A astronomia indígena relatada em produções acadêmicas:

Abstract

The role of schools today includes valuing and recognizing sociocultural diversity in the classroom and society through intercultural education. In this regard, a possible theme for addressing this topic in science classes is Indigenous Cultural Astronomy (ICA), which studies the observational astronomy developed by different indigenous people, as our prehistoric ancestors observed the sky with the naked eye, leading to the development of a variety of cultural activities and the creation of astronomical branches. In light of this constitutive perspective, we seek to answer the following research question: How is the integration of Brazilian Indigenous Astronomy into Basic Education Science classes presented and discussed in the academic context? Starting from this question, we define the study objective as follows: To conduct a survey of academic productions on the teaching of Brazilian Indigenous Astronomy from the perspective of Science education. For this purpose, we chose a qualitative state-of-the-art research approach, through the study, critical reading, and reflection on official documents guiding Basic Education, especially those related to Science in Elementary and Secondary Education, to understand the didactic and pedagogical guidelines related to Cultural Astronomy, with a focus on Indigenous Astronomy. Next, we also aimed to investigate how this topic has been addressed in academic and scientific productions published between 2011 and 2020. To do so, we used content analysis as proposed by Bardin (2011), considering the following stages: pre-analysis, exploration of the material, and treatment of results, in order to highlight how the unity of Indigenous Astronomy is being enhanced in the teaching and learning process in science in the researched productions in line with the guidelines outlined in official documents. The research results indicate that there are no specific guidelines or official documents regarding the inclusion of Indigenous Astronomy in science education. However, when documents refer to the teaching of knowledge about the skies in different cultures, indigenous culture is implicitly implied. The research also points out that there are few studies conducted with indigenous peoples related to this theme, making it necessary to undertake new fronts of studies and research in indigenous community contexts to record knowledge related to their worldviews and ways of being in the world and to promote interconnections between this knowledge and science education.