Educational Practices: A Study on Environmental Education in Urban Parks and Botanical Gardens of Salvador, Bahia- Brazil

Abstract

This study presents an interpretative analysis of the educational practices developed by urban parks and botanical gardens in the city of Salvador - Bahia- Brazil. The investigation is centered on the experiences of professionals who develop environmental education activities in these learning spaces. The work highlights a multiplicity of dimensions when making a detailed description of the situations and experiences of educational actors and community participants who are involved in the process of environmental education in different educational spaces in the municipality. The research asks: do the educational practices developed in urban parks and in the botanical garden of Salvador contribute to the process of environmental education in the municipality? The general objective of the work seeks to identify the contribution of educational practices developed in urban parks and in the Botanical Garden of Salvador. The applied methodology is of a qualitative character, traversing interpretive approaches of an ethnographic nature through the description or analytical reconstruction of the customary ways of living and developing educational practices in these learning spaces. The results point to categories of analysis that converge to the emergence of new public policies, conservation of urban parks, botanical gardens and professional qualification. The conclusions indicate a long journey to be taken by the educational actors in these studied spaces, since several challenges are faced. Thus, several specific elements emerged for the analysis of the observed practices, namely: formation of values, care, community awareness, social inclusion and the eradication of child labor.