, hygiene, and sexuality, affecting Science Education in the organization of its objectives and content. In the Science curriculum, the pursuit of “healthy” and “normal” bodies is constant. Thus, this study is guided by the following research question: how does Science Education address the notions of normality and abnormality in its curriculum? How does it approach bodies that do not conform to normative standards? The general objective of this dissertation is to investigate how the notions of normality and abnormality, present in the narratives of special education and inclusive education, operate in Science Education, influencing the construction of its curriculum. To achieve the general objective, the following specific objectives were defined: to analyze the presence of discussions on the notion of (a)normality in research in the field of Science Education; to analyze how the notions of normality and abnormality are presented in special education policies, guiding the conduct of “normal” and “abnormal” bodies in the school context; and to analyze how the notions of normality and abnormality are part of a biopolitics that affects the Science Education curriculum. The theoretical framework that supports these notions is grounded in Foucauldian studies, especially in the theorization of the concepts of “norm” and “biopolitics.” The methodology adopted in this research follows a qualitative approach and relies on bibliographic and documentary research. The data analysis uses the concepts of “norm” and “biopolitics” to identify their operation in the selected research and documents that form the analytical corpus: BNCC (2017), PCN (1997), CNE/CEB Resolution No. 17/2001, and CNE/CEB Opinion No. 2/2001. This study began by examining discussions in the field of Science Education regarding the notions of normality and abnormality in research on school inclusion. Through bibliographic research, it was found that most of these studies focus on content adaptations, teaching practices, methodologies, and didactic materials—important themes for teaching and learning—but there is a lack of reflection on subjectivities and the construction of dialogical spaces that invite the school community to question its own “truths.” Subsequently, a documentary analysis of special education policies (1994–2008) was conducted, as they include concepts that define how subjects are guided by standards of normality, functioning as a biopolitics that directs both normality and abnormality—also impacting school curricula. In this direction, the research focused on the BNCC (2017) and the PCN (1997), especially in the field of Science Education in elementary school, to analyze how these notions permeate these curricular documents. The analyses led to the conclusion that the Science curriculum, as presented in the BNCC and the PCN, points to a biopolitics aimed at students’ bodies, guiding their lives toward normality.