Understanding the Problem of Environmental Pollution by Use of Agrochemicals Through Environmental Education

Abstract

We present the preliminary results of the project titled “Comprehension of the environmental pollution problem by the use of agrochemical products through the environmental education”, which is being developed at the Institución Educativa Técnica la Libertad campus Peña de Aguilas, in the municipality of Samacá, Department of Boyacá. The prioritized investigation problem is located, on one hand, in the identification of a culture of indiscriminate use of agrochemical products in the community from sixty years ago until now and, on the other hand, in the absence of academic processes from the educational institution above that involve the comprehension of environmental problems inside their territory. The guiding question of the process is: “How to contribute in the comprehension of the environmental pollution problem by the indiscriminate use of agrochemical products in Vereda Peña de Aguilas in the municipality of Samacá, through a pedagogical proposal?” The project is performed under the socio critical paradigm, with a qualitative approach and Investigation–Action research type, with a sample of nine students of the fifth grade from the previously mentioned educational institution. During the first phase, an exploration was made on the conceptions installed in the students about environment, environmental problems and agrochemical products, through a questionary; this showed that the conceptions are located in two tendencies: the first one with a naturalist vision where the man is excluded from nature, and the second one with an anthropocentric vision where the man is separated or set apart from nature.