Comparing the meanings of "innovation" in Portuguese journals: The case of Revista Portuguesa de Pedagogia and Revista Portuguesa de Educação

ERIC's thesaurus points to the words "building innovation”, “educational innovation”, “instructional innovation” and “teaching innovation" as synonyms or dead terms for “innovation”, which, to some extent, involves a wide range of contexts on which the word “innovation” can appear in publications. In this sense, it is convenient to look at the term “innovation” from the etymological point of view. “Innovation” is, as a theme and object of study interest, almost always associated with change, flipping from positive to negative perspectives depending on historical events, and it often loses strength in its meaning as it unfolds within the text, becoming less expressive or even non-existent. From a mapping review, this study aims to verify how the theme of innovation is explored in articles published in the Revista Portuguesa de Pedagogia and Revista Portuguesa de Educação over the past 20 years. A qualitative approach was adopted, with a systematic mapping review and recourse to content analysis. Of the 71 articles selected, in the period from 2000 to 2021, it was possible to verify that the word “innovation” may be in the title or keywords and not in the content, or still be in the conclusions and not in the title or keywords. It was also found that the meaning of the word may indicate changes or be reduced to a figure of speech, adopted as an illustrative element for an idea or context. The articles deal mainly with “innovation” in the curriculum, pedagogical practices, and use of technologies. We conclude that the meaning of the term “innovation” in the analyzed publications acts more as a secondary element than as a central element of the reflection. Although the articles indicate innovation as a research theme, it appears secondary in the discourse, revealing a reduction of its relevance and meaning of the term within the educational studies analysed here.