Abstract:

The development of Syntropic Environmental Education (SEE) involves themes related to environmental, physical, and emotional health, food and nutritional security, and citizen science. It presupposes a diagnosis of existing conditions in the school context, as well as the interest and participation of the team. This collaborative research between universities and schools identified and analyzed dimensions of the educational process and their relationship with the assumptions of SEE. The instrument "Quality Indicators in Education: Elementary Education" was used and adapted, establishing a dynamic diagnosis of human, environmental, and pedagogical resources based on their frequency. The indicators, valued between 0 and 2 points, supported the qualitative analysis to diagnose potentials and weaknesses for implementing SEE themes in schools. Data was obtained between April and May 2021 in meetings with university researchers and staff from five schools. The results indicate that the Educational Environment (1.88 pts) is a dimension with a strong presence in schools, fostering dialogue for incorporating practices and components proposed by SEE. Pedagogical practices and evaluation (1.80 pts), involving the pedagogical project (PP), planning, contextualization, inclusion, and monitoring, are important for officially integrating SEE into the school context. Weaknesses indicated by schools, such as limited participation and knowledge of teachers and the community about PP, contextualization, and evaluation, can be addressed through SEE practices. Access/permanence and monitoring of student progress reached 1.75 pts, but some schools lack computerized systems for student attendance and monitoring learning difficulties. The dimensions of Teaching-learning reading/writing and Training/working conditions (1.65 pts) show weaknesses in some schools, particularly in access to reading rooms, the internet, and integrated networks that support learning to read/write. The development of SEE presupposes collaboration with social networks and the use of technologies that can contribute to this dimension. The physical environment of schools (1.55 pts) reveals weaknesses in the physical structure, such as reading rooms, computers, courtyards with adequate equipment, and lack of structures for green spaces. SEE themes encourage the construction/adaptation of green structures, like school gardens and areas for studying local biodiversity as living laboratories for syntropic teaching and the development of numerous curricular components. School management (1.27 pts) underscores the absence of councils, groups, dissemination mechanisms, and effective community participation in all schools. The assumptions of SEE, in the context of collaborative research, promote the participation and engagement of educators and school managers. It is concluded that the quality of basic education in the dimensions studied, together with the teams from the five schools, shows potential for the development of SEE themes, which, in turn, can address many highlighted weaknesses. The effective implementation of SEE in schools can enhance educational quality and prepare students to be aware and responsible citizens, actively contributing to environmental stewardship.

Keywords:

School environment, Teacher training, Quality Indicators, Qualitative research, Collaborative research.