PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHERS WHO TEACH NATURAL SCIENCES: PRACTICES TO DECREASE ZOOCHAUVINISM
Teacher professional development, zoochauvinism, teaching Natural Sciences, ecological subjects.
The interconnection of living beings is extremely important for maintaining the existence of life on planet Earth. To do so, it is necessary to act contrary to zoochauvinism, this hyperfocus that we develop on ourselves and animals for our interests and studies. In order to contribute to this problem, we developed an Educational Product in the format of a teacher training course so that it helps teachers who teach Natural Sciences to develop less zoochauvinistic practices. From an ecological perspective and with a focus on education for sustainability, we propose a course organized into five meetings that encourage the exchange of knowledge to understand zoochauvinism and its socio-educational consequences, stimulating, mainly, reflection on the role of the teacher in a less zoochauvinistic society. Within the scope of this course, this research seeks to investigate the contribution of a teacher training course to the professional development of teachers who teach Natural Sciences from the perspective of reducing zoochauvinism. Taking into account its nature as an educational intervention, we methodologically frame the research as qualitative and participatory in nature. To construct the data, the procedures and instruments used to monitor the intervention and data collection process will be recordings of the proposed activities, as well as the textual productions carried out by the participants, teachers who teach Natural Sciences and future teachers. To analyze the data, we will use an analysis instrument aimed at the exegesis of the specific professional development of Science teachers, characterized in eight dimensions that characterize the work of teachers in this area of knowledge. This research is expected to understand how a context aimed at inserting the educator in reflections on less zoochauvinistic practices can contribute to the professional development of teachers and, in general, achieve a broader vision of the teaching of Natural Sciences, starting from a greater integration of all forms of life for better environmental preservation.