SCORPIONS AND SCORPIONISM

ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS AND IMAGES IN BIOLOGY TEXTBOOKS IN HIGH SCHOOL

Abstract

 In Brazil, the number of poisonings by scorpions grows vertiginously each year, mainly in urban centers. According to data from the Health Information System and Notification of the Ministry of Health, in 2018 it was registered 156,833 cases of scorpionism and 94 deaths, a raise of almost 300% in relation to the number of accidents registered in 2008. Although all scorpions are venomous and can eventually cause accidents, a small number can cause significant problems to human health and induce death. The misinformation as to the species considered to be of medical importance, their geographic distribution and care to avoid accidents may corroborate this high incidence of cases. Concerning the importance for human health and considering the textbook as an important teaching-learning tool in Brazilian schools, this study aimed to evaluate how scorpions and scorpionism are approached in the biology collections approved by the PNLD for the 2018- 2020. For this, initially the 3 volumes of the 10 collections went through the stages of pre-analysis, codification and categorization of the content, with the categories clustered into general and specific content. It also was analyzed and categorized the images present. Lastly, conceptual errors were identified in the text, image or caption. According to our results, scorpions are still seen unsatisfactorily in the vast majority of books, with the morphology and physiology of these animals being the only criteria present in all collections. According to our results, scorpions are still seen unsatisfactorily in the vast majority of books, with the morphology and physiology of these animals being the only criteria present in all collections. Ecological importance, identification and distribution of Brazilian species that can lead to death and accident prevention are still little explored by the authors. In some books it is also possible to note the presence of conceptual errors. Only three collections were more updates as to the themes and included a greater number of pre-established criteria. In conclusion, in view of the relevance of the theme to human health and the importance of the textbook in the process of training students, we suggest greater attention on the part of the textbook authors regarding the content referring, above all, to scorpionism.