Distanciamento e aproximações da Física e seu ensino com a educação ambiental na perspectiva de professores de Física

Abstract

This study was developed with the objective of identifying the relationships that basic education Physics teachers establish between Physics and Environmental Education. To this end, a qualitative investigation was carried out, in which three active Physics teachers were interviewed. To support the analysis of the interviews, the framework of cores of meaning was adopted, which made it possible to identify processes of meaning construction developed by the participants regarding the relationship between Physics and Environmental Education, based on their educational trajectories, professional experiences, conceptions of science, teaching, the environment, and working conditions. Based on the analysis of the interviews, five meaning cores were identified: the relationship between Physics and Environmental Education is permeated by approximations and distances; Environmental Education in Physics teaching consists of addressing socio-environmental themes in which physical phenomena are present; Environmental Education and socio-environmental themes are occasional or nonexistent in Physics teacher education programs; the presence or absence of a relationship between Physics and Environmental Education in high school is strongly linked to the current curriculum and to students’ demands; and Environmental Education involves interdisciplinary work, since socio-environmental themes encompass different dimensions of the relationship with the environment. Through the identification of these cores, it was found that the relationship between Physics and Environmental Education is still marked by contradictions, since teachers often identify such relationships and recognize the potential of articulating these areas, but their effective implementation in the classroom still faces obstacles related to prejudices, views on science, recognition of their role as Physics teachers, and the lack of space for Environmental Education in Physics teacher education programs and in high school curricula. The results obtained prompt reflection on ways to expand the presence of Environmental Education in Physics classes and show that this requires a broad restructuring of teacher education programs and of the way school curricula address Physics as a subject.