Giancarlo Gevu dos Santos
Maria Priscila Pessanha de Castro
Elis de Araújo Miranda
This work consists of an analysis of the representations and meanings associated with the concept of gender that prevail in future Physics teachers. In the poststructuralist scenario, the concept of gender is pluralized and this entire social dynamic exerts an influence among education professionals who work in primary and secondary schools. The debate on gender in school, legitimised by documents such as the Law of Directives and Bases of Education (LDB) and the National Curricular Parameters (PCN), becomes a transdisciplinary requirement. The research was carried out in the undergraduate courses in Natural Sciences with a degree in Physics (Instituto Federal Fluminense – IFF/Campos) and undergraduate degree in Physics (Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro – UENF). Both courses are offered by public educational institutions, located in the urban area of Campos dos Goytacazes, in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil. The municipality of Campos stands out for having the largest population in the state’s countryside and for having three public universities. In addition, it has a predominantly conservative social profile, with a Christian base (Catholic and Evangelical) and low educational index, with less than 50% of the population having completed secondary school (data from the Anísio Teixeira Institute, 2018). Data collection was carried out by means of questionnaires, applied in agreement with the course coordinators and the interviewees. The results suggest a difference between IFF and UENF courses. In the former, there is greater resistance to the approach of the subject, which indicates a more conservative profile than that of UENF. In the context that the omission of educational institutions in relation to gender and minority issues is interpreted as complicity and a hidden form of prejudice, the results for both courses analysed corroborate with the perspective that degrees need to insert these discussions in an institutionalised way in their curriculum matrices. Furthermore, a large proportion of those interviewed did not know the meaning of the acronym LGBTQI+. Those who did, limited their understanding to the letters L and G (reference to lesbians and gays), ignoring the recognition of bisexuality and other gender identities represented by the letters BTQI+.
Keywords: Gender; Graduation; Physics; Teaching.