Building a Critical-Transforming Environmental Education Proposal: Generator Themes as a Bridge Between the Ecological Trail and School.
Trails, Non-formal space, Generating Themes, Environmental Education
This research proposed to use Ecological Trails in activities integrated to formal education. The main objective was to analyze the methodology of thematic investigation, with the delimitation of possible Generating Themes, in a proposal of critical-transforming Environmental Education. The investigation took place through the action research method, where the researcher was a participating and active member throughout the investigative process. The questions that can be raised in this investigation are: The use of Generating Themes, obtained through the thematic investigation process, in a context of Critical-Transformative Environmental Education, integrating school and Ecological Trail, is capable of promoting reflections on environmental issues most relevant to a community and contribute to effective action for change? Can the Trails as non-formal spaces in a harmonious and planned relationship with the formal spaces provide moments of reflection on the socio-environmental issues that impact the members of the dynamics? These reflections are fundamental for the decision-making process and for overcoming the relationships that generate social inequalities. The research subjects are members of the school community of a public school, located in the municipality of Piraí. This research involved three stages, the first stage consists of an analysis of the literature to survey concepts related to the types of spaces dedicated to education, in the second stage a systematic review was carried out about the Trails in Brazil and the last stage was of Field Research, integrating participatory research in the chosen school and the Mata do Amador Trail, located in the Mata do Amador Municipal Park, in the municipality of Piraí. It is important to highlight that the third stage of the research underwent changes due to the COVID-19 Pandemic scenario, caused by the new coronavirus, SARS-COV-2. The results of this research showed that non-formal spaces, when used in a planned way, can help to achieve the objectives of Environmental Education proposed in Brazilian legislation. It is also believed that the macro trend of Environmental Education in a critical aspect is the position that can lead to a true and profound transformation in society. As a final result, a pedagogical environmental booklet was built that could be used in the future by other teachers in the municipality in activities with didactic objectives similar to those proposed.