The qualitative community embraces transparent dialogue through sharing knowledge to improve rigour and develop new initiatives. In this paper, we recognise there are many complexities within qualitative research, leading to important debates. We explore the benefits and challenges, as well as the practicalities and technicalities, of conducting…

Despite the relevance of qualitative methods in political science, the process of teaching qualitative research has received relatively little attention in the literature. What is it like to teach qualitative research in political science? This article focuses on the teaching of qualitative research by exploring examples from Brazil. The country…

This study investigates the reflexive relationship between the challenges encountered during the development and teaching of the qualitative research method (QARM) program and the stories of PhD students about their experiences with the course. The study is based on a number of pedagogical issues drawn from postgraduate students combined with an…

The relationship between theory and qualitative research has been extensively examined in the literature and has emerged as a problematic matter. This debate has been driven forward mainly in Anglo-Saxon countries and has done scant justice to an understanding of these issues in regions of the South. This paper addresses this matter by drawing on…

In our present research we address the question of whether it is valid to apply the Quality Assurance and Evaluation (QAE) umbrella concept, which was formulated to explain new phenomena in European educational governance, to similar developments in Brazilian basic education. This led us to reflect on the possible pitfalls and potential strengths…

The purpose of this study was to survey and report on the empirical literature at the intersection of science education research in Latin American and previous studies addressing international research trends in this field. Reports on international trends in science education research indicate that authors from English-speaking countries are major…

This article aims to discuss the purpose of ethnobiology in biology teachers' training based on conceptions of biology teachers before and after their participation in a training course for science teachers that involved ethnobiology. The research was developed in 2009 and involved semi-structured interviews with nine biology teachers of public…

How is it possible to form concepts in early childhood education? This question was the starting point of this study using recreational activities as a tool to support ecological literacy. The research was conducted with children aged 4-5 years in a Brazilian school. Initially, the meanings children attributed to the concept of a "food…

This study was conducted during the first semester of 2016, from March 21st to June 30th, with 104 students, in eight educational centers or "polos," in the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo. Previously, these mathematics teacher education students had no opportunity to study in higher education in Brazil. They were enrolled in a…

The history of science is an important component to acquire for achieving scientific literacy. In this study, a collaborative activity was applied in which the students were presented with the historical context in which Robert Hooke lived and developed the first register of the microscopic world. Furthermore, the students explored the environment…

We present the results of a qualitative research study designed to explore differences in the types of reasoning triggered by information presented to chemistry students in two different formats. One group of students was asked to analyze a sequence of images designed to represent critical elements in the explanation of a target phenomenon.…

Universities have been entrusted with the task of qualifying professionals for their future practice. In light of this, the present study analysed the competencies perceived by 80 physical education students of a public university in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, enrolled in the subject Outdoor Adventure Sports. An exploratory descriptive…

In this article we present a reflection about the meaning attribution to the mathematical object "exponential function" that emerges from two mathematical modeling activities. The theoretical framework of the text contemplates considerations on Mathematical Modeling and elements of semiotics as theorized by Charles Sanders Peirce. The…

This study is part of a dissertation which aims to explore and understand the role of play in the teaching-learning process at elementary level in a public school at Pernambuco, Brazil. We opted for a qualitative approach, using the interactive methodology, interviews by the technique of hermeneutic-dialectical circle, observations of science…

The importance of interdisciplinarity in the teaching-learning process has been much debated. This topic has challenged schoolteachers, who do not always manage to integrate interdisciplinarity into the school routine. This paper emerged from the discipline Research Methodology taught at the postgraduate course in education of Universidade Federal…