The curriculum of teacher education at a Chemistry Institute: matches and mismatches between prescription and practice

Abstract

In general, the effective result of a proposed curriculum usually depends on how much its objective meanings (established by the legislator) have been respected by the institutional individuals and, specially, on how the institutional context has shaped the effective curriculum. In the science education field it seems particularly relevant to research the relationship between official curriculum and the effective education of future teachers. In this article we will analyze and interpret the case of the Chemistry Teacher Education Course from the Chemistry Institute of UNESP in Araraquara. It presents unique characteristics due to the influence of the institutional context in the effective curriculum; which seems highly dependent on both the history and the dispositions of the institution and its community projects. We conducted extensive interviews with faculty, staff and undergraduate students in order to reconstruct the history of the institution and to determine the characteristics of the course and the extracurricular activities of research and community projects. Based on a theoretical perspective on institutional dispositions we conclude that, without losing their priority on research, the institutional development of this particular course managed (in its latest phase) to shape the prospects and education of undergraduates achieving on a large extent their professional goals in education, research and industry. Surprisingly, we found hardly any development in Chemistry Teaching Research, which could significantly expand the career prospects of undergraduates.