MAPPING CTS CONCEPTIONS WITHIN THE SOCIAL SPACE: Possible Relationships between Social Structure and Understandings of Science, Technology, and Society among Physics Education Students

• Grant number: 25/22154-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2025
• End date: October 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education
• Principal Investigator: Thiago Vasconcelos Ribeiro
• Grantee: André Luis Barreto Corrêa
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin (IFGW). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 24/21185-3 - MAPPING CTS CONCEPTIONS WITHIN THE SOCIAL SPACE: Possible Relationships between Social Structure and Understandings of Science, Technology, and Society among Physics Education Students, AP.R

Abstract

This project aims to advance the investigation of conceptions about the relationships between Science, Technology, and Society (STS) by analyzing how the positions occupied by the subjects in the social space influence their perceptions of the topic. Grounded in Pierre Bourdieu's theory of social and symbolic space, the study seeks to understand the social influences that shape views on STS relations, exploring how the symbolic capital held by an individual, in its two main variants, economic capital and cultural capital, shapes their opinions about technoscience. The project will be developed in the context of teacher education, involving students in the Physics Teaching degree program at the Institute of Physics "Gleb Wataghin" of the State University of Campinas. The study will be conducted using a qualitative-quantitative approach for data processing and analysis, with data collection carried out through the application of structured questionnaires containing closed-ended questions addressing STS conceptions, adapted from the "Views on Science-Technology-Society" (VOSTS) questionnaire, and questions designed to capture the structure of accumulated symbolic capital, focusing on socioeconomic factors. Data analysis will involve the Multiple Correspondence Analysis method, aiming to map students' positions in the social space and uncover possible relationships with their STS conceptions. The study aims to contribute to a more critical understanding of how students' social trajectories and positions influence their perceptions of STS relations, contributing to a more critical approach in Physics education and teacher training, especially regarding awareness of the role of technoscience in contemporary societies.