REPRESENTATIVIDADE DAS CLASSES DE VERTEBRADOS NOS LIVROS DIDÁTICOS DE CIÊNCIAS DO ENSINO FUNDAMENTAL

Abstract

In the context of basic education, the textbook emerges as the main teaching resource, often being the only tool used as a learning methodology. In the area of Zoology, a field of Biology dedicated to the study of animals, there is a predominance of representatives of vertebrate classes as examples of class content. In this context, the aim of this study was to assess the representativeness of these classes in 7th grade science textbooks in the Biodiversity chapter. To this end, a qualitative-quantitative study was carried out using data analysis in the Iramuteq software. The word cloud indicated that examples of mammals and birds predominate in the textbooks, while fish, amphibians and reptiles are covered less, despite their ecological relevance. In addition, there is a greater emphasis on native species of Brazilian fauna than on exotic ones. A similarity analysis indicated that the textbooks use very similar information and biological species/groups when characterizing the didactic content. The study reveals an anthropocentric bias in the textbooks, with greater emphasis on charismatic animals and less representation of groups such as snakes and anurans, demonstrating the need for more inclusive content to broaden understanding of the country's biodiversity.