PERSPECTIVES OF RURAL TEACHERS ON ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION, AGROECOLOGY AND TERRITORIAL TRANSFORMATION: VOICES AND EXPERIENCES FROM MAULE, CHILE

Abstract

This qualitative interpretive study examines the perspectives, knowledge and experiences of rural teachers in the Maule region, Chile, regarding environmental education, agroecology and territorial transformation. Through semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 12 teachers, a paradigmatic shift was identified from traditional anthropocentric approaches towards ecocentric and biocentric views that integrate ancestral peasant knowledge and territorialized pedagogical practices. The results reveal that rural teachers constitute critical transformative agents who articulate lived experiences of concrete environmental problems (water scarcity, waste management, biodiversity loss) with innovative pedagogical proposals centered on participatory methodologies, situated learning and ecological restoration. The importance of territorial sense of belonging, community identity and resilience as essential dimensions of sustainable rural education is highlighted. The analysis also evidences strong criticism of the national curriculum for its decontextualization of rural realities and the urgent need for curricular flexibility, continuous teacher training in environmental education and agroecology, and strengthening of inter-institutional networks to consolidate long-term territorial educational projects that impact inclusive public policies. This study contributes to the Latin American debate on rural education from decolonial and socio-environmental perspectives.