Environmental Education in High School from the Perspective of Critical Theory: Between Ideological Contradictions and Emancipatory Possibilities in Light of the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

This article critically analyzes the guidelines for Environmental Education (EE) in Brazilian High School present in the National Environmental Education Policy, in the National Curricular Guidelines, in the National Common Curricular Base, and in the State Environmental Education Program of Paraná, in dialogue with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 4, 12, 13, and 15). Grounded in Critical Theory, the study adopts a qualitative and documentary approach, based on the critical discourse analysis of educational regulations. It examines how these guidelines incorporate sustainability and reveal tensions between instrumental rationality, oriented by goals and indicators, and emancipatory rationality, aimed at ethical and critical formation. The results indicate that, although there is normative convergence regarding transversality and environmental citizenship, the effective implementation of EE depends on pedagogical mediations and institutional conditions. It is concluded that the consolidation of the SDGs in High School requires overcoming the prescriptive logic and strengthening critical educational practices.