En defensa de las actitudes y emociones en la educación científica (I): evidencias y argumentos generales

El curriculo, los materiales didacticos y las practicas de ensenanza y aprendizaje de la educacion cientifica tradicional abusan de los dos factores epistemicos sugeridos por el positivismo logico, la referencia empirica y el razonamiento logico, junto con su epitome el lenguaje matematico, que sostienen la verdad y la objetividad como valores esenciales de la ciencia. La consecuencia mas notable de esta abusiva orientacion positivista es la exclusion de otros valores incompatibles con ellos (factores sociales, culturales o afectivos), tildados como impropios o acientificos por oponerse a la objetividad de la ciencia, aunque sean didacticamente valiosos. Sin embargo, los analisis y las criticas filosoficas, sociologicas e historicas sobre el positivismo logico han enfatizado la presencia de los aspectos afectivos, actitudinales y emocionales, entre otros mas, en la construccion del conocimiento cientifico. Este estudio argumenta la necesidad de los factores actitudinales y afectivos como resortes imprescindibles para la didactica de la ciencia. En esta primera parte se revisan los argumentos de caracter didactico general y los retos actuales que tiene planteados la educacion cientifica a causa de la exclusion de los factores afectivos.Palabras claves: educacion cientifica; educacion emocional; motivacion; alfabetizacion cientifica y tecnologica; actitudes relacionadas con ciencia y tecnologia; naturaleza de la ciencia.In defence of the attitudes and emotions in science education (I): general evidences and argumentsThe traditional school science and technology curriculum, school textbooks and teaching and learning classroom practices abusively uses the two logical positivist epistemic factors, the empiric reference and the logical reasoning, together with its epitome the mathematical language, which sustain the truth and objectivity as if they were the essential values of science. This abusive domain of the epistemic factors produces a main remarkable consequence on science teaching: the exclusion of all those educational features that oppose them, such as the social, cultural or affective features of science and technology, as they are considered inappropriate, non-scientific and incompatible with the objectivity of science, though they may be educationally valuable. However, the multiple criticisms on logical positivism coming from the philosophical, sociological and historical analyses of science have highlighted the presence of the affective, attitudinal and emotional aspects, among others, on the construction of scientific knowledge. This paper argues for the recovering of the attitudinal and affective aspects as vital resources in science teaching and learning. This first part of the paper reviews the evidences and arguments coming from the general education and the current challenges that tackle science education, because of the neglect of affective factors.Keywords: school science; emotional education; motivation; scientific and technological literacy; attitudes to science and technology; nature of science.