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Episodes 2024; 47(4): 775-785

Published online December 1, 2024

https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2024/02404s06

Copyright © International Union of Geological Sciences.

STS and science education: the impact of geology workshops on children's perception in Paraguay

Romina Celabe*, Néstor Salinas

Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Geología, Campus Universitario, San Lorenzo, Paraguay

Correspondence to:*E-mail: rominacelabe@facen.una.py

Received: January 14, 2024; Revised: October 4, 2024; Accepted: October 4, 2024

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This study examines the impact of implementing a practical geology workshop on children's perception and interest in science. Employing a pre-experimental research design, the approach focused on a single group of children without a comparison or control group, administering a pretest-posttest to 19 children aged 7 to 12. The assessment was based on structured questions from the ROSE (Relevance of Science Education) test, divided into five blocks to address different aspects. The results indicated that after the workshop, children showed a notable increase in interest in sciences, likely attributed to practical activities and demonstrations that facilitated direct interaction with scientific concepts, departing from traditional memorization approaches. While career aspirations in science varied among respondents, overall curiosity in science surged. The participants generally perceive science as important for daily life, but opinions on its societal relevance varied. Despite some variations, the findings support the effectiveness of practical workshops in enhancing children's perception and interest in science.