Practical dimension of environmental education developed through School Environmental Projects in official institutions in Colombia

Abstract

This article shows the progress of a doctoral research entitled Guidelines on Environmental Education for the Structuring of PRAES in Official Educational Institutions of Ciénaga de Oro, Córdoba - Colombia. It focused on analyzing the practical dimension of environmental education, developed through the PRAE, in the official educational institutions Madre Bernarda and San Isidro, located in Ciénaga de Oro, Córdoba - Colombia. The study considers theoretical references from UNESCO (1980), Leff (1994), Ministry of the Environment -Ministry of National Education (2002), Sauvé (2005), Avendaño (2012), among others. It has a qualitative design framed in the interpretive research paradigm. Through the application of documentary hermeneutics and phenomenology, documents containing policies and guidelines of the Colombian State that guide the structuring of the RESPs were analyzed; and the testimony of focus groups of teachers and teaching managers belonging to the aforementioned educational institutions. In light of the analysis carried out, good intentions are perceived on the part of directors and teachers aimed at improving the environment, preserving it and reestablishing it, in addition to full awareness about the purpose, importance and significance of these projects aligned with the current of eco – education by Sauvé (1999) which refers to the relationship between person, society and environment. However, the actors interviewed recognize that currently the execution of these projects does not transcend mere compliance with a legal requirement. Disorientation is perceived regarding the formulation, application and monitoring of evaluation mechanisms that guarantee the effectiveness of these projects. The absence of these mechanisms seems to prevent the measurement of the environmental impact of the activities carried out. Therefore, it also prevents us from knowing the progress of both the PEI and the PRAES.