Epidemia e vacina em perspectiva histórica no ensino de ciências – SEI : a experiência da COVID-19 sob o olhar investigativo do aluno

Abstract

This dissertation addressed the historical nature of science and the practice of phenomenology in the context of immunology education, considering the pandemic experience of Covid-19 (2020/2021). The immunological science behind the vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus emerges as a "phenomenon" amidst the individual singularities, raising the following question: are there similarities between the pandemic experience of Covid-19 and another historical pandemic context in Brazil that enable individual and collective actions and stances? Thus, the overall objective was to conduct a historical analysis starting from the epidemiological immunization of smallpox in the 20th century in Brazil, contrasting it with Covid-19. The specific objectives were to: provide a historical overview of smallpox vaccination in 20th century Brazil; discuss educational actions that contribute to a health-conscious approach to vaccination practices; reflectively situate the Covid-19 pandemic experience in comparison to another historical epidemic reality in the country's past. This study was structured in chapters. The first chapter conducted a historical survey of smallpox vaccination in 20th century Brazil; the second chapter addressed the Covid-19 pandemic experiences and the educational process, following an educational approach through cinema and the Investigative Teaching Sequence (ITS), resulting in the creation of an illustrative short film; the third chapter encompassed concepts and applications of phenomenology and its contributions to the learning process of immunology in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. For this purpose, an applied bibliographic survey with exploratory aims was conducted. It relied on the Phenomenological Method, drawing from the works of Edmund Husserl and some of his contemporaries, namely Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1999), Mara Vigianni Bicudo (1999), and Elcie F. Salzano Masini (1989), as a foundation to bring forth the approach of the Historical Nature of Science. This approach consolidated qualitative results regarding immunology education in the school environment, leading to a qualitative analysis that stimulates knowledge acquisition and dissemination.