Concept de champ électrostatique : Modes de raisonnement des étudiants Tunisiens

The proposed study aims to identifying the reasoning ways of students relative to the concept of electrostatic field. At first, we suggested interpreting the support of students reasoning by a ‘dualistic model’ associating the existence of an electrostatic field with presence of two types of charges: a source charge and a test charge. We finally analysed students reasoning in terms of modelling process in diversified situations. Our theoretical framework leans on the ‘theory of the modelling’ developed in didactics of the physics by Tiberghien (1994). Our analyses of semi directive individual interviews lead to consider that the students implement a model of reasoning which takes support on a concrete element which allows mediating the relationship between the objects and events world and of the theories and the models world.