Temas ambientais e concepções docentes no ensino de Ciências e Biologia: um estudo em escolas estaduais no município de São Gonçalo, RJ

Abstract

The environmental crisis is a civilizational crisis affecting a model of society and its mode of production, making it important to provide teaching that promotes the connection between scientific and environmental aspects and connects them to students' realities, enabling them to understand environmental issues from social, economic, and political perspectives. The objective of this study was to investigate teachers' conceptions of approaches to environmental issues and curricular materials used in Science and Biology teaching in state schools in the municipality of São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro state. The research adopted a qualitative methodological approach, and interviews were conducted with six Science and Biology teachers from state schools in the municipality of São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, in 2023. The technique used was content analysis. Analysis of the testimonies indicated that the six teachers addressed environmental issues in school, most frequently in lectures, and that Environmental Education was developed sporadically. Textbooks were the materials cited by the teachers as the most frequently used during planning, despite their fragmented and superficial approach to environmental issues. The teachers' testimonies revealed a globalizing conception of the environment and a socio-environmental conception of nature. Teachers stated that they understood society as a place of interactions and relationships not only physical and biological, but also social, between individuals of various species. Most understood biodiversity as the diversity of life in general, from simple to complex species, and their interactions with each other. Analysis of the teachers' testimonies revealed a valorization of experiential knowledge on environmental issues in initial and continuing teacher training, as well as critical aspects in teachers' narratives on socio-environmental issues, although teachers aligned themselves with the pragmatic trend of environmental education. The research contributes to deeper reflections on the teaching of environmental issues and environmental education practices in schools. Keywords: science and biology; education; environmental