O saber ambiental no semiárido: trilhando práticas pedagógicas e participativa para o uso consciente da água na comunidade escolar – Cícero Dantas/BA

Abstract

The relationship between people and water in Brazil‟s semi-arid region reveals a context marked by historical challenges, in which water scarcity and irregular rainfall, combined with limitations in water collection and distribution infrastructure, have directly affected the quality of life of local communities. In this regard, the present study focuses on socioenvironmental education based on the water-related demands of the semi-arid region throughout the final years of elementary school. Within this context, by mobilizing environmental, social, economic, political, historical, and other forms of knowledge, it becomes possible to engage with the region‟s cultural, social, and environmental specificities, while respecting local knowledge and integrating educational practices that connect with the lived realities of the communities. The general objective of the research was to analyze the importance of water in the semi-arid region through the development of pedagogical and participatory practices within the school context that contribute to the critical education of individuals from an Environmental Sciences perspective. Accordingly, a qualitative approach was adopted through a critical and participatory educational practice. The methodological procedures included a literature review, documentary research, participant observation, discussion circles with students, and pedagogical workshops. The techniques employed were structured around a pedagogical intervention involving 19 ninth-grade students from Colégio Municipal Marinho Gomes de Oliveira, aged between 14 and 15, conducted from March to April 2026. The intervention sought to understand the contradictions between pedagogical practices and the students‟ socio-environmental realities. In light of this, the study systematized meaningful educational practices by promoting knowledge about access to water in the semi-arid region, fostering students‟ critical education and the appreciation of environmental knowledge. As a pedagogical product, an educational booklet was developed outlining learning pathways for the education of “sowers of environmental knowledge” committed to coexistence with the semi-arid region, with an emphasis on water use and the strengthening of socio-environmental belonging. Therefore, the research contributed to enhancing the school‟s role as a space for transformation within the semi-arid context, highlighting the relevance of participatory pedagogical practices in the final years of elementary school.