Las plantas en los libros de Conocimiento del Medio de 2º ciclo de Primaria

Abstract

This paper describes and analyzes the results of a study on the topic “plants” in Science textbooks for 3rd and 4th Grade of primary education (ages 8-10). Specifically on the following questions: What should children know about plants? What general characteristics do textbooks follow in their approach to the topic? How is the content of concepts, procedures and attitudes towards plants treated? And what are the objectives of the learning activities presented in the book? The results showed that plants are very important in primary education; however, the textbooks examined do not teach children to analyze the reality of plants and very little to implement the knowledge in their daily lives; and some concepts are confusing (e.g. nutrition, feeding, respiration, and sexual reproduction in plants). This study provides indicators that can help teachers to analyze and discuss the adaptation of textbooks to the current curriculum.Se describen y analizan los resultados de un estudio sobre las plantas en los libros de texto de Conocimiento del Medio de tercer y cuarto curso de educación primaria (escolares de 8-10 años). Concretamente: ¿qué deben conocer los niños sobre las plantas?; ¿qué características generales siguen los libros en el planteamiento del tema?; ¿cómo es el tratamiento de los contenidos de conceptos, procedimientos y actitudes sobre plantas?; y ¿cuáles son los objetivos de las actividades de aprendizaje que presentan? Los resultados mostraron que las plantas son muy importantes en la educación primaria; sin embargo, los libros examinados no enseñan a los escolares a analizar la realidad vegetal, y muy poco a aplicar los conocimientos en su vida cotidiana; y presentan algunos conceptos confusos (por ej., nutrición, alimentación, respiración y reproducción sexual). Este estudio proporciona indicadores que pueden ayudar a los docentes para analizar y discutir la adecuación de los libros de texto al currículum vigente.Palabras clave: Educación primaria; Enseñanza de Ciencias Naturales; Libros de texto; Plantas.The plants approach in textbooks of Science in elementary education This paper describes and analyzes the results of a study on the topic “plants” in Science textbooks for 3rd and 4th Grade of primary education (ages 8-10). Specifically on the following questions: What should children know about plants? What general characteristics do textbooks follow in their approach to the topic? How is the content of concepts, procedures and attitudes towards plants treated? And what are the objectives of the learning activities presented in the book? The results showed that plants are very important in primary education; however, the textbooks examined do not teach children to analyze the reality of plants and very little to implement the knowledge in their daily lives; and some concepts are confusing (e.g. nutrition, feeding, respiration, and sexual reproduction in plants). This study provides indicators that can help teachers to analyze and discuss the adaptation of textbooks to the current curriculum.Keywords: Natural sciences teaching; Plants; Primary education; Textbooks