A teoria do agir comunicativo em comunidade de prática de professores de ciências envolvidos com a educação CTSA

Abstract

This thesis analyzed the Theory of Communicative Action (TCA) in the context of a Community of Practice (CoP) of science teachers, focusing on their performance and engagement with Science, Technology, Society, and Environment (STSE) education. The study investigated the thesis that spaces such as CoPs in the Habermasian sense have the potential for the critical reflective professional development of teachers. The primary objective of this study was to examine the extent to which this communicative space, grounded in the assumptions of TCA, promotes autonomy, critical thinking, and teacher collaboration in joint constructions focused on science teaching from the perspective of STSE education. The research adopted a qualitative approach, characterized as critical participatory action research (PAC). Transcripts from all meetings of the CoP “Science in Network” were analyzed. The data analysis procedure entailed the identification of speech acts relevant to the research axes (TCA, CoP, STSE, and PAC). Each speech act was investigated (in Habermasian terms) to determine which lifeworld and underlying claim to validity it referred to, and whether other elements of TCA were present, such as communicative action and joint constructions. The analysis of the transcripts revealed the predominance of speech acts oriented toward mutual understanding, with a strong incidence of claims to validity, truth, correctness, and sincerity. The four areas of the lifeworld were manifest in the interactions observed. The CoP demonstrated characteristics of a space conducive to communicative action, promoting joint construction and professional development of participants. The articulation of the thematic axes demonstrated that the CoP functioned as a continuing education environment, where science teaching in STSE education was discussed and collectively reinterpreted, highlighting the potential of critical participatory action research for professional teacher development. The analysis revealed that the CoP studied constitutes a space where communicative action prevailed, in which a shared understanding of science teaching and practices related to STSE education was constructed, resulting in collaborative authorial materials that form part of the educational product, encouraging the creation of new CoPs in science teaching and STSE education.