The emergence of racism is based, in part, on the distorted use of scientific knowledge that has
been perpetuated over time. The perpetuation of these scientific theories has contributed to the
consolidation of a structure that discriminates against and excludes Black people from a variety
of political and social spaces. Although the scientific community has opposed these theories,
the influence of scientific racism has had an impact on educational training processes. It is
therefore necessary to investigate how these discussions are being addressed in the training of
science/biology teachers. From this, we highlight our guiding questions for this research: 1)
What relationships can be identified between the assumptions of science, technology, and
society (STS) education and socioscientific questions (SSCs), and QER? 2) How can the
approach to controversial cases contribute to discussions of QER in initial teacher training? The
present investigation aimed to analyze the training situations arising from the implementation
of a workshop designed to promote ethnic-racial discussions in the initial training of biology
teachers. This is a qualitative study that was developed along the lines of a case study. It is
structured based on theoretical discussions on the topic, as well as on the planning,
implementation, survey, systematization, and analysis of data related to the training workshop
on QER in biology teaching. Thirty undergraduate biology students from UFNT (Universidade
Federal do Norte do Tocantins) - Araguaína participated in the study. The discussions and
proposals suggested by the students revealed that they had limitations in their conceptual and
practical understanding of QER and its relationship to science/biology teaching. The shallow
discussions of QER throughout the course's formative subjects were shown to be a factor that
has created barriers in the professional training of future teachers. Based on the production of
case studies, it was possible to demonstrate that the workshop contributed to improving
students' understanding of the relationship between QER and scientific content, using SSCs to
achieve the assumptions of STS education. Finally, the research shows that it is still necessary
to promote didactic-pedagogical spaces/situations that highlight the relationships between
ethnic-racial themes and scientific content in the initial training of biology teachers. These
discussions should contribute not only to the training of undergraduate students for teaching,
but also to the possibilities of preparing and carrying out proposals in basic education in a
critical and anti-racist way.
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