Educação para redução de riscos de desastres relacionados a deslizamentos: um modelo transdisciplinar aplicado no Colégio Estadual Salustiano J.R. Serafim, Nova Friburgo (RJ)

Abstract

This thesis investigates the effects of integrating Climate Education (CE) and Education for Disaster Risk Reduction (EDRR) through a transdisciplinary approach. The study was carried out in a pilot school in the Serrana Region of Rio de Janeiro, a mountainous area vulnerable to extreme weather events, such as the catastrophic landslides and floods of 2011. The overall aim was to develop a participatory model for the school community, to consolidate a new culture of living with these risks. The research is theoretically based on the Ecology of Knowledge, which proposes integrating scientific knowledge with local popular knowledge. The methodology adopted was action research, implemented over three years (2022-2024) at the Salustiano José Ribeiro Serafim State School in Nova Friburgo. The work was structured around three principal axes. The first was participatory mapping, in which high school students identified perceived risks (meteorological, infrastructure, violence) and emergency resources in the neighborhood using map images. The second axis consisted of applying a transdisciplinary model, with two cycles of lessons (2023-2024) that integrated the themes of CE and ERRD in all 11 subjects. Examples include building rain gauges (Mathematics), creating emergency booklets (Portuguese), analyzing the albedo effect (Physics) and drawing up a timeline of local disasters (History). The third axis was the production collective screening of the documentary “The tragedy of 2011 in the São Geraldo neighborhood”, which rescued the collective memory of the disaster through interviews with residents. The mapping results indicated that students’ initial perception of geohydrological risks was low, overshadowed by more urgent concerns about infrastructure and safety. Evaluating the transdisciplinary lessons using pre- and post-application questionnaires showed a significant increase in students’ knowledge of the topics. Of particular note were the increases in understanding rain gauges (81% in the first cycle) and in recognizing participation in prevention projects (86% in the second cycle). The teachers validated prizing the approach (100%), although 90% reported a lack of resources. The documentary also proved to be an effective teaching tool for strengthening local identity and the culture of prevention. Finally, the work aimed to show that the school is a fundamental space for DRR and that the transdisciplinary model proposed, by connecting academic knowledge to local reality, is a viable and effective strategy for promoting awareness, engagement, and community resilience.