FAB LAB and education in Brazil

actions to disseminate the maker culture in basic and higher Education

Abstract

The purpose of the present research is to analyze the strategies and actions for disseminating the maker culture in the field of education, promoted by the Digital Fabrication Laboratories (FAB LAB) in Brazil, considering the elements for the development of digital and scientific literacy, as well as aspects related to diversity and the promotion of STEAM. The proposed methodology was guided by the principles of qualitative research and documentary analysis, with a theoretical foundation in the field of Cultural Studies. Documents from forty-two Brazilian FAB LABs that indicated educational actions in their documentation were analyzed. The results indicate a great diversity of approaches and pedagogical actions in these spaces, the use of maker culture as a marketing strategy in public and private institutions, limitations of effective actions directed towards Basic and Higher Education, and few actions related to diversity, promotion of STEAM, and scientific literacy. Initially, the diversity of methodologies and theories that permeate the use of maker culture elements in education seems like a necessary adjustment for the development of curriculum-integrated proposals and the learning concepts adopted by some institutions. However, in practice, they emerge as a bricolage with conflicting elements that compromise the outcomes of the proposals. Despite the limitations encountered, the existence of maker space proposals committed to the dissemination and consolidation of maker culture in education demonstrates that it is possible to articulate effective actions with excellent results.