Relações de gênero nas ciências exatas e naturais: Programa Ciência na Escola no interior do Amazonas

Abstract

This research is related to Line II: Teaching Exact and Natural Sciences of the Graduate Program in Science and Humanities Teaching (PPGECH) of the Institute of Education, Agriculture and Environment (IEAA) of the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM). The general objective of the dissertation was to analyze the relationship between gender issues and science, based on a literature review, documentary research and field research (related to the Science at School Program of the Amazonas State Research Support Foundation), and the specific objectives were to a) to analyze the production of knowledge in exact and natural sciences as a mechanism for discussing gender in the context of scientific research, based on a literature review in journals in the field of physics education; b) to collect general information and information from the municipality of Humaitá - AM, in FAPEAM publications, about the Science at School Program (PCE), in the last 5 years (2019 to 2023); c) To analyze the perceptions on gender and science issues of the coordinators and students who are members of the projects approved by the Science at School Program - PCE/FAPEAM, in the last 5 years (2019 to 2023), in the municipality of Humaitá - AM, on topics related to Exact and Natural Sciences. The methodological framework used was a literature review, documentary and field research. To collect data for the theoretical corpus, a bibliographical review was carried out in the Caderno Brasileiro de Ensino e Física (CBEF), Revista Brasileira de Ensino de Física (RBEF) and A Física na Escola (FnE). Documentary research on the FAPEAM website identified eight calls for proposals for girls and women in science and scientific entrepreneurship, five public calls and five results of the PCE editions from 2019 to 2023 and three calls for proposals for the FAPEAM Science, Technology and Innovation Award from 2021 to 2023. In the field research, we applied a semi-structured questionnaire with 17 questions using the Google Forms platform to eight coordinators and nine students. We opted for content analysis to analyze the data. The results show the importance of teaching and research institutions in the Amazon interior in promoting women's participation in the sciences, providing opportunities for postgraduate training and developing research projects. At the same time, it points to structural challenges, such as the concentration of projects in certain municipalities and in the state capital, and the lack of criteria that take into account non-epistemological aspects, such as gender, culture and power relations. These elements help to understand how gender inequalities and other social markers are perpetuated in science, suggesting the need for more inclusive policies and initiatives that recognize diversity in scientific activity, especially in peripheral regions such as the Amazonian interior.