Meio ambiente e educação ambiental: análise sobre os saberes de educadores de uma escola ribeirinha no contexto cultural da Ilha de Santana/Amapá

Abstract

Environmental issues are increasingly present in people’s lives, bringing serious negative impacts, and on the global stage such concerns have sparked diverse debates involving multiple dimensions related to the environment. The district of Ilha de Santana is not exempt from these challenges, despite its rich biodiversity, which remains essential for the well-being of the local community. The research was conducted in this district because it is a riverside community whose way of life is closely tied to nature and the assets she has for survival, although the local context also presents significant environmental challenges such as inadequate waste disposal and open sewage. The locus of investigation was a state school located in this territory, as well as the community itself, considered in its observed reality. Based on these motivating factors, the research problem was outlined as follows: what knowledge do the teachers of Osvaldina Ferreira da Silva School have about the environment and environmental education within the cultural context of Ilha de Santana? The general objective was to analyze the knowledge of teachers at Osvaldina Ferreira da Silva School regarding the environment and environmental education in the cultural context of Ilha de Santana, and the specific objectives were to characterize the cultural context of Ilha de Santana by highlighting local environmental issues, to discuss environmental education in terms of its origins, concepts, approaches, and its relationship with riverside education, and to identify the knowledge of teachers at Osvaldina Ferreira da Silva State School that demonstrates an interface with environmental education and the local environment. Methodologically, the research was grounded in the hermeneutic-dialectical method (Minayo, 2008), through a qualitative approach (Gamboa, 2003), in the form of a case study (Yin, 2015). The locus was the Osvaldina Ferreira da Silva State School, with participants being teachers of the final years of Elementary Education (6th to 9th grade). For data generation, participant observation (Mazzotti, 2002) was employed in the context of Ilha de Santana, along with a conversation circle (Moura & Lima, 2014), inspired by the culture circle (Freire, 1987), conducted with participants and motivated by themes related to vegetation cover, family farming, waste and solid residues, water, and sanitation, presented through photographs taken in the community. Data organization and analysis were supported by the assumptions of Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Among the main results generated, the research pointed out, through the statements of the participants in the discussion group, central problems occurring in the community related to the topics discussed, which highlighted the need for an integrated, critical and transformative approach between the community and the school that addresses both structural and infrastructure issues, as well as attitudinal guidance for mitigating environmental problems.