Environmental education and the health risk question: how do we educate the educators working with this theme?

Our society is presently seeing a trend of continuous increase of risk with severe consequences, especially those linked to environmental aspects. It has obligated us to reflect on this production and its effects, either positive or negative, and, after a long reflection, to think about the adopted model of civilization and the possibilities of changing such a model. The educational institution is among the social departments responsible for this revision process, since it represents one possibility to promote a more critical vision from society, providing it with tools needed for a more responsible action. However, schools are dominated by a traditional work, which does not allow for enough and proper attention to these relevant and current questions, and which involve a critical analysis of the conceptions and values established by our civilization, resulting in the present patterns of science-technology-society relations and their influence on the environment and health. Several research works have indicated a diversity of barriers that obstruct this necessary change. Since formal education plays an important role in the education of society for this theme, in this paper the possibilities and difficulty dealing with this problem are discussed, focusing on the question of teacher education, based on investigations related to teacher education programs for environmental education. The data collected show the urgency for introducing this theme in teacher training programs, taking into account the fact that educators have their own conceptions, values and attitudes that should be considered in these programs.

Multimedia selection: Allowing educators to act critically and independently

In Brazil, important portals like the Portal do Professor, or Teacher's Portal, from the Ministry of Education, offer multimedia products like audios, videos, games, animations, simulations and others with an accompanying teacher's guide. These guides in general suggest ways to prepare the students to use the products while offering indications on how to practice that knowledge after using the products in the classrooom. Despite this, portals with huge repositories that receive new products every week don't present to teachers a solution for a problem: How to select the appropriate products to use in the classroom and how to assess their use after teaching in order to check if the learning was meaningful? In this way, this paper discusses multimedia selection for meaningful learning while considering concept mapping and abstraction classification. The development of multimedia repositories has created both opportunities for easy access to digital content and areas of serious concerns since the misuse of products by teachers may lead to different problems.

Attitudes about inclusion by educators and physical educators: Effects of participation in an inclusive adapted physical education program

This study assessed the attitudes about the inclusion of students with disability by professionals in education and health, relative to their experience and training. We compared three groups: 20 teachers and trainees who worked in an adapted physical education program (GI); 75 professionals from the municipal education system of Rio Claro subdivided according to their experience-CGyes e CGno, respectively, with and without experience. We used the inventory adapted by Palla (2001) to assess participants' attitudes and self-concepts. Overall, individuals in the group that participated in the intervention maintained their tendency of being favorable toward inclusion. Teachers in regular school settings in the municipal school system of Rio Claro (Sao Paulo, Brazil), regardless of their experience with inclusive settings, remain mostly indecisive about the benefits of inclusion.

Perceptions of educators and students about using fluoridated mouthwashes

Purpose: The objective of this study was to assess the perceptions and opinions of public school teachers and students in the city of Araçatuba, SP, Brazil, on the importance of using fluoridated mouthwashes, the difficulties of the method and the procedure in general. Methods: Students from grades 5 through 8 in schools with and without dental services were asked about their opinion on the use of fluoridated mouthwashes. The educators answered questions about the importance of preventive methods in oral health and the difficulties in performing those methods at school. Data were collected using a faces scale, a categorization method, and a Likert scale with five levels of responses to check the level of agreement with the questions. Results: The sample consisted of 264 (40.3%) teachers and 5,788 (73.6%) students. A total of 254 (96.2%) and 72 (27.3%) teachers responded favorably to the first and second questions, respectively. A total of 1,128 (19.5%) students had negative feelings about the fluoridated mouthwash. Conclusion: The majority of the teachers supported the use of fluoridated mouthwashes; however, a large number of teachers believed that the practice disrupts the class routine. Most of the students had a positive opinion about the use of fluoridated mouthwash, although they highlighted some negative aspects, which were overcome by the benefits that the method provides.