Pseudoscience in School: Challenges for Critical Science Education

Authors

Keywords:

pseudoscience; teaching; scientific literacy.

Abstract

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light relevant scientific topics for debate by society, including the very distinction between science and pseudoscience. This article aims to briefly analyze the production of scientific articles on the topic of “pseudoscience”. To this end, analyses were carried out of published works found through the CAPES and SCIELO journal portals, characterizing the study as bibliographic research with a qualitative approach. The main criteria for the survey were the search for the term “pseudoscience” in each of the repositories and the delimitation of a time frame of 10 years (2012 to 2022) for subsequent analysis of the content of the articles. The study brought together works from various areas, especially teaching, whose professionals sought to understand how the concept of pseudoscience is currently viewed in practice and also to apply the concept of falsifiability to their own fields of study. The analysis of the material gathered for the study revealed a concern in the scientific community about the impact of scientific literacy during students' education, as well as showing how Karl Popper's falsifiability criterion continues to be discussed in various areas more than half a century after the publication of his main work.

Author Biographies

Edione Teixeira de Carvalho, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Mato Grosso

Graduated in Geography from the Faculty of Education, Sciences and Letters of Iporá (1996), specialist in University Teaching from the Catholic University of Goiás (1998) and PhD in Pedagogical Sciences from the Central University Marta Abreu de Las Villas - Cuba (2007), revalidated in Brazil by the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA). She is currently a professor at the Federal Institute of Mato Grosso, São Vicente campus, professor of the Postgraduate Program in Teaching - PPGEN - Master's in Teaching at IFMT, partnership with the KROTON Group. She is currently in technical cooperation with the Federal Institute of Rondônia - IFRO, Cacoal campus, where she teaches in the Geography degree course and in the Technical Course in Computer Science. Evaluator of PRONATEC courses, Ad Hoc consultant for the magazines RBEP - INEP, REVISTA FACISA, SIG FAPEMAT, member of the Ibero-American Council of Honor for Educational Quality, based in Lima-Peru. She has extensive experience in teaching, working mainly on the following topics: Professional development, environmental education, educational teaching process, environmental training and environmental culture, Motivation and Proactivity.

Diego Matias Escobar, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Mato Grosso

Master in Teaching from IFMT. Graduated in Geography from the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (2008), Technical Course in Surveying from the Federal Institute of Mato Grosso (2010) and specialization in Public Management from IFMT/Open University of Brazil. Currently, he is an Administrative Assistant at the Federal Institute of Mato Grosso. He has experience in the area of ​​Geosciences, with emphasis on Cartography, Geoprocessing and information management. He is currently studying for a Bachelor's degree in Literature/Spanish from UFMS.

References

BARDIN, Laurence. Análise de Conteúdo. 3ª Reimpressão. São Paulo: Edições 70, 2016.

CARVALHO, Robson. As três fases do problema da demarcação. Griot : Revista de Filosofia, [S. l.], v. 22, n. 1, p. 227–250, 2022. DOI: 10.31977/grirfi.v22i1.2704. Disponível em: <https://www3.ufrb.edu.br/seer/index.php/griot/article/view/2704>. Acesso em: 4 jun. 2023.

CHASSOT, Attico. Alfabetização científica: uma possibilidade para a inclusão social. Revista Brasileira de Educação, n. 22, p. 89–100, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-24782003000100009. Disponível em: https://www.scielo.br/j/rbedu/a/gZX6NW4YCy6fCWFQdWJ3KJh. 4 jul. 2023

CUNHA, Marcia Borin. da; CHANG, Vanessa Ron Jen. Fake Science: uma análise de vídeos divulgados sobre a pandemia. Amazônia: Revista de Educação em Ciências e Matemáticas, Belém, v. 17, n. 38, p. 139-152, maio 2021. ISSN 2317-5125. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18542/amazrecm.v17i38.10166. Disponível em: <https://periodicos.ufpa.br/index.php/revistaamazonia/article/view/10166>. Acesso em: 04 jun. 2023.

FERREIRA, Clarisse de Medeiros Chaves; ANDRADE, Vitor Douglas de. A psicanálise como uma pseudociência: respondendo a objeções ao seu status pseudocientífico. Debates em Psiquiatria, Rio de Janeiro, v. 12, p. 1–33, 2022. DOI: 10.25118/2763-9037.2022.v12.409. Disponível em: <https://revistardp.org.br/revista/article/view/409>. Acesso em: 4 jun. 2023.

GONÇALVES, Sabrina Fernandes; MAGALHÃES, Breno Santos Barbosa; BUNGENSTAB, Gabriel Carvalho. A natureza da (pseudo)ciência e a educação científica: uma conversa necessária. Linhas Crí­ticas, [S. l.], v. 28, p. e41699, 2022. DOI: 10.26512/lc28202241699. Disponível em: <https://periodicos.unb.br/index.php/linhascriticas/article/view/41699>. Acesso em: 4 jun. 2023.

GORDIN, Michael Dan. The problem with pseudoscience: Pseudoscience is not the antithesis of professional science but thrives in science's shadow. EMBO Reports, Vol. 18 de setembro de 2017. DOI: 10.15252/embr.201744870. Disponível em: <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579391/>. Acesso em 01 jun. 2023.

LAGIER, Jean-Christophe; MILLION, Mathieu; GAUTRET Philippe; et al. Outcomes of 3,737 COVID-19 patients treated with hydroxychloroquine/azithromycin and other regimens in Marseille, France: A retrospective analysis. Travel Med Infect Dis vol. 36 (2020): 101791. DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101791. Disponível em: <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7315163/>. Acesso em: 01 jun. 2023.

LEITE, José Correa. Controvérsias na climatologia: o IPCC e o aquecimento global antropogênico. Scientiae Studia, [S. l.], v. 13, n. 3, p. 643-677, 2015. DOI: 10.1590/S1678-31662015000300008. Disponível em: <https://www.revistas.usp.br/ss/article/view/106114>. Acesso em: 26 set. 2023.

MAGENDIE, François. An Elementary Treatise on Human Physiology. Trad. John Revere. Nova York: Harper and Brothers, 1844. Disponível em: <https://wellcomecollection.org/works/rwsp8fkc>. Acesso em: 18 maio 2023.

MCLIN, Kevin; PERUTA, Carolyn; COMINSKY, Lynn. Direct Observation of Gravitational Waves - Educator’s Guide. Ligo.org, 2016. Disponível em <https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/system/media_files/binaries/303/original/ligo-educators-guide.pdf?1455165573>. Acesso em: 1 jun. 2023.

MIGUEL, Mário Lucas; DOS SANTOS, Leandro José; SOUZA, Leonardo Antônio Mendes de. Algumas Percepções de Estudantes do Ensino Médio Sobre Ciências, Pseudociência e Movimentos Anticientíficos. Investigações em Ensino de Ciências, [S. l.], v. 27, n. 1, p. 191–222, 2022. DOI: 10.22600/1518-8795.ienci2022v27n1p191. Disponível em: <https://ienci.if.ufrgs.br/index.php/ienci/article/view/2661>. Acesso em: 4 jun. 2023.

MILARÉ, Tathiane; RICHETTI, Graziela Piccoli; SILVA, Larissa Aparecida Rosendo da. Solução Mineral Milagrosa: um Tema para o Ensino de Química na Perspectiva da Alfabetização Científica e Tecnológica. Ciência & Educação (Bauru), v. 26, p. e20005, 2020. Disponível em: <https://www.scielo.br/j/ciedu/a/fkvDz4BLQyJ3s9td758HZpS>. Acesso em: 1 jun. 2023

MILLION, Mathieu; LAGIER, Jean-Christophe; GAUTRET, Philippe; et al. Early treatment of COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin: A retrospective analysis of 1061 cases in Marseille, France. Travel Med Infect Dis vol. 35 (2020): 101738. DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101738. Disponível em: <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7199729/>. Acesso em: 1 jun. 2023.

POPPER, Karl. A Lógica da Pesquisa Científica. Trad. Leonidas Hegenberg e Octanny Silveira da Mota. São Paulo: Cultrix, 1974.

PRODANOV, Cleber; FREITAS, Ernani. Metodologia do Trabalho Científico: Métodos e Técnicas da Pesquisa e do Trabalho Acadêmico - 2ª Edição. Novo Hamburgo: Feevale, 2013. Disponível em: https://www.feevale.br/institucional/editora-feevale/metodologia-do-trabalho-cientifico---2-edicao. Acesso em: 10 maio 2023.

SAGAN, Carl. O Mundo Assombrado pelos Demônios - A Ciência Vista Como Uma Vela no Escuro. Trad. Dores Udina. Córsega: Planeta, 2000.

SÁNCHEZ GAMBOA, Silvio. Revolução informacional: pontos de vista para o debate sobre a sociedade da informação. Transinformação, [S. l.], v. 9, n. 1, 2012. Disponível em: <https://periodicos.puc-campinas.edu.br/transinfo/article/view/1591>. Acesso em: 3 jun. 2023.

SILVA JÚNIOR, Reinaldo Nicácio da, BARBOZA, Christina Helena da Motta. História e memória de vidro: as fotografias brasileiras do eclipse de 1919 em Sobral. Hist cienc saude-Manguinhos [Internet]. 2020 Jul; 27(3):983–1000. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-59702020000400015. Disponível em: < https://www.scielo.br/j/hcsm/a/3cQFXzYr5Fs8V7yKMVtzgQc/?lang=pt>. Acesso em: 1 jun. 2023.

WERNECK, Natasha. Médico francês que defendia cloroquina admite ineficácia do medicamento. Estado de Minas, 20 de jan. de 2021. Disponível em: <https://www.em.com.br/app/noticia/internacional/2021/01/20/interna_internacional,1230779/medico-frances-que-defendia-cloroquina-admite-ineficacia-do-medicamento.shtml>. Acesso em: 01 jun. 2023.

ZANCHET, Guilherme de Oliveira; CAMPIS, Francisco Kliemann a Campis. Constelação familiar: a pseudociência que virou moda no mundo jurídico. Revista Consultor Jurídico, 7 de janeiro de 2023. Disponível em: <https://www.conjur.com.br/2023-jan-07/diario-classe-constelacao-familiar-pseudociencia-moda-mundo-juridico>. Acesso em: 01 jun. 2023.

Downloads

Published

2025-07-22

Métricas


Visualizações do artigo: 353     PDF (Português (Brasil)) downloads: 334

How to Cite

Carvalho, E. T. de, & Escobar, D. M. (2025). Pseudoscience in School: Challenges for Critical Science Education. RECiTA, 1, e202505. Retrieved from https://revistarecita.com.br/index.php/RECiTA/article/view/16

Issue

Vol. 1 (2025)

Section

Artigos

Most read articles by the same author(s)

Similar Articles

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.