Ecofeminism in teacher education: bodies, gender, care, and socio-environmental justice in school education

Abstract

This article presents a narrative and autobiographical reflection on the impacts of ecofeminist training on teaching practice, based on the experience lived in the Professional Master’s Program of the National Network for Environmental Sciences Teaching (PROFCIAMB/UFPR), particularly in the course Ecofeminism: Woman, Environment, and the Ethics of Care. The aim is to understand how these principles influenced the construction of more critical, inclusive, and decolonial pedagogical practices in school education. A qualitative approach was adopted, with emphasis on self-writing as both a formative and investigative method. The results indicate a re-signification of teaching practice, evidenced by the valuing of care, sensitive listening, non-hegemonic knowledge, and attention to the multiple oppressions that shape everyday school life. The experience contributed to strengthening an ethical and political stance in teaching, committed to socio-environmental justice and to transforming power relations within the school, suggesting that ecofeminist training transforms teaching practice and produces ethical, political, and pedagogical impacts. It is concluded that ecofeminist training is a powerful tool for teachers’ professional development, articulating theory and practice in processes capable of generating significant changes in the ways of teaching, learning, and relating to the world.