Aproximações e distanciamentos entre a educação formal e não formal na percepção de estudantes de ensino médio de uma escola pública estadual de Belo Horizonte

Abstract

Science museums are strategic spaces for promoting scientific learning in non-formal contexts, especially when linked to school practices, going beyond conservation and research, and becoming dynamic spaces that seek new forms of interaction with the public. Each visit can promote scientific knowledge and social experiences, contributing to critical reflection and the search for solutions to collective challenges. This research analyzed the perceptions of high school students regarding the relationships between school (formal education) and museum (non-formal education), based on a comparison of data collected before and after an experience at the Natural History Museum of PUC Minas. The study was developed with students from a public school in Belo Horizonte, where the researcher works as a teacher, using questionnaires applied at two distinct times: before the museum visit and after the educational activity. The results of the preliminary questionnaire indicated that most students understand the museum as a learning space, also highlighting references to the past and comparisons with school, emphasizing differences in the dynamics and organization of these environments. Although some students did not clearly distinguish between "characterization" and "purposes," the museum was recognized as a space for conservation and preservation, as well as a more playful, interactive, and technological environment in contrast to the formality attributed to school. In post-visit questionnaires, most students highlighted fossils and dinosaurs as the most striking elements, in addition to mentions of the planetarium, pointed out as a topic of great interest in Natural Sciences. The responses reinforced the museum as a learning space, showing a correspondence between what most caught their attention and what was learned. However, some students did not identify a relationship between school content and the experiences at the PUC Minas Natural History Museum, indicating the need for greater articulation between the visit and the school context. The research contributed to the development of the educational product "Didactic Guide for Educational Actions in Non-Formal Spaces," which aims to present a guiding script for conducting visits to non-formal education spaces with Basic Education students, primarily intended for teachers who wish to plan, execute, and evaluate educational activities in these contexts.