Investigação sobre a educação alimentar e nutricional em livros didáticos de ciências do ensino fundamental da rede pública de Salvador, BA

Abstract

Food and Nutrition Education (FNE) is an important educational process for promoting health and well-being, which begins within the family, establishing habits, preferences, and developing taste. With the intense advertising of fast food culture and social media, the debate about healthy, environmentally responsible, and socially conscious eating becomes necessary, with schools emerging as the main space for this discussion. In schools, educators and students engage in discussions on this topic from various perspectives—cultural, economic, social, environmental, and health—to make individuals autonomous and confident in their relationship with food, often relying solely on the textbook as a resource. These materials hold a central position in the teaching-learning process, relating to the school curriculum and often representing the only reliable source of information for both students and even teachers. Since 2018, the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) has been established, and the new reference document has imposed changes on textbooks. This dissertation presents a documentary study, supported by Bardin's (1977) content analysis, to investigate the approach to FNE in science textbooks provided to primary schools in the municipal network of Salvador-BA for the 2021–2023 triennium. We aim to answer the research question: Are the FNE approaches presented in the PNLD science textbooks adequate as a teaching resource to promote a critical education for students? To address this, a collection from 6th to 9th grade was analyzed, revealing a predominance of a biomedical approach when discussing topics related to anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry, and an environmental approach when addressing agricultural themes. We evaluate that our relationship with food is much more complex than merely nourishing the body, and a limited technical approach is insufficient for fostering broader discussions such as social inequality, food insecurity, and waste.