Thematic Approach to Awareness of the Importance of Stingless Bees in the Early Years of Elementary School

The thematic approach (TA) of stingless bees (SB) was investigated in this study for environmental awareness in the initial grades of elementary school. The construction of TA insertion was discussed in a 40-hour continuing education course offered to teachers from five Municipal Schools of Basic Education in Sinop city, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. An itinerant meliponary was set up in each School for contributing to TA insertion, and SB observation actions were organized. Subsequently, the teachers participating in these actions were interviewed. Twenty-three teachers participated in the training course, and of these, twelve developed activities involving TA. We observed that the stakeholders faced different types of current academic education, such as curriculum rigidity, limited financial support, and the training course outside teaching hours. We verified that there was TA insertion in the political pedagogical project of the schools, and there were signs of sensitization of the ecological and economic importance of the SBs.