Das concepções às práticas de educação ambiental em escolas da AMAUC

Abstract

As we reflect on alternative actions for sustainability, one effective approach is Environmental Education, which, when developed in schools, enhances socialization and sensitivity toward actions aimed at the environment by fostering the development of attitudes, skills, and knowledge related to citizenship and sustainability. Thus, an effort was made to provide an overview of the reality of Environmental Education in schools within the Association of Municipalities of Alto Uruguai Catarinense (AMAUC). The theoretical basis is grounded in the critical perspective of Environmental Education. Regarding the methodology, a survey of school environmental actions was conducted. The research participants were 19 teachers (representing 19 schools), and a qualitative-quantitative approach was employed. For data collection, a semi-structured questionnaire with questions about environmental actions in the school was used. Regarding the results, one factor that needs to be considered is the precariousness of teaching work, whether due to excessive bureaucracies and demands, the lack of appreciation for teaching work, or the overload of work activities. These aspects were decisive in the lack of participation in the research and, thus, ultimately compromised the outcome of this study. In this regard, the results indicate that only 35.71% of the region's schools continuously carry out environmental activities. However, as it was not possible to obtain data from all the schools in the region, resulting in a discrepancy between the actual and obtained values, this result should be considered an estimate. As for how environmental activities are developed in schools, they occur as extracurricular projects, interdisciplinary actions, ecological visits, and school research, with practical activities that are explored in a disciplinary manner (inter-, multi-, or transdisciplinary). Regarding the conception internalized by the teachers, there was an emphasis on the implementation of critical environmental practices. However, it was observed that teachers still associate Environmental Education solely with environmental and ecological aspects of preservation and conservation, which indicates a conservative and pragmatic practice. Thus, there is a need for initial and ongoing training to enable the review and redefinition of concepts in environmental pedagogy.