PERSPECTIVA INTEGRADA DE EDUCAÇÃO EM CIÊNCIAS: PERCEPÇÕES DE ALUNOS, PROFESSORES E PAIS.

The Centro Integrado de Educação em Ciências - Escola Ciência Viva in Vila Nova da Barquinha (Portugal), results from a collaboration between the local authority, the University of Aveiro and the school community. It is a science center inside a school, based on local features and open to the community. It is a pioneering example of the implementation of an integrated perspective of science education, connecting research in education, pre-service and in-service teacher education and formal and non-formal science education, since 2013. In order to identify the contribution of this perspective to the promotion of the science teaching from a young age, data were collected through questionnaires given to 18 educators/teachers, 441 students and 106 parents or guardians; and through interviews with 17 educators/teachers and 5 monitors. Descriptive statistics and content analysis was performed on closed-ended and open-ended answers, respectively. The results showed that the different participants have very positive perceptions of teaching practices, learning and the taste for science (in formal and non-formal contexts). This study highlights the potential of the implementation of the integrated perspective of science education, which can inspire other educational contexts, namely through its contribution to the promotion of scientific literacy from a young age and lifelong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]