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Microplastics and critical environmental education: a territorially adaptable pedagogical proposal for coastal-marine contexts
Original title: Microplásticos E Educação Ambiental Crítica: Uma Proposta Pedagógica Territorializável Para Contextos Costeiro-marinhos
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This paper isn't a health study but an education proposal: it uses existing science on microplastic pollution in coastal sea life to design a teaching toolkit for coastal communities, blending scientific data with local traditional knowledge. The goal is to help people, especially those living near the coast and eating seafood, better understand plastic pollution's risks and advocate for cleaner waters and food supplies, since microplastics found in marine animals can eventually make their way into the human diet.
This article analyzes how evidence on the occurrence of microplastics in coastal organisms can be reinterpreted in light of Critical Environmental Education (CEE) and support a territorializable pedagogical matrix for caiçara and coastal-marine contexts. It adopts a qualitative, analytical-propositional approach, grounded in a theoretical review that relates microplastic contamination, coastal conservation, socio-environmental justice, equity, dialogue between science and traditional knowledge, and meaning-making in science education. As a contribution, it proposes a matrix composed of Activity Cards, Resource Cards, an Individual Graphic Organizer, and a Collective Investigation Panel, aimed at the interdisciplinary analysis of plastic pollution and its ecological, territorial, and social implications. It concludes that the articulation of scientific data, territorial knowledge, and formative participation fosters critical readings on marine conservation, consumption, disposal, and socio-environmental justice, committed to the defense of coastal territories and their communities.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.