ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A STUDY WITH STUDENTS FROM MARECHAL CÂNDIDO RONDON, PARANÁ

Humanity is experiencing an urgent need to seek actions aimed at overcoming environmental emergencies, social inequality, and the uncontrolled use of nature and humanity as objects of exploitation and consumption. This culture of risk often goes unnoticed, which only increases the consequences, affecting not only human life but also that of other species and generations. The environmental crisis we are experiencing is a result of humanity's power over the environment in which it lives, generating unforeseen consequences that render the ethical tools we inherited from the past unusable. Only through environmental education can we confront this crisis, through a commitment to changing values, behaviors, attitudes, and awareness, and it should be implemented at all levels of education. Environmental education is considered a fundamental right, enshrined in Article 205, item VI, of the Federal Constitution of the Republic, and regulated by Federal Law No. 9,795 of 1999. In the context of climate emergencies, alternatives are being sought to address the problems arising from the environmental crisis. This study aims to understand the perceptions of higher education students in the municipality of Marechal Cândido Rondon, Paraná, regarding the climate emergency. The research was conducted using an adapted questionnaire with students from the Nursing and Psychology programs at the Higher Education Faculty of Marechal Cândido Rondon (ISEPE).