EDUCATION AND AGROECOLOGY: Implementation of a reference school to strengthen the agroecological transition and peasant territories in Bonito/PE
Construction of agroecological knowledge; Rural Education; Territories; Public policies; Teacher training.
The training of people for the social transformation in peasant territories has been a central focus of discussions on agroecological transition processes, whether in universities, social movements, public authorities or private initiatives. This thesis aims to contribute to strengthening the actions of teachers, students of basic education and technicians in Agroecology, with regard to educational processes that expand the agroecological transition underway in the municipality of Bonito, in the Agreste region of Pernambuco.
The methodology developed was transdisciplinary, with a qualitative focus, through a rigorous Action Research process, with the Pedagogy of Support for Sustainable Development (PEADS) as its methodological guideline. Over the last eleven years, the municipality of Bonito has become a reference in the region regarding the agroecological transition processes developed by various social actors for the transformation of peasant territories, mainly the Municipal Policy and Plan for Agroecology and Organic Production. The results revealed that the training processes must be integrated with local dynamics, especially with the problems faced by the communities, seeking the construction of agroecological knowledge and the paradigmatic rupture in schools and peasant communities.
The training of teachers in the initial and final years of elementary school has proven to be a powerful strategy for engaging students, families and technicians in Agroecology in the dialogic relationship between the school and the community to develop the Implementation Guide for the Reference School in Agroecology and Rural Education in the Municipal Public School Network, the final product of this thesis. The school has become an important actor in the training of people and the implementation of the public policy of Rural Education, as it incorporates Agroecology into the curriculum, creating interfaces between the guidelines of basic education and the reality of rural people. The commitment of the social actors participating in the process, especially the municipal public education managers and the collective subjects of the Rural Education and agroecological movements in the territory, indicate the importance and hope for a better future through social transformation and the quality of life of the local populations.