O sistema produtivo de horta em círculos do modelo PAIS na aprendizagem de conceitos de sucessão ecológica: contribuições para a educação ambiental no ensino médio de uma escola agrícola

Abstract

Throughout history, humanity has been interfering in the natural environment in an increasingly impacting form, degrading environments, making them, many times, inappropriate for the survival of many animal and vegetal species. Environmental problems caused by air, water and soil pollution were emerging and intensifying, as well as socio-economic problems, as the disorderly occupation of urban spaces, the rural exodus and exposure to many chemicals, especially the so-called pesticides that are also part of contemporary life. It is known that the search for full development of human societies, consistent with the preservation of natural elements is the alternative capable to mitigate the progress of negative human actions on living environments. The development therefore needs to meet the environmental, social, economic and cultural dimensions, and should be the goal of all of us. Some professions, due to their competences and attributions, urgently need to have their functions rethought, in order to take professionals to reflect on their actions, changing their positions on environmental issues that emerge nowadays. This is the case, for example, of the Agricultural Technician. Thus, from these reflections, the inclusion of Environmental Education permeated by the theoretical and methodological assumptions of Paulo Freire in the context of those professionals training, has become an option towards the desired changes. From these epistemological possibilities, we performed this study that sought not only to know the reality of those professionals training, but to propose, during this process, inserted activities in a didactic sequence. Such procedures have been adopted in order to promote the learning of concepts involved in the ecological succession process, as well as the integration of the curriculum with the practice of environmental education and agroecology, through the analysis of the productive systems of traditional kitchen garden and circular kitchen garden in the model ISAP (Integrated Sustainable AgroEcological Production). The research was conducted from August to December 2014, with 26 students of the second and third years of the Technical Agriculture high school, at Escola Municipal Agrícola Governador Arnaldo Estevão de Figueiredo, located in the countryside of Campo Grande / MS. The research was based on the proposals of Paulo Freire organized by Demetrius Delizoicov (2011). The methodological aspects adopted constitute it as a qualitative research, have been used as instruments for collecting data questionnaires, preparation of observation reports and semi-structured interviews that were analyzed in the light of the content analysis proposed by Laurence Bardin (1977). After applying the didactic sequence it was possible to observed that the students started to refer to the nutrients as macronutrients and micronutrients and not simply fertilizer. Another conceptual change that occurred was about the appropriate use of the technical term intercropping among vegetal species, agroecological technique that allows higher resistance to potential pests. Furthermore, the type of irrigation has been considered, because in the microaspersion model it was observed that there is a greater expenditure of water. Thus, one can infer that the proposed methodology contributed to the process of teaching and learning the main concepts involved in the ecological succession process relating them to Environmental Education and the Agroecology and it was satisfactory to meet the proposed objectives, contributing the of knowledge, as well as to promote a change in postures about the modes of production in home gardens.