Educação Ambiental na Educação Infantil: o despertar da consciência

Abstract

This study investigates Environmental Education (EE) in Early Childhood Education, focusing on how conscious and responsible attitudes are developed at this stage of education. The central objective was to understand how conscious and responsible attitudes are awakened in Early Childhood Education, considering children and teachers, contrasting two realities: the urban one and that of the peoples of the waters and forests (indigenous and riverside communities). The research is justified by the need to guide the formation of proactive citizens, aiming at improving the quality of life and strengthening sustainable practices from childhood. Methodologically, a qualitative approach (Ludke & André, 2008) of the case study type (Creswell, 2014) and participatory research (Brandão, 2007) was chosen. It was developed with two preschool II classes in public institutions in Humaitá – AM, one in the urban area and the other in the rural area. This study was conducted in a field within a community of water and forest dwellers (indigenous and riverside communities). Data collection involved semi-structured interviews, recorded and transcribed, with two teachers and pedagogical experimentation activities with 24 children (15 from the urban daycare and 7 from the Pupunha village), in preschool II classes. Four a priori categories emerged from the results: Perception of the environment in early childhood/preschool education; Perception of teacher training for Environmental Education; Conception of pedagogical practice of Environmental Education in Early Childhood Education; Challenges and possibilities of teaching Environmental Education in Early Childhood Education. The analysis of the categories followed the precepts of Bardin's Content Analysis (2011). The importance of continuing education is not seen as an accumulation of certificates, but as a refinement of the teacher's sensitivity, in this case, regarding Environmental Education. For the child, whether urban or rural, from the waters and forests, guiding them towards conscious and sustainable attitudes means allowing them to experience the concepts in contact with nature in a way that breaks down barriers. With a view of nature as a distant setting or a "theme" from a book, transforming it into an experience of belonging. In particular, for children of water and forests, the environment is their own home, and the school must validate this sensory knowledge, transforming "playing on the land" into an act of recognizing their own dignity and protecting their territory. Therefore, the data indicate that when Environmental Education in childhood is mediated by "unwalling," the child's natural curiosity is converted into an effective awakening of conscious and responsible socio-environmental attitudes. Finally, there are indications of the need to review teacher training to meet the needs of this audience and theme.