The Game Mission of Ecopedagogy: from the naturalization of exploitation through play to the emergence of an ecopedagogy of care

da naturalização da exploração pelo lúdico à emergência de uma Ecopedagogia do cuidado

Abstract

This article presents the conception, implementation, and analysis of the educational board game Mission of Ecopedagogy, developed as an educational product within the Graduate Program in Humanities Teaching (PPGEH/IFES). The game was created from a critical reading of board games based on territorial expansion and exploitation, proposing an epistemological inversion: replacing the logic of conquest with cooperation and environmental restoration. The research, with a qualitative and descriptive approach, was conducted with 16 students from the Lutheran Diaconal Association (ADL) in Afonso Cláudio, Brazil, during a formative meeting on ecopedagogy. Data were collected through an online questionnaire combining objective and open-ended questions. The analysis revealed that the game fostered the understanding of planetary boundaries, the appreciation of collective care, and dialogue on sustainable practices. The results indicate that Mission of Ecopedagogy is a meaningful didactic resource capable of integrating playfulness, critical thinking, and dialogue into educational processes, reaffirming the role of play as an ecopedagogical practice.