A educação ambiental nas escolas: um instrumento de sensibilização para as questões ambientais de alunos do ensino médio

Abstract

The school is a place that favors discussions about the environment, environmental issues and the practices of Environmental Education as an instrument to raise awareness among high school students. The aim of this study was to carry out an investigative practice to assess and deepen the knowledge of young people about environmental issues. The target audience was 62 students from the 2nd year of high school, from a state public school in the city of Caxias-MA. The action research methodology guided the work. The results of a diagnosis showed a predominance of the anthropocentric and globalizing views of the environment in one group and in the other, the naturalistic and globalizing views; approximately half of the students master the current concept of Environmental Education. The students were able to identify the environmental problems present in the municipality and the school and to relate them to human action. The observation of images of natural and built landscapes aroused countless feelings and sensations, with emphasis on the environmental problems associated with negative feelings. On a trail through the school, students identified several environmental issues, and from these they raised hypotheses, discussed and made proposals for solutions to the most urgent ones, thus experiencing an investigative activity. After the application of an interview, it was verified that the students liked the practice they participated in, the dissemination of results to the school community and the realization of some proposals. They were also convinced that environmental problems stem from human action and assume different proportions and internalized that they are also responsible for caring for the environment. Environmental Education promotes awareness, but not everyone is still experiencing to act or be a protagonist. Therefore, it is believed to be important to propose Environmental Education activities on a continuous basis throughout Basic Education, from Elementary to High School.