What factors can influence children's perception of forests today and in the future?

Abstract

Ethnobiological studies regarding the environmental perception of children are still infrequent, creating a gap in the understanding of factors that influence the process of developing perception in this phase of life. Therefore, this study sought to verify the influence of some factors, such as contact with natural environments, gender, and age in elementary school students, between 11 and 15 years of age, about remnants of the Atlantic Forest, present and future. We observed that the elements represented by children did not differ in terms of contact with natural environments, but those who live in rural areas, represented more elements related to usefulness. Additionally, the children in this study did not show significant differences in environmental representations between genders, and an increase in age indicated the loss of ecological knowledge about the natural components of a forest environment, giving way to a more utilitarian and degraded view of the environment. In general, we can state that children have precise perceptions about forest environments, and a negative perspective regarding the future of forests. Furthermore, certain factors may come to have a strong influence on their perception, especially with increasing age and strengthening of culturally established social roles for different genders, which will strongly influence decision-making in favor of forests in the future.

Learning in the forest: environmental perception of Brazilian teenagers

“…Our research supports the idea that children are aware of environmental problems and demand guidance from the adult and institutional world for their solution. It is imperative to meet this demand towards environmental commitment and allow the new generations to do better than the previous ones (Sousa et al, 2021). In terms of open-mindedness, our research points to childhood as the period when human plasticity to overcome beliefs and values and adopt new attitudes towards reality is at its fullest, that is, it is when acculturation encounters less resistance (Vuong and Napier, 2015).…”

A Prática Docente E O Diálogo Entre Saberes No Ensino De Botânica

“…Conhecimento local deriva do tradicional, sendo utilizado para descrever costumes e crenças transmitidos de geração a geração em um meio social, o que lhe confere a característica dinâmica e mutável. Portanto, é importante considerar que os estudantes levam para a sala de aula conhecimentos e percepções construídas em sua realidade local, e eles podem prover informações interessantes para subsidiar debates sobre diversos temas nas aulas, incluindo os que envolvem as plantas (Sousa, Silva & Ramos, 2021).…”

“…Diante do que apresentamos neste estudo, observamos a necessidade de repensar a formação docente no ensino de biologia, especialmente no que tange à área de botânica, e isso precisa surgir desde a base, com a formação inicial dos professores, permeando a prática docente por intermédio de formações continuadas à luz do diálogo entre saberes. O ambiente escolar é um ambiente favorável para a construção social e desenvolvimento cultural dos jovens, assim como contribui no processo de construção da sua visão de mundo (Sousa, Silva & Ramos, 2021). Portanto, é necessário promover uma prática docente que leve em consideração o contexto sociocultural em que o aluno está inserido, uma vez que as experiências cotidianas e a reflexão-na-ação fazem com que esse o professor ultrapasse as teorias científicas, e considere também as experiências pessoais dos estudantes e os valores dos demais tipos de conhecimento (Silva, 2009).…”