Currículo e tecnologias: o uso dos smartphones por estudantes adolescentes dos anos finais do ensino fundamental

Abstract

This undergraduate thesis addresses the use of smartphones in the school context and their implications for curricular practices in Elementary Education. The research problem consists in understanding how 6th- and 9th-grade students from a public school perceive the use—or restriction—of mobile phones at school, and how this situation affects their curricular experience. The general objective is to analyze students’ perceptions regarding the use of cell phones in the school environment, investigating their impacts on the curricular experience. The study adopts a qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive methodology, conducted in a public school in the municipality of Alhandra/PB, with the participation of ten students, five from the 6th grade and five from the 9th grade. Data were collected through open-ended questionnaires and interviews, and subsequently examined through thematic content analysis. The theoretical framework is based on authors such as Sacristán (1998), Moreira and Candau (2007), Roldão and Almeida (2018), Kenski (2007), Moran (2007), and Papert (1985, 2008). The results indicate that students acknowledge both the benefits and risks of using mobile phones at school, adopting a critical stance by recognizing the potential of these devices as pedagogical tools when mediated by intentional teaching practices. The study concludes that prohibition alone is insufficient, highlighting the need for critical and planned integration of digital technologies into the school curriculum in order to foster meaningful and contextualized learning.