Pesquisa multirreferencial em educação ambiental: bases sócio-culturais-político-epistemológicas

Abstract

This article presents different socio-cultural and politico-epistemological bases to carry out research in the area of Environmental Education and emphasizes their importance to the (in)formation of the citizen in contemporary society. A scheme of reference is outlined through which a complex picture of citizenship in this contemporary society - seen in terms of fluid and temporary "states" - can be built up. The role of knowledge / non-knowledge and the increasingly important arena of social / cultural relations in the transformation of structures and their effect on citizen (in)formation are focused on. The plurality of environmental education as a viable alternative to overcome the accelerating fragmentation of knowledge and the growth of social / learning spaces in society are pointed out. Some of the ways of organizing knowledge through various disciplinary (multi- pluri- inter-) approaches are discussed. Their limitations lead the author to argue for multireferentiality as another perspective for understanding and researching the area of environmental education. This aims to bring together scientific academic knowledge and different ways of organizing knowledge found within the social-cultural context (religious, mythical, artistic...).