A tecnologia hidropônica como prática pedagógica na construção de concepções de ambiente

Abstract

Through this research, we have intended to understand the environment conception of students from elementary school (eighth grade in 2004) who took part during fifth, sixth and seventh grades in environmental education s pedagogical activities developed in a public school from Uberlândia, state of Minas Gerais, and based on the hydroponics technology. Data come from texts written by the students and from semistructured interviews aimed at investigating how they developed their environment conception. Hydroponics technology was employed in pedagogical activities linked to Natural Sciences and Farming Techniques subjects, since we believe it is possible to make students to conceive the environment as something that goes beyond the nature context. As we understand them, the new demands of a technological society require a school able to offer students conditions for them to develop knowledge and above all to analyze changes in this society having in view socioenvironmental problems and solutions. When these activities begun the majority of students had a naturalist conception of environment. Data analysis has revealed, however, that great part of them expresses opinions classifiable as a participative environment conception: a vision that integrates social and natural elements and in which man is responsible for building/changing the environment.