einstein (São Paulo). 20/dez/2023;21:.
Scientific Initiation as a gateway to developing scientific habitus
DOI: 10.31744/einstein_journal/2023S1
In common parlance, the term “initiation” may evoke images of secret ceremonies or mysterious rituals in which participants are inducted into hidden secrets. Far from esoteric practices and “mysterious” ceremonies, “Scientific Initiation”, or “Iniciação Científica”, as its known in Brazil, can be understood as an pedagogical activity that provides support for the early stages of undergraduate students’ scientific education. Unlike well-kept secrets, science is an open field accessible to all, and its methodology contributes to the development of critical thinking and the making of more informed decisions.
Scientific Initiation, as it is practiced in Brazil, contributes to “initiating” undergraduate students precisely because it serves as a first step towards the development of the so-called “scientific habitus”. “Habitus’’ is a concept developed by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu() to describe how individual experiences and interactions within a specific social setting gradually mold a person’s inclinations and choices. Habitus is a set of implicit dispositions that guide individual’s actions and choices in a specific social context. These dispositions are acquired over time through socialization and life experiences. As a result, they influence how a person acts and thinks without them necessarily being aware of it.
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