Understanding the teachers’ knowledge and conceptions on environmental education contributes to a holistic, social, and environmental vision in training of environmental educators in contemporary society. The study was developed at the State School Francisco Filho, an agricultural and extractive settlement from the village of Anauerapucu in Santana city in the state of Amapa. The intention was to reflect on the knowledge and environmental perceptions in a holistic and/or environmental theoretical perspective. The research was qualitative-quantitative approach, with a case study procedure, following the steps: 1) bibliographic survey; 2) direct observation; 3) documentary research of the projects and plans at the school; 4) semi-structured interviews with the teachers of all levels; 5) focus group sessions with all the teachers; and 6) analysis-quantitative of the data collected. Most of investigation subjects are young people, single; and have completed higher education. Among them, 10% have Lato Sensu specialization course, and for this reason, most of the teachers work at the second level of Elementary Education and/or high school. In spite of most of them work in a romantic/naturalist environmental perception, they are aware of the main local environmental problems, in other words, despite their fragmented view, they are careful about everyday students problems. Most teachers had difficulties to express their understanding about environmental education (EE). During the data collection, it was observed that teachers do not get to untie the notion of EE and environmental problems to the myth of unspoiled nature. Regarding the transversality of EE in the curriculum, interviews shows that teachers cannot conceptualize the EE. However, in the focus group sessions teachers demonstrated knowledge and methodological alternatives for teaching transversally EE in the curriculum. In this sense, we can say that the day-to-day knowledge acquired in teaching educational practice, are essential to perform EE in a holistic and socio-environmental way. Although, we know that one of the biggest challenges of EE, today, is to ensure the development of a curriculum based on an interdisciplinary, transversal, and problematizing perspective of the social-environmental reality in the educational process.
|
