Da teoria à prática em políticas públicas de educação ambiental: o caso de Bauru-SP

Abstract

From the perspective of the Municipal Environmental Education Programme (PMEA) of Bauru (SP) to be consolidated as a public policy, this study aimed to evaluate the Programme to subsidize its improvement process. In this sense, we analyzed whether the PMEA, as it was being structured in practice, was in line with its theoretical assumptions, that is, of critical environmental education and whether it had the potential to achieve its goal of forming future critical and cooperative citizens.To this end, we seek to understand how the PMEA could manifest itself in the context of public management and environmental educational practices, as well as conducting an analysis of this Programme in the light of the evaluation indicators for public policies on environmental education. In this qualitative research, we obtained the data from interviews with educators and public managers involved in the Programme, in addition to field observations and documentary analysis. Afterward, we proceeded to the analysis and interpretation, using the techniques of content analysis and evaluation by indicators. It was possible to highlight the PMEA's potential, such as the possibility of experiencing and problematizing complex situations and themes, enabling overcoming the fragmentation of reality. We found that different conceptions of environmental education influence the views of managers and the practices of educators. It became clear the need for a training process that can assist the educators in the development of critical environmental education and in meeting the program's theoretical assumptions. Still, the need to elaborate a legal instrument and effective incorporation of the PMEA in the organizational structure of the municipal public power was emphasized, aiming at better support for the implementation and execution of the Programme, as well as a greater guarantee of continuity. In this regard, the expectation is that the potentialities pointed are highlighted and that the weaknesses are corrected so that PMEA can achieve its objectives, expand and consolidate itself as a public policy.