Aspects of complexity in social-environmental issues: the approaches in Brazil and Spain

Abstract: Environmental issues may promote open and complex discussions bringing students closer to their realities and different meanings for school learning. This research overviews the complexity in Science Teaching outcomes in Brazil and Spain. Beyond the research for results about different conceptions, it attempted to understand the approaches of these productions focused on environmental matters and the potential to promote a complex reading of the world. Methodologically, it presents levels of education, documents guiding Environmental Education in both countries, and investigates the works published in journals about complexity in socio-environmental issues. From the results, it was acknowledged that a range of approaches to the complexity perspective exists, it could be in a perspective of (i) punctual approximations; (ii) potential - in transition; (iii) high potential - consolidated. Particularly, productions in (iii) are closer to complexity as organizing element of Educational Dimension, Teaching-Learning Dimension and Epistemological Dimension.