Participatory mapping as a pedagogical strategy to confront environmental racism in geography classes

Abstract

The impacts caused by climate change over time have affected the population’s quality of life, especially that of historically marginalized groups. In this context, it is necessary to reflect on pedagogical practices that promote a critical Environmental Education, connected to students’ realities and to socio-environmental inequalities, such as environmental racism, which remains little discussed in schools. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the use of participatory mapping as a didactic-pedagogical tool for understanding and addressing environmental racism within the school context. It is an exploratory and qualitative research that involved bibliographic review, dialogued classes, practical activities, and observation of the spaces identified by students during Geography lessons at Marcos Antônio Cavalcanti Silva State School, in Maceió-AL. Theoretical references include Almeida (2018), Callai (2021), and Santos and Souto (2018). The results show that students expanded their critical awareness of environmental racism in the Benedito Bentes neighborhood, highlighting the importance of pedagogical practices that encourage youth protagonism and the recognition of local knowledge for addressing socio-environmental inequalities and strengthening a critical and anti-racist Geographic Education.