Educação ambiental crítica e teoria crítica: uma análise das práticas educativas de pesquisa-ação à luz da categoria práxis transformadora

Abstract

Critical environmental education is currently understood as a perspective that guides the search for transformations in concrete reality through praxiological educational practices. The same can be said of the action research methodology. Since this is a reference for many educators (researchers) take it as a reference to develop their practices, seeking to contemplate the emancipation of subjects, criticality and praxis, assumptions of the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School. However, it is not uncommon for prolonged time, a perspective to prove itself from its theoretical framework. In this sense, this research aimed to analyze the criticality of educational practices applied in action-research dynamics in the field of critical environmental education, in the light of the transforming praxis category, understood here as the collective theoretical/practical effort, oriented to the transformation of concrete reality in search of overcoming socio-environmental contradictions produced by capitalism (TORRES, 2010). To define this category, the searchers demonstrate how the assumptions of Critical Theory underlie the Liberating Education (FREIRE, 2017), which, in turn, help to support the methodology of action research (BALDISSERA, 2001; THIOLLENT, 1986; TOZONI-REIS, 2005; VIEZZER, 2005) and Critical-Transformative Environmental Education (TORRES, 2010). To obtain the data, a survey of articles published in the main journals in the field of Brazilian environmental education was carried out between 2015 and 2019. Only nine articles, among the 1.172 found in the bibliographic research (action-research; participant action-research and participatory action-research) report an educational practice in line with action research, referenced by authors of critical environmental education. From the documentary analysis, we investigate whether the educational practices in question, carry out, approach or distance themselves from the concept of transformative praxis. According to this analysis, it was found that only one article reported a practice that contemplated the analytical category, four approached, and three that distanced. An article was excluded due to lack of information to allow analysis. The results presented indicate a great distance between the discourse and the practice in the field of critical environmental education, emphasizing the need for this approach so that the objectives of critical educational practices are achieved.