Crise da Biodiversidade: Tendências Científicas e as Concepções dos Professores de Ciências da Natureza

Abstract

Biodiversity encompasses all varieties of life on planet Earth, and its conservation is fundamental for the environmental balance of all ecosystems. Events such as climate change and rampant deforestation have caused a true biodiversity crisis (massive loss of living beings), which represents a serious socio-environmental problem for future generations. The objective of this work was to evaluate: I) through bibliometry and content analysis, the scientific trends on the Biodiversity Crisis and II) through interviews, to assess the conceptions of Natural Sciences teachers on the topic of the Biodiversity Crisis. The results found demonstrated that the bibliographic production encompassing the biodiversity crisis in education is not centralized in one country, one author, or even one research group. Brazil stands out among the productions, as on the Scielo platform the vast majority of the articles were by Brazilian authors and institutions. Scientific production shows trends of encouraging classroom discussion around the Biodiversity Crisis in education, focusing on socio-environmental issues, valuing an education that engages with sustainable development, environmental awareness, and environmental education. Moreover, the diagnosis on the conceptions of Natural Sciences teachers regarding the biodiversity crisis revealed that, although the teachers have knowledge and address the topic in their classes, these classes are not aligned with the trends discussed in global scientific research. Thus, for the most part, the classes are expository with a focus on concepts. Without highlighting, the relationship between the biodiversity crisis and social issues. This fact hinders the systemic understanding of the biodiversity crisis, as there is no interrelation between nature and our societies. In this way, it is suggested that education bring these discussions into the classroom in a systematic manner. Placing the environment at the center of discussions and not on the side, as a conceptual point discussed in various educational spheres. It is important to highlight the idea that everything is connected and to recognize that the biodiversity crisis, like other environmental events, is not an isolated event, but a global one, that affects all of us as a society cohabiting a planet.