Urban biodiversity and environmental education: sixth grade students' conceptions and practices associated with the interface between school and city (São Carlos, SP)

• Grant number: 13/02289-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2013
• End date: December 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Haydée Torres de Oliveira
• Grantee: Raquel Bianconi Angelo
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The society faces a serious socio-environmental crisis and the environmental degradation, which is caused primarily by human actions, has put the human being's survival in risk and it can become a severe disequilibrium into the ecosystems. To transform these realities which provokes this crisis it would be necessary the promotion of innovative actions which use the educational process as a confronter of attitudes, values and conceptions and lead the planet biodiversity conservation. The urban environment also includes the biodiversity and it becomes a very important indicator of the quality of life. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the sixth grade students' conceptions about biodiversity in the urban context and these students' perceptions about the importance of this element. The relations between the biodiversity in the urban context and the environmental quality will be studied too. The collecting data will use questionnaires, draw productions, participant observation and educative material and activities' analysis about the theme. The research is defined as an intervention-research and it will involve the production and analyze of materials and environmental education practices (for example: visit the natural areas, intermediate and green urban's areas and use of different didactics resources - games, videos, and so on) based on the initial data. Then, the study pretends to understand how the biodiversity theme has been presented and to collaborate to increasing the theme approach into the school. (AU)