Entre o discurso e a prática: a programação no currículo das licenciaturas em física

Abstract

Despite the growing recognition of the importance of programming in the contemporary educational landscape, its presence and applicability in Physics teacher education programs remain uncertain, as do the incentives for its inclusion. In light of this, this study investigates the presence of programming and programming languages in the literature on Physics education, as well as the ways in which this approach has been implemented in educational practices. Additionally, it analyzes the existing incentives for its incorporation as a curricular component in such programs. To this end, an analysis is conducted of the Base Nacional Comum para a Formação de Professores da Educação Básica (BNC-Formação) and complementary resolutions issued by the Conselho Nacional de Educação (CNE/CP). The methodological approach is qualitative, involving exploratory document analysis — due to the scarcity and subjectivity of references to programming languages in official documents — in addition to a bibliographic review based on Bardin’s thematic content analysis, applied to 14 academic works. The literature coding process resulted in four main categories: “Technologies and Computational Tools,” “Innovative Methodologies and Pedagogical Approaches,” “Integration between Physics and Computing/Programming,” and “Development of Cognitive Skills and Digital Literacy.” The results indicate that, despite normative recognition of computational thinking, the inclusion of programming in Physics teacher education remains incipient and poorly systematized. Furthermore, it was found that few initiatives actually involve students in hands-on coding practice, with the use of computational concepts as teaching aids and ready-made software being more common. It is concluded that a clear gap exists between the proposed development of digital competencies and their actual implementation, highlighting the need for more targeted curriculum policies and methodologies that promote practical integration between Physics and programming.