Representações sociais de Educação Ambiental de docentes da Educação Infantil

Environmental Education is essential for all education professionals, especially early childhood teachers. Knowledge about sustainability and social justice is essential to guide pedagogical practices that promote, from early childhood, a critical and responsible awareness of the environment and social issues. Therefore, this research aims to answer the following question: What are the Social Representations of Environmental Education held by teachers in Arapongas, (PR, Brazil)? The objective was to investigate these representations and obtain indicators capable of directing actions aimed at improving the understanding of Environmental Education among the city's teachers. The methodology was based on the structuralist approach of the Theory of Social Representations, with the application of semi-structured questionnaires. The sample consisted of 23 teachers from 10 Municipal Early Childhood Education Centers. The results indicated a predominance of the conservationist approach to Environmental Education, which focuses on natural resources without integrating social issues into the environment. Based on this data, we considered planning a continuing education course, aiming to bring teachers closer to topics involving sustainability.