Experimentação no ensino de química, transtorno do espectro autista e formação docente: um estudo de caso

Abstract

This study analyzes the subjective configuration of experimental practice in Chemistry teaching from the perspective of a Chemistry undergraduate student, seeking to understand how the subjective meanings that guide their relationship with experimentation are constituted in an inclusive school context. Based on González Rey's Theory of Subjectivity (2005, 2017), the research starts from the conception that human development is a singular, historical, and symbolic process, in which the subject produces subjective meanings in social interactions and in the affective-cognitive experiences they construct. This approach breaks with traditional and behaviorist paradigms still present in Chemistry teaching, which privilege mathematical rigor and the reproduction of experimental protocols, neglecting the construction of meanings, creativity, and critical-reflective thinking of students. Within this framework, school inclusion is understood not as mere curricular adaptation or the physical presence of students with specific needs, but as the recognition of the unique subjectivity of each learner. Specifically, this study addresses the challenge of planning and developing experimental activities aimed at students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), conceiving autism not as a deficit or limitation, but as a legitimate, diverse, and complex way of perceiving and making sense of the world. This perspective redefines the role of the pre-service teacher, inviting them to revisit their own subjective meanings about teaching and inclusion through experimentation. From a methodological point of view, the research adopted a qualitative approach, configuring itself as a constructive-interpretative case study. Written instruments (Sentence Completion (SC), Letter (LC), Poetry (P)) and non-written instruments (Drawing of the Ideal Classroom (DS), Drawing of the Ideal Laboratory (DL), Life Story (LS)) were used, which favored the emergence of the participant's subjective meanings. As a strategy for analytical systematization, a summary table of the constructive-interpretative process of the Subjective Configuration of Experimental Practice in Chemistry Classes was developed. This table synthesizes, in four interpretative axes, the articulations between the formative path, laboratory experiences, and the subjective relationship of the academic with inclusion. This table constituted an innovative methodological resource, allowing the visualization of the dialectical movements between chemical knowledge, pedagogical practice, and the teacher's feelings. It is argued that the Chemistry laboratory, understood as a space for concrete investigation and symbolic-emotional production, can be configured as a privileged environment for inclusion and humanization of scientific learning. Experimentation, in this context, transcends its technical character and gains an ethical and formative dimension, opening paths for the production of profound subjective meanings about chemical phenomena and teaching itself. Thus, this study contributes to advancing discussions on the initial training of Chemistry teachers, proposing a more complex, sensitive, and ethical view of inclusion in Science education, supported by dialogue, creativity, and the valuing of subjectivity in educational practice.