Politicization of Socioscientific Issues as an Inalienable Condition for Scientific Education in the Brazilian Context

This chapter is based on the prerogative that, given the historical, material, and cultural conditions that have constituted Brazil from the colonial period to the present day, the politicization of socioscientific issues for the undertaking of a genuinely emancipatory scientific education is an inalienable condition to the educational agenda with a critical and counter-hegemonic foundation. For a contextualized understanding of the object of discussion, initially, we present a historical contextualization of scientific education and the appropriation of the SSI in Brazilian research. Next, we outline a brief historical scenario and pertinent criticisms of the colonial process and aspects of Brazilian education, highlighting scientific education, mainly the intense neoliberal agenda resulting from the formation of the Brazilian State, which imposes severe obstacles to emancipatory and popular processes. This article also includes elements related to Brazil’s productive matrix and its relationship with scientific-technological development, focusing on the implications for science education. Having built the contextual basis, we argue for the need to reflect on the role of morals and ethics in approaching socioscientific issues and reinforce the defense of a politicized formative agenda committed to an emancipated, fair, and popularly referenced future.