ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND INITIAL TEACHER TRAINING: TEACHING AND CONCEPTIONS OF PEDAGOGY STUDENTS

This paper analyzes the insertion of the environmental education in the Course of Pedagogy of a private higher education institution of Santa Maria, RS. The research is of qualitative approach, and the participants are 118 students from the second to the seventh semester of study who attended the Course in 2009. The data collection consisted of the analysis of the Pedagogical Project and the application of a questionnaire. The analysis of the information is based on the content analysis technique by Bardin (2004). It was noticed that environmental education is offered as an optional discipline and themes which refer to the environment are worked in some disciplines. The students consider the thematic to be important within the ambit of formation of teachers and school education. There are conceptions centered in the conservation of natural resources and in consciousness. Spaces are identified in the context of the Course in order to increase the practical studies of environmental education.