A representação social e a educação ambiental: um estudo de caso dos alunos de ensino médio de uma escola pública do município de São Gabriel/RS

Abstract

Through environmental education, it is possible to construct society in which responsibility towards the environment arouses not only knowledge, but also, the respect for nature. Any action to modify those practices requires a proper education and a critical attitude towards the challenges of environmental preservation. In this way, the main objective of this study was understand of the obstacles and potentialities of the students in the Escola Técnica São Gabriel from the social representation to the construction of environmental education. In order to answer the research questions and the objectives of this study, it was used a semi-structured script. The analysis of the content was the method used to interpret the interviews, based on the concepts by the following authors: Laurence Bardin. In order to understand were studied on the representative and symbolic aspects of social actor`s concepts of Serge Moscovici. Nine interviews were conducted with high school students at Escola Técnica São Gabriel. The arguments based on the lack of knowledge about the water resources, basic sanitation, besides, diffuse perceptions about water that we consume, destiny of the sewage were some of the characteristics found in the social representations of the students. The final conclusion of this study is that methodologies of environmental education in the school will be architected with emphasis on solid waste and water resources. Thus, this study gathers subsidies of environmental education strategies also contributing to formal and non-formal education efficiently.