MEANINGS OF DEVELOPMENT , TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT AMONG SCIENCE EDUCATORS Carmen R. O. Farias 1 (Universidade Estadual Paulista, Bauru, Brasil, crfarias@yahoo.com.br) Washington Carvalho (Universidade Estadual Paulista, Ilha Solteira, Brasil, washcar@fqm.feis.unesp.br) Abstract Science educators have a fundamental role in students’ construction of concepts and achievement of a scientific view. Particularly, when the theme to be studied is related to environment, where many issues have a high level of subjectivity, teacher’s points of view can have a higher status. In this paper we are interested in exploring the meaning of development, technology and environment among high school science (physics, chemistry and biology) teachers. Thirty teachers were asked to write a text expressing their points of view about a fragment of a judicial process related to the environmental impact caused by the construction of the Três Irmãos hydroelectric power plant located in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. As the theme could generate controversial points of view, instead of analyzing the teachers’ discourses (texts) by using previously constructed categories, we analyzed them by using a phenomenological approach. In that analysis, we were interested in recognizing “units of meaning” that could express the teacher’s beliefs, values, concepts and general ideas about progress, development, technology, costs, environmental impact, application of laws, and environment preservation. The convergences found among several units of meaning allowed us to construct different categories which were confronted with some meaningful literature in environmental education, in order to enlarge the analysis of the teacher’s discourses. The results that were obtained are considerably relevant because they disclose in-service teacher’s ideas that are currently being integrated to science classes. Taking into account that science education should be committed in giving opportunities to the students to see and act in the world in a scientific perspective, in addition to others perspectives, the study of questions like “what is development?”, “is technology always beneficial?”, “can progress and environment preservation coexist?”, “is it possible to have what has been currently called sustainable development?” are potentially interesting to put in evidence social values that are present in different positions held by different segments of the society. In addition, in the analysis we tried to emphasize the role of environmental education in the emancipation of thinking and in the collective participation of citizens in different segments of decision making. 1 - Supported by FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) 1