Discussions and Dilemmas on Methodological Issues at the XI Environmental Education Research Meeting: where are we heading?

Abstract

Environmental Education is characterized as a plural knowledge area and by encompassing an interdisciplinary diversity of research topics. Considering the perspective of methodologies, discussions still persist regarding the clarity of propositions and the theoretical foundation in the articles published in the EPEA. Thus, this text seeks to analyze the multi-referentiality of methodological perspectives of the works presented at EPEA 2023, based on the synthesis of discussions conducted by the GDP Methodology in previous editions, and their correlations/similarities or differences/distances in relation to the current situation of the published works. The qualitative nature research used exploratory surveying through descriptors related to “method” and “methodology”, with a systematization of the published works being carried out. Sixty-four works were found, separated into four categories: methodological choices, research characterization, participants, and data generation and analysis instruments. The results indicate that while Environmental Education has a tremendous strength in representing a theoretical framework with multiple research references in Brazil, this great diversity of approaches can indicate fragility and generate insecurity for research. However, it can also be seen as a potential for the field, as already noted in articles analyzed from previous events. In this year, it was distinguished by the dialogue with other areas of knowledge and the research participants, which expanded to a diversity of social actors.