ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND PESTICIDES: A STUDY BASED ON PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL II

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the insertion of environmental education (EE) in the Political Pedagogical Project (PPP) of a rural school in Pato Branco, Paraná, and how the subject of pesticides is related to EE in the ninth grade of Elementary School (EF). For this, the guidelines of the Department of Education of the State of Paraná regarding EE were analyzed. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six professors from different areas of knowledge and analyzed using Bardin's Content Analysis technique. The analysis of the documents suggests that EE needs to be seen not only as an isolated discipline, but rather as a holistic educational approach that should be incorporated into all fields of study in a transversal, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary manner. The interviews revealed that the topic of pesticides is not included in the contents of the subjects in the school's PPP and is little addressed in the classroom. The teachers pointed out the lack of adequate content on pesticides in the ninth grade of EF, which can lead to a relevant gap, since students may be deprived of sufficient information about the impacts of these substances on society and the environment.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2025.001-026