Biodiversity and environmental Education in a public basic school: a case study in São Carlos - SP

• Grant number: 11/22106-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2012
• End date: December 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Haydée Torres de Oliveira
• Grantee: Camila Martins
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Biodiversity conservation is one of the most important topics of discussion today, although the term is polysemous and not quite well defined in the literature. Raise the understanding of the concepts of biodiversity by students and teachers of formal basic education by addressing critical environmental education is also a way of raising awareness about the importance of biological diversity and promote the values and attitudes to the preservation of the natural environment. A strategy that we intend to investigate is the use of the concept of "umbrella species", which are species that need large areas to live, thus preserving the areas that can help preserve these animals and many other species that live in given ecosystem. Therefore, the present research aims to: investigate the conceptions of biodiversity from students and their Science teachers of the Municipal Education of São Carlos; investigate the conceptions of natural environment and Environmental Education by the Science teachers; and, finally, investigate the practices that those educators develop about the biodiversity and the importance of umbrella species preservation. From this, the investigation looks for understand the articulation between: the conceptions of biodiversity, natural environment and Environmental Education by Science teachers; the Environmental Education practices developed by these educators; and the concept of biodiversity of the students. Questionnaires, interviews and participant observation will be used to collect the data and to establish categories in order to analyze the information acquired. In doing so we intend to be able to suggest activities in order to improve the approach of these issues in basic school.(AU)