As ênfases curriculares no ensino de física: uma análise sob a perspectiva da teoria crítica na proposta curricular para o ensino médio na Paraíba.

Abstract

This study analyzes the curricular emphases attributed to Physics teaching in the High School Curricular Proposal of the state of Paraíba (PCEM-PB), grounded in Critical Curriculum Theory and the typology of emphases proposed by Moreira and Axt (1986). The research adopts a qualitative, documentary approach, using content analysis with pre-established registration units and analytical categories. The theoretical framework considers the curriculum as a field of ideological, political, and cultural disputes, and addresses the implications of the High School Reform and the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) for the teaching of Natural Sciences and their Technologies. The results reveal that, although the PCEM-PB incorporates discursive elements aligned with critical and interdisciplinary perspectives, contradictions persist that reflect technicist and pragmatic emphases, oriented toward performative logic and market demands. Multiple emphases — such as scientific-cultural, technocratic, and socio-critical — were identified as coexisting in tension within the document, highlighting disputes over the meanings of curriculum. It is concluded that the curricular proposal requires stronger alignment between its critical discourse and effective practices, in order to support a contextualized and emancipatory Physics education, committed to the formation of critical and historically situated subjects.