Social representations of ETEC teachers about nuclear technology

Abstract

This paper presents a study that aims to comprehend the social representation of nuclear technology made by a group of teachers and coordinators of Public Technical Schools (ETEC in Portuguese) from the state of Sao Paulo. After this group had taken part in lectures given by researchers of Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN in Portuguese), which included visitation to the Institute and to the Nuclear Research Reactor IEA-R1, the investigation was performed using semi-structured questionnaires. The results demonstrated that for most participants, the social representation of nuclear technology positively changed after the course of a three-day event, even if they already had some knowledge about the subject. It was also possible to detect some conceptual mistakes and correct them, making evident that closer technical contact was crucial for this change.