How do they teach, and what do they teach? Argumentation in Three School Texts

Abstract

Despite the everyday practice of argumentation (present in all areas of our daily life) and its importance in current times-invaded by fake news, half-truths and unargued opinions-, its teaching in Peruvian schools is still insufficient. Therefore, the present research aims to evaluate the didactics of argumentation in school textbooks of three national publishers. This research adopts a qualitative approach and uses documentary analysis as a method. The corpus is made up of Communication books aimed at students in the fifth grade of Secondary Education, published between 2016 and 2022 in Peru. The results obtained reveal a) a simplification of the argumentative theory, evidenced by the omission of important components such as the subargument and counterargument; b) discordance between the argumentative theory provided and the examples of discursive genres requested, and c) limitations of the didactic sequences designed for the development of argumentative competence.