Non-formal education and popularization of astronomy in Brazil: what is the expert opinion and what says the literature?

• Grant number: 12/23088-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: June 01, 2013
• End date: December 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education
• Principal Investigator: Denise de Freitas
• Grantee: Joana Brás Varanda Marques
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Non-formal education and popularization of science gained importance and attention in the educational research community as well as people involved in education. Against this backdrop, astronomy can be considered privileged as there exists a network of institutions across the country, a unique community of astronomy amateurs and a fascination provoked by this topic in audiences of all ages. Nevertheless, this research area grows slowly and sparsely being still little explored and analyzed. For example: What are the tendencies of the existing literature? What are the research gaps so far neglected? What link exits between the different institutions involved? What are the priorities of the people and/or institutions involved? These are some of the questions which still miss a response and which I consider relevant and important to be examined. Answering these questions, this project aims to: i) map and analyze the national literature related to non-formal education and dissemination of science knowledge in Astronomy; and ii) consult a panel of experts in this area to construct a detailed picture of the field - its tendencies, research gap, priorities and future directions. For the consultation of the specialists the Delphy methodology, which bases on iterative surveys, will be applied. Further, qualitative analysis (contend analysis of the questionnaires and the literature) and quantitative analysis (descriptive statistics and co-relation analysis of the questionnaires and bibliometric analysis of the literature) will be combined to allow for a triangulation of results. Summarizing, the intention of this study is to contribute towards a better understanding of the world related to non-formal education and science dissemination in Brazil (primarily in the area of Astronomy) through a systematic analysis of the literature and the joint reflection of the principal people involved. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

VARANDA MARQUES, JOANA BRAS; DE FREITAS, DENISE. Mapping the future of non-formal education and the scientific dissemination of astronomy in Brazil: A Delphi study. POLICY FUTURES IN EDUCATION, v. 14, n. 8, SI, p. 1153-1181, NOV 2016. (12/23088-8)

JOANA BRÁS VARANDA MARQUES; DENISE DE FREITAS. Fatores de caracterização da educação não formal: uma revisão da literatura. Educ. Pesqui., v. 43, n. 4, p. 1087-1110, 2017-02-02. (12/23088-8)

VARANDA MARQUES, JOANA BRAS; DE FREITAS, DENISE. Mapping the future of non-formal education and the scientific dissemination of astronomy in Brazil: A Delphi study. POLICY FUTURES IN EDUCATION, v. 14, n. 8, p. 29-pg., 2016-11-01. (12/23088-8)