Eleven Years of Offering the Course 2GEO362 Physical Geography and Environmental Education: Approaches to Historical-Critical Pedagogy

Abstract

This article examines eleven years of offering a graduate-level Geography course focused on the interface between physical–natural knowledge and socio-environmental issues, with emphasis on workshops conducted in a community-based institution in Londrina, Paraná (Brazil). The study mapped and systematized ten e-books produced across the course editions, totaling 100 texts. A thematic content analysis was applied to distinguish theoretical (29) and practical (71) productions and to classify the latter according to the resources and semiotic modes mobilized in the interventions. Subsequently, drawing on Historical-Critical Pedagogy (HCP), the course was analyzed as a formative pathway that articulates engagement with concrete reality, theoretical grounding, planning, and educational intervention. The findings indicate a predominance of workshops centered on concrete practices (school gardens, waste, water, soils, sanitation, and fieldwork), combined with playful and narrative strategies, whereas approaches focused on spatial representation appear less frequently. It is argued that historical-critical coherence can be strengthened through: standardization of the initial diagnostic assessment; explicit formulation of contradictions and guiding questions; incorporation of a conceptual core with PHC-aligned approximations in each workshop; and feedback mechanisms regarding the unfolding of actions. It is concluded that the trajectory analyzed fosters the development of socioenvironmental critical thinking and indicates pathways for methodological refinement.