La conceptualización de especie exótica y bioinvasiones en libros de texto del nivel secundario de educación en Argentina

Abstract

Invasive alien species (IAS) are the second cause of biodiversity loss worldwide. Given this reality, it is unavoidable to incorporate, in the field of education, an approach oriented towards reflection and the adoption of a critical stance on this problem. The aim of this doctoral thesis is to know how textual and graphic contents on exotic species and biological invasions are developed in textbooks in the area of Natural Sciences and Biology of the Basic Secondary Education (BSE) and Upper Secondary School (USS) in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The general content of the textbooks, images and activities were analysed. All the textbooks deal with the concepts of exotic species and biological invasions, mainly in the chapters that address ecological aspects, in the form of expository text in the main text of the chapter, although images and activities are also present. Most of the textbooks do not provide a definition of alien species, native species and biological invasions. The ecological impact is mentioned as the main consequence of a biological invasion. Mammals are the most commonly used organisms as examples. There are no differences in terms of the didactic transposition carried out in the textbooks of the two educational levels analysed (BSE and USS). In relation to the images, individual photographs predominate, with a preponderance of animals (mammals). The link between the images and the main text is mostly connotative, and as for the presence of verbal labels, those of the nominative type predominate. The functionality of the illustrations is of the complimentary type. The textbooks include activities that allow the development of procedures linked to the communication of the information.