SOPA DE CONHECIMENTO: SCIENTIFIC LITERACY AND YOUTH EMPOWERMENT IN A RURAL COMMUNITY OF MINAS GERAIS

Abstract

Considering the educational challenges faced by rural communities, marked by limited access to technology, low family educational levels, and post-pandemic impacts, innovative pedagogical strategies that promote meaningful learning and youth protagonism are essential for social transformation. This study presents an experience report from the extension project “Sopa de Conhecimento”, developed by the Federal University of Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys (UFVJM) with 7th-grade students from Escola Municipal de Sopa (MG), highlighting how engagement in real scientific investigation practices can foster autonomy, critical thinking, and school–community integration. A program was implemented based on training stages in scientific methodology, followed by organizing students into thematic groups and developing four research projects: water quality, vaccination, waste management, and nutritional assessment. The process involved data collection and analysis, interdisciplinary integration (Science, Mathematics, Portuguese, Arts, and Informatics), and presentation of results at the IV UFVJM Health Sciences Congress. Students demonstrated the ability to apply the scientific method, identify real community problems, interpret data, and communicate their findings academically. The results revealed contamination in untreated water, gaps in vaccine-related information, inadequate waste disposal practices, and variation in the nutritional status of adolescents in the community. Thus, the experience promoted contextualized learning, expanded scientific literacy, and strengthened youth protagonism, reaffirming the transformative role of university extension in rural communities..