THE TEACHING OF PHYSICS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF HISTORICAL-CRITICAL PEDAGOGY: IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER EDUCATION

Abstract

This article examines the didactics of Physics teaching in initial teacher education and questions the tradition that structures the formative process according to the internal sequence of disciplinary content. The hypothesis is that such centrality produces conceptual formalism and deepens the separation between scientific knowledge and social reality. Grounded in Historical-Critical Pedagogy (HCP), we propose a methodological inversion supported by Gasparin’s (2012) reflections on didactics. In this perspective, the subjects’ social practice constitutes the starting point of pedagogical work, rather than serving as a peripheral illustration. This shift does not entail simplifying Physics or relinquishing academic rigor. Rather, it involves reconstructing the didactic pathway so that physical concepts emerge as necessary historical syntheses for interpreting reality with greater precision and critical awareness. The study is theoretical-conceptual, anchored in the historical-dialectical tradition, in dialogue with Saviani, Gasparin, and Duarte. We argue that such inversion strengthens the articulation between specific disciplinary content and pedagogical foundations, preparing teachers capable of guiding the transition from immediate knowledge to theoretical understanding and of reintegrating this qualitative leap into social practice.