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The study investigates differentiated teaching practices of practical work in distinct social contexts and with different experienced teachers, at the level of the Portuguese high school science education. Four teaching practices were analysed in terms of the level of complexity of both scientific knowledge and cognitive skills and in terms of their structural and interactional characteristics, i.e. the nature of the sociological relations between subjects and discourses. The study is epistemologically, psychologically and sociologically grounded, particularly on Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse. Four teachers and their 10th grade Biology and Geology classes of four distinct public schools were selected. The results showed that the social context of the school together with teachers' academic qualification and professional development seems to influence science teachers' practices in practical work contexts. Schools placed in the lower levels of national external assessment and also whose students came from social sectors with fewer resources showed to have teachers' practices characterised by lower levels of complexity of both scientific knowledge and cognitive skills, a valuing of the horizontal discourse and implicit evaluation criteria. The conceptualization and procedures of the study followed a rigorous approach that may be transferred to other studies.

This article centres on the problem of raising the level of school knowledge, particularly science knowledge, for all. The article describes studies in science education developed in Portugal by Morais and Neves and collaborators. These studies are mainly based on Bernstein's model of pedagogic discourse (PD), and on his theorisation on knowledge structures. The concepts of classification (power) and framing (control) are revisited to highlight their potential to characterise educational code modalities, through an extensive external language of description. Examples of instruments are presented in order to discuss the potential of using classification to analyse the status and the conceptual level of school knowledge (the what of PD) and also of using classification and framing to distinguish power and control relations between subjects, discourses and spaces (the how of PD), in educational texts/contexts. Educational code modalities which encourage school success are discussed in terms of their implications for greater equity.

This article addresses the issue of the level of complexity of practical work in science curricula and is focused on the discipline of Biology and Geology at high school. The level of complexity is seen in terms of the emphasis on and types of practical work and, most importantly, in terms of its level of conceptual demand as given by the complexity of scientific knowledge, the degree of inter-relation between knowledges, and the complexity of cognitive skills. The study also analyzes recontextualizing processes that may occur within the official recontextualizing field. The study is psychologically and sociologically grounded, particularly on Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse. It uses a mixed methodology. The results show that practical work is poorly represented in the curriculum, particularly in the case of laboratory work. The level of conceptual demand of practical work varies according to the text under analysis, between the two subjects Biology and Geology, and, within each of them, between general and specific guidelines. Aspects studied are not clearly explicated to curriculum receivers (teachers and textbooks authors). The meaning of these findings is discussed in the article. In methodological terms, the study explores assumptions used in the analysis of the level of conceptual demand and presents innovative instruments constructed for developing this analysis.

The article shows methods and concepts of analysis of the nature of science in science curricula through an exemplary study made in Portugal. The study analyses the extent to which the message transmitted by the Natural Science curriculum for Portuguese middle school considers the nature of science. It is epistemologically and sociologically grounded with particular emphasis on Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse and Ziman's conceptualization of science construction. The study used a mixed methodology and followed a dialectical process between the theoretical and the empirical. The results show that the nature of science has a low status in the curriculum with the exception of the external sociological dimension of science. Intra-disciplinary relations between scientific and metascientific knowledge are mostly absent. Recontextualization processes occurred between the two main parts of the curriculum. These results are discussed and their consequences in terms of scientific learning are explored. The mode of analysis used in the study has the potential of highlighting the level of a science curriculum, in terms of specific aspects of the nature of science.

This article addresses the issue of the level of conceptual demand of science curricula by analysing the case of the current Portuguese Natural Sciences curriculum for middle school. Conceptual demand is seen in terms of the complexity of cognitive skills, the complexity of scientific knowledge and the intra-disciplinary relations between distinct knowledges within the same discipline. The article also analyses recontextualizing processes that may occur within the official recontextualizing field. Theoretically, it is based on Vygotsky's ideas and Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse and uses a mixed methodology. The results show that the document with the broad guidelines of the curriculum contains a relatively high level of conceptual demand in terms of the three dimensions of conceptual demand studied. This message is recontextualized, in the direction of decreasing its conceptual demand, in the document with specific guidelines. The article explores consequences, in terms of "all" students' scientific literacy, of the low level of conceptual demand recommended by the document with specified pedagogic guidelines, since teachers and textbook authors rely mostly on this official text to guide their practices and texts. In methodological terms, the study explores assumptions used in the analysis of the level of conceptual demand and presents innovative instruments constructed for developing this analysis.

The study analyses the extent to which the sociological message transmitted by the teachers' pedagogic practice recontextualizes the official pedagogic discourse of the natural sciences curriculum for a Portuguese middle school. Theoretically, the study is based on theories of psychology (e.g. Vygotsky), epistemology (e.g. Ziman) and sociology, with a particular emphasis on Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse. A mixed methodology was used in the study. The results suggest the existence of processes of transformation of the message within the Ministry of Education, when passing from the general principles to the specific principles of the curriculum. Transformation is in the direction of decreasing the quality of science education. The results of the curriculum analysis are discussed with regard to specific characteristics studied: metascientific knowledge, scientific knowledge and competences, intradisciplinary relations and evaluation criteria. The results also showed a decrease in the quality of the teaching-learning process when recontextualizing curriculum into pedagogic practices. This is shown by the absence by teachers of recognition and passive and active realization rules in most of the characteristics under study. These processes of transformation of the message are discussed, as well as its consequences in terms of scientific literacy.

The study analyses the extent to which the sociological message transmitted by the Official Pedagogic Discourse of the curriculum for Portuguese middle schools contains the ideological and pedagogical principles of its authors. The research is epistemologically and sociologically grounded, placing particular emphasis on Bernstein theory of pedagogic discourse. The ideological principles underlie broad educational aims and the pedagogical principles underlie characteristics of the pedagogic practice. Data was obtained through a semi-structured interview with the authors and documental analysis of their publications. The results suggest that the authors were distinct in the ideological and pedagogical principles they valued and that discontinuities were evident between those principles and the curriculum message. These results are discussed and their consequences in terms of scientific learning are explored. (Contains 1 figure, 1 table, and 12 notes.)

In this study we investigate students' learning during their interaction with two exhibits at a science center. Specifically, we analyze both students' procedures when interacting with exhibits and their understanding of the scientific concepts presented therein. Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse (1990, 2000) provided the sociological foundation to assess the exhibit-student interaction and allowed analysis of the influence of the characteristics of students, exhibits, and interactions on students' learning. Eight students (ages 12-13 years of age) with distinct sociological characteristics participated in the study. Several findings emerged from the results. First, the characteristics of the students, exhibits, and interactions appeared to influence student learning. Second, to most students, what they did interactively (procedures) seems not to have had any direct consequence on what they learned (concept understanding). Third, the data analysis suggest an important role for designers and teachers in overcoming the limitations of exhibit-student interaction.

This paper describes a qualitative study about pedagogic practices in the family. The pedagogic code underlying family practices is characterized and related to specific social groups. Students' achievement is discussed in relation to family and school pedagogic practices. The analysis of family pedagogic practice was based on a model derived from Bernstein's theory. The model considers two main dimensions, the coding orientation and its specific realizations in both the instructional and regulative contexts. It provided indicators of the family discursive context and the form in which knowledges and values are transmitted. The model developed allowed a deep and delicate analysis of the family socializing context. The study showed that families differ in their coding orientation and pedagogic practices, and suggested that there are factors other than social groups to determine family's pedagogic practice. It also suggested that specific familial practices may explain children's differential achievement at school.

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This article centres on the problem of raising the level of school knowledge, particularly science knowledge, for all. The article describes studies in science education developed in Portugal by Morais and Neves and collaborators. These studies are mainly based on Bernstein’s model of pedagogic discourse (PD), and on his theorisation on knowledge structures. The concepts of classification (power) and framing (control) are revisited to highlight their potential to characterise educational code modalities, through an extensive external language of description. Examples of instruments are presented in order to discuss the potential of using classification to analyse the status and the conceptual level of school knowledge (the what of PD) and also of using classification and framing to distinguish power and control relations between subjects, discourses and spaces (the how of PD), in educational texts/contexts. Educational code modalities which encourage school success are discussed in terms of their implications for greater equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article centres on the problem of raising the level of school knowledge, particularly science knowledge, for all. The article describes studies in science education developed in Portugal by Morais and Neves and collaborators. These studies are mainly based on Bernstein’s model of pedagogic discourse (PD), and on his theorisation on knowledge structures. The concepts of classification (power) and framing (control) are revisited to highlight their potential to characterise educational code modalities, through an extensive external language of description. Examples of instruments are presented in order to discuss the potential of using classification to analyse the status and the conceptual level of school knowledge (the what of PD) and also of using classification and framing to distinguish power and control relations between subjects, discourses and spaces (the how of PD), in educational texts/contexts. Educational code modalities which encourage school success are discussed in terms of their implications for greater equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study addresses the issue of the type and the level of complexity of practical work present in teachers' practices, at the level of high school science education. The level of complexity was appreciated by the level of conceptual demand of practical work, as given by the complexity of scientific knowledge, the complexity of cognitive skills and the degree of relation between theory and practice. The study also analyses the scientific inaccuracies that teachers may make when implementing practical work. The concept of osmosis was selected as an exemplary study to show how this framework may work when studying conceptual demand of practical work of teachers' practices. Two teachers of two distinct schools were selected. The results showed that the two teachers' practices have in general a low level of conceptual demand which is mostly a consequence of the low level of complexity of scientific knowledge and skills required and also of teachers' scientific inaccuracies. The type of practical work selected by teachers (laboratory activities generally illustrative) also contributed to lower the level of conceptual demand. In methodological terms, the conceptualization and procedures followed in the study constitute an innovative approach that gives greater rigor to the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]