Educação ambiental e a cartilha educativa como material didático para escola praiana: uma aprendizagem significativa para o ensino fundamental I

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the themes of Environmental Education (EE) that are most in need of dialogue in a school in a beach neighborhood and, based on this, to develop teaching material to promote meaningful learning of environmental themes in Primary School. The study is relevant given the lack of dialogue on environmental education in elementary schools, as noted in the systematic literature review (SLR), and is also significant due to the environmental problems faced by residents of the Redinha neighborhood in the city of Natal/RN. The methodology has an applied purpose, with an exploratory and descriptive objective, a mixed approach, deductive method, with technical procedures of bibliographic and field research. In the field, data was obtained through observations and questionnaires with teachers at the institution under study. The field research showed that teachers talk about environmental education, but not often. They don't consider environmental education activities to be superficial, but they accuse the lack of time, the lack of integration with the contents of the curriculum, the lack of teaching materials and financial resources as being the main challenges in carrying out environmental education. They believe that solid waste, environmental pollution and beach care are the topics most in need of dialog within the school. The teachers pointed out that environmental education is capable of awakening and raising awareness among students, as well as promoting changes in attitudes and contributing to the formation of multiplying citizens. It was clear that the teachers do not know or know very little about the SDGs, which compromises student awareness, the consolidation of the objectives and the consequent social transformation. In view of the results obtained during the bibliographical and field research, a need was diagnosed for the construction of teaching material, and the choice was made for an educational booklet with clear and accessible language, designed to serve as an instrument to support teachers in dialoguing about

environmental issues at school, and structured according to the stages of environmental education: awareness (I perceive), information (I learn) and action (I practice). In each topic discussed in the booklet, a link was made between scientific knowledge and the environmental problems faced by society. According to the teachers, the booklet is an instrument that is easy to apply and addresses issues that are relevant to raising students' environmental awareness.This study and the educational booklet could be an important source of knowledge about the local reality, serving as a foundation for creating strategies and improvements for teaching environmental education in the school context. In addition, it is worth highlighting the importance of the multiplier effect of this study, which, based on educational material, helped teachers to facilitate dialogue on environmental issues and brought knowledge to students, who will be able to disseminate this information beyond the school walls.