A pesquisa sobre o perfil do educador ambiental tem exigido uma metodologia de investigação adequada para a captação de seu processo de formação. Dado que ao pesquisar a formação de professores estamos diante de algo que não está posto materialmente e tem caráter dinâmico, de que modo tomar a formação do educador ambiental como objeto de pesquisa? Para a construção de uma resposta a essa pergunta, o presente trabalho requereu instrumentos teóricos e metodológicos que possibilitassem apreender a formação do professor em sua atividade educativa. A formação do educador ambiental pressupõe um ambiente em que todos tenham voz e possam trocar experiências, rever seus conhecimentos e produzir novos sentidos a partir de uma perspectiva crítica. A constituição de uma comunidade de aprendizagem numa escola pública estabeleceu um contexto propício para a formação dos professores. Pudemos comprovar que o Horário de Trabalho Pedagógico Coletivo, quando planejado e organizado, pode intencionalmente contribuir para a formação de professores. A teoria da atividade nos forneceu subsídios tanto do ponto de vista de ensino, ao proporcionar embasamento para a organização de encontros com professores de ensino médio, sempre levando em conta a intencionalidade da formação, quanto do ponto de vista metodológico, ao possibilitar a apreensão de nosso objeto, ou seja, o processo de formação em seu movimento. Na interação entre os sujeitos, foi possível a ampliação de seus pontos de vista e a ocorrência de mudanças de sentidos relacionados a temas ambientais. Um sujeito, ao evocar um pensamento, uma reflexão, possibilita que os demais revisitem seus posicionamentos e conhecimentos. Assim, formam-se conhecimentos - e, consequententemente, indivíduos - com qualidade nova.

Research on the profile of environmental educators has required a research methodology appropriate for capturing their training process. Since when researching teacher education we are before something that is not materially established and is dynamic, how can one take the training of environmental educators as a research object? To construct an answer to this question, this study required theoretical and methodological tools that enabled grasping the training of teachers in their educational activities. The training of environmental educators requires an environment in which everyone has a voice and can share experiences, review their knowledge and produce new meanings from a critical perspective. The creation of a learning community in a public school established a favorable context for teacher education. We confirmed that, if planned and organized, Horário de Trabalho Pedagógico Coletivo (Collective Pedagogical Worktime) can intentionally contribute to teacher education. Activity theory offered resources both from the point of view of teaching, by providing a basis for the organization of meetings with secondary school teachers, always taking into account the intentionality of training, and from the methodological point of view, by allowing us to grasp our object, that is, the training process in its movement. In the interaction between subjects, they were able to expand their views and there were changes of meanings related to environmental issues. When evoking a thought, a reflection, a subject enables the others to revisit their positions and knowledge. Thus, knowledge is formed with new quality and so are individuals.

This work analysed the contents of 701 disciplines from 22 chemistry courses that prepare chemistry teachers in 16 public Universities in Southeastern Brazil. Only a small number (23) of disciplines showed an explicit relationship between human activities and the environment. A total of 11 theoretical and 193 experimental disciplines explored to some extent scientific and technological aspects related to the environment, but did not include their relationship with society. As the experimental disciplines supposedly include some kind of waste treatment, this may explain why secondary school chemistry teachers work mainly on recycling programs and waste issues at their schools. The aim of this work is to provide information on which to base a much needed discussion about how to better prepare our chemistry teachers to act as Environmental Educators at school, as the Brazilian Education Legislation requires.

During short courses, 95 secondary school teachers from 49 state schools and 421 students from the Ribeirão Preto region (in Sao Paulo state, Brazil, with a population of 530,000) were asked to fill in different questionnaires. The points raised in the teacher's questionnaire were used as a guide to establish a continuous dialogue during the short courses. Most of the schools claimed to have some kind of environmental education (EE). Based on the questionnaires and dialogues we analyzed how the teachers' perceptions on EE reflect on the views secondary students hold about their own responsibility for preserving the environment. The role of universities in the preparation of chemistry teachers capable of effectively approaching EE is also discussed.

In recent years, because of the need for a more flexible curriculum established by the Curriculum Guidelines of the National Brazilian Education (law 9394/96), the pedagogical project of the Chemistry course of FFCLRP/USP has undergone alterations, amongst them the gradual reduction of the hours devoted to the discipline Qualitative Analytical Chemistry. In this context, this discipline has been carefully analyzed and reorganized in order to allow the elimination of redundancies and the introduction of activities considered important for the professional formation of both chemists and chemistry teachers. In this work, we will discuss the main strategies adopted in this reorganization with the objective of making the teaching/learning process more dynamic and efficient.

The toxic heavy metals can not be transformed in other less toxic substances as organic wastes through chemical process. Various chemistry courses at Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Humanities (FFCLRP/USP) use heavy metals in their experimental classes. In this context, a course were created: "Heavy Metal Wastes generated in the teaching and research laboratories: disposal or recovery" and has a specific goal to capacitate the students to define the adequate strategy for disposal or recovery of the chemical wastes, in particular heavy metals, through an interdisciplinary approaching. This course was given to 25 students during the second semester of 2000 and 2001. The environmental responsibility desired for the professional and citizen can be promoted.