A complexidade nas relações entre saúde e agrotóxicos apresentadas por estudantes de escolas do campo: incursões no ensino de ciências e na cultura local

Abstract

Rural schools represent an important space for discussing topics relevant to society and that are part of the reality experienced by students, such as the use of pesticides. The approach to this theme has become more common and comprehensive in different areas, such as education and health, due to the growth of agribusiness in the country and because it represents a significant economic and social factor, with direct influences on health and on the concept of health formed by the population. Thus, rural schools are directly influenced by being located in rural production areas. In addition, current legislation highlights the need to address issues that are part of the context in the curriculum of these schools, in order to instigate critical thinking, together with possibilities to see the field as a space for research. Inserted in this scenario, this research aims to understand the teenagers conceptions regarding the topic of pesticides and their influence on health, and the research field was the state schools in the countryside of the western region of Paraná. Descriptive and qualitative methodology was used, with Discursive Textual Analysis. Prior to the construction of the data, an instrument was built for pilot testing, submitted to a rural school in another region. After the first analysis of this instrument, five researchers from different educational institutions and fields of activity were selected to evaluate the instrument, with suggestions for changes and adjustments. After this phase, data was constructed with students from four rural schools in the western region, with recorded collective interviews and written records. In the data analysis, categories were constructed entitled: relationship between health and pesticides, dialogue between education and health, controversy and contradiction in the approach to the topic of pesticides, and teaching through research as a tool for change. The analysis indicated that students demonstrated identification of regional problems, such as the use of pesticides, however, the understanding of health as part of their reality and collectively constructed needs to be further discussed and problematized in school spaces. The importance of teaching through research in schools was something that emerged and presented itself as relevant, as it allows for a more critical look at controversial issues, such as that related to pesticides. Thus, science education acts significantly when considering the importance of bringing health and acting in the connection of issues that address health and its complexity, as well as the role of professionals in the dialectical interaction between school and society.