Mediatic, Informational and Digital Skills and Competencies in Students from Agricultural Family Schools and Rural Family Home, in the Amazon Biome, Brazil

Abstract

The article presents partial results of an ongoing research action, within the scope of the project “Geodigital Inclusion and Territorial Management of Family-Based Production Units: Generation of Sustainability Index for the Amazon Biome”. This project provides for the definition and availability of indicators of environmental, economic, agricultural, social and governance sustainability, aiming to assist family farmers in the management of the property, subsidizing them in decision making and increasing family income. Embrapa Territorial Intelligence carries out the execution of this research project in partnership with Embrapa Agricultural Informatics, units of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), headquartered in Campinas, S ã o Paulo (SP), Brazil. The article presents a contribution to the education of the field in Brazil, through a continuous formation action, in the non-formal education modality, through presential and distance training courses, for students of the Agricultural Family School (EFA acronym for which it is known in Brazil) and Rural Family House (CFR acronym for which it is known in Brazil) in the Amazon Biome. This action was based on a training needs diagnosis, conducted through a questionnaire applied to 144 students, distributed between EFA and CFR, located in the Brazilian states of Acre, Amapá, Maranh ã o, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rond ô nia and Roraima. The objective of this diagnosis was to identify and analyze the training needs regarding: 1 ) media, informational and digital skills and competencies of these students; 2 ) students’ level of knowledge and domain of issues related to agricultural production systems and the sustainable development of family agricultural production units. This paper analyzes and presents the result of the diagnosis regarding only the students’ media, informational and digital skills and competencies. In this sense, the analysis of these competencies provided the subsidies for the elaboration of a formation and qualification program, oriented under the Pedagogy of Alternance approach, and that considers the specificities and the aspirations of the young students, in search of an education of the field compatible with the local reality and the aspiration of the subjects involved in the process.