ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE SÃO FRANCISCO RIVER IN SCHOOL CORDEL LITERATURE

Abstract

The study analyzes socio-environmental knowledge and perceptions of the São Francisco River expressed in cordel texts produced by high school students during the interdisciplinary project “The Cry of the São Francisco River” at a public school in Penedo, Alagoas, Brazil. This is a qualitative, documentary, and interpretive study. The initial corpus comprised ten image files; after excluding one duplicated version, nine distinct cordel works containing 74 textual panels were analyzed. Content analysis identified five categories: the river as life and heritage; territory, memory, and Penedo identity; work and riverside ways of life; degradation and socio-environmental conflicts; and care and future perspectives. Results show that the river is represented as a natural, historical, cultural, economic, affective, and religious reality. The study concludes that cordel literature, when connected to territorial inquiry, supports the expression of students’ knowledge and a critical reading of environmental problems, although limitations remain regarding the generic attribution of responsibility for human actions.