Movimento antivacina e o ensino de ciências: caracterização de aspectos históricos, sociais e percepções de licenciandos em ciências biológicas

Abstract

Historically, vaccines have been successfully used to control and eradication of epidemics and pandemics and, therefore, essential to public health and individual and collective well-being. On the other hand, hesitation and anti-vaccine movements such as, Brazil’s 1904 Vaccine Revolt and currently in the Covid-19 pandemic, influence vaccination coverage rates and bring other concerns regarding to social and educational aspects. Thus, this work aimed to understand aspects of the anti-vaccine movement and its implications for Science Teaching, based on a dialogic examination literature data and biological sciences undergraduates’ perception on this issue. A literature review on the subject was crucial to define the theoretical framework to approach our study and also pointed out its multifaceted character. In order to gather empirical data that could support the analysis, an educational intervention was carried out in a remote teaching scenario with biological sciences undergraduates at Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). Discursive interactions during the meetings were recorded in audio and video subsequently analyzed by using Textual Discourse Analysis. Findings suggest that undergraduates recognize the importance of vaccines and its immunological action, the potential influences that affect vaccines decisionmaking, misunderstanding as a factor of vaccine acceptance or rejection, and that science teachers have a relevant social role regards to this issue. Nevertheless, historical, epistemological and nature of science aspects related to the topic addressed were least evident from the perspective of the participants’ analysis, highlighting the need for problematizing these issues in both science teaching and teacher education, in view of contribute to building of a wider knowledge about vaccination and on how well-founded decisions can be made on the subject.