Academic-scientific literacies and the investigation of science paradigms in didactic materials from graduate programs of excellence in Brazil

• Grant number: 25/08677-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: December 01, 2025
• End date: November 30, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Applied Linguistics
• Principal Investigator: Fabiana Cristina Komesu
• Grantee: Cristian Henrique Imbruniz
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/05908-0 - University learners in contemporary practices of scientific and academic literacy for the training of teachers an globalized researchers, AP.TEM

Abstract

The research problem of this postdoctoral project lies in investigating the science paradigms present in didactic materials aimed at academic-scientific literacies, used in graduate programs rated 6 and 7 by CAPES, and how these paradigms shape academic-scientific literate social practices across disciplines. The working hypothesis is that such paradigms are reflected in the materials through concepts of language, science, and information, as well as through gestures of systematization, didactization, and valorization of those concepts. The general objective is to map institutional practices and didactic materials in programs of excellence in order to examine how their science paradigms operate in shaping academic-scientific literate social practices. This entails three methodological steps: (i) mapping institutional practices and materials via a survey to be answered by 382 doctoral students from 245 programs; (ii) quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data using MAXQDA; and (iii) linguistic-discursive analysis of science paradigms and the formation of academic-scientific literate social practices in selected materials. The project will analyze various didactic materials - manuals, videos, websites, and AI tools - addressing a gap in research on their use in graduate education. The theoretical framework draws on a discursive approach in applied linguistics, incorporating French discourse analysis, literacy studies, and didactic material studies. Expected contributions include: (i) empirical data on institutional practices and materials in top-tier programs; and (ii) the development of theoretical-methodological framework for studying such practices and uses of didactic materials in graduate education.