Ética e agroecologia na educação: considerações a partir de uma sequência didática sobre bioinsumo e agrofloresta

Abstract

The need for alternatives to conventional agricultural production systems and the relevance of discussing these issues in schools motivated this dissertation to investigate the ethical and moral dimensions involved in a didactic sequence on Agroecology, Bioinputs, and Agroforestry Systems (AFS), developed in a public school. In this context, Science Education, Environmental Education, and Ethics play a fundamental role in fostering critical reflections on food production systems and their environmental, social, and economic impacts. This study adopted a qualitative research approach based on the implementation of theoretical and practical activities inspired by the Three Pedagogical Moments framework: Initial Problematization, Knowledge Organization, and Knowledge Application. During the activities, students engaged in guided discussions on socio-environmental issues, answered questionnaires, and designed and implemented an Agroforestry System (AFS), referred to as an Agroforestry Backyard, within the school environment. Responses to the problematizing questions, as well as selected excerpts from the questionnaires, were analyzed and categorized according to anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric moral perspectives. The findings revealed that the didactic sequence on Agroecology enabled students to express a variety of moral tendencies, with a predominance of non-anthropocentric positions associated with the recognition of the intrinsic value of life and the interdependent relationships among human beings, nature, and society. Nevertheless, dilemmas involving direct human interests still elicited anthropocentric responses, highlighting the complexity of moral development in socio-environmental contexts. The results reinforce that activities based on moral dilemmas, agroecological practices, and contextualized debates are effective strategies for promoting ethical reflection among students in basic education, thereby contributing to a non-banking educational approach. This study contributes to the field by demonstrating the relevance of integrating ethical dimensions into Science and Environmental Education and by emphasizing the need to expand research and pedagogical practices that strengthen the ethical development of both students and educators in the face of contemporary socio-environmental challenges.