As culturas Sci-Fi e Pop na formação das representações sociais sobre o Planeta Marte: um estudo com licenciandos em Física

Abstract

While inspiring imaginations and visions of the future, sci-fi and pop culture can also shape how people perceive and interpret information of a technological and scientific nature, exerting significant influence on the formation of Social Representations (SR). These representations can guide people's practical actions, not only by justifying but also by directing and shaping the construction of social identity. In the case of Planet Mars, for example, these representations can lead to mistaken and naive conceptions, revealing a lack of awareness about national participation in the context of space exploration and technological development, as well as a hegemonic North American perspective on scientific and technological progress. Thus, in the educational context, we question and aim to investigate the following: What are the social representations of undergraduate physics students regarding Planet Mars? To what extent are these representations influenced by sci-fi and pop culture, and could they impact Physics Teaching in Basic Education? For this purpose, we interviewed students enrolled in the inperson Physics Degree program at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), focusing on two subgroups: students entering in 2024 and participants in the Institutional Teaching Initiation Scholarship Program (PIBID) and Pedagogical Residency (RP), totaling 72 undergraduate students. We employed Moscovici's Theory of Social Representations for the theoretical-methodological framework, combined with Abric's Structural Approach (Central Core Theory). Data collection was carried out using the Free Word Association Technique (TALP) and Hierarchy through questionnaires. Data analysis, based on prototypical analysis, revealed that the terms "life," "exploration," "universe," "astronomy," and "water" stood out as possible constituent elements of the central core of the Social Representations of Mars among the undergraduate students. The results suggest that the interviewed physics undergraduates demonstrate an interest in topics related to astronomy and space exploration. However, the SR about Mars reflects a common-sense perspective reinforced by mass media, including themes such as human colonization of Mars and extraterrestrial life. This dissertation can provide support for teacher training in Physics and contribute to efforts to mitigate the impacts of fake news, conspiracy theories, misleading technological and scientific information, and sociopolitical biases surrounding Planet Mars.