As diferentes correntes epistemológicas e suas implicações para a pesquisa em educação ambiental

Abstract

This article aims to reflect an interest in epistemological and civic issues and its implications in education research. It presents different politico-epistemological bases to carry out research in the environmental education area. Emphasizes their importance to the scientific culture and environmental citizenship. Admits the contribution of environmental education to new forms of citizenship of an environmental nature must not be limited to dealing with issues of knowledge but it cannot ignore them either. It also admits the current lack of epistemological trust in modern science forces us to think about new epistemological dimensions. At a time, when we are beginning an era of more or less radical critique of modernity and we already envision the contours of a new order - that of 'post-modernity' - we must not only pay heed to the "ethos" of modern science but also to that of techno-science or post-modern science. Therefore, the aims of this article are: to question environmental education research based on epistemology of science that 'forgets' that not all conditioning factors of scientific procedures are inherent to scientific work; to show socio-environmental imperatives that force us to think about a 'new' epistemology; to discuss the current lack of epistemological trust in modern science; to rethink and to revaluate traffics and links among epistemological criterions that legitimate different forms of citizenship, of science and of environmental education; to break with the positivist paradigm that modern science has been based on; to face a re-evaluation of the relation science/citizens; to compare the construction of technique rationalities with the construction of environmental rationalities that favour overcoming the cognitive "schism" science-citizens and keeping in mind a "new" social and technological science dimension - an ethically ambivalent dimension that builds up and destroys the world.