Research Article

Rural Children’s Representations of the Land

Heloísa Giron 1 * , José Luís Ferraro 1
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1 Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), BRAZIL* Corresponding Author
Aquademia, 6(1), 2022, ep22002, https://doi.org/10.21601/aquademia/11892
Published: 10 March 2022
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ABSTRACT

In this study, we investigated children’s representations of the land while they participated on a place-based environmental education program in a Brazilian rural school. Environmental education activities aimed to foster a critical understanding of children’s contextual reality as residents of a rural settlement associated with the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST). We focused our analysis in the representations of the land, due to the symbolism it carries for farmers and activists for agrarian reform. From the analysis of the materials produced in the activities and the field notes of participatory observation, we identified three categories in children’s representations: (I) land as the provider, (II) land as home and (III) land as the biodiversity. In these categories, we observed children understand land as a constituent of their contextual reality. These results reinforce the pedagogical potential of interacting with land, particularly in the development place attachment and pro-environmental place meanings.
Keywords: landless workers’ movement, rural children, land representation, place attachment, place meaning, participatory action research

CITATION (APA)

Giron, H., & Ferraro, J. L. (2022). Rural Children’s Representations of the Land. Aquademia, 6(1), ep22002. https://doi.org/10.21601/aquademia/11892

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