Sowing a green future: complementary activities in primary education

Abstract

Introduction: The formative objectives of Primary Education include students demonstrating a positive attitude towards the environment. However, in educational institutions in the municipality of Palma Soriano, it has been observed that students do not always adequately contribute to its care and conservation. Materials and Methods: A system of twelve complementary activities was developed to promote environmental protection skills in Primary Education students through the subject "The World We Live In." The sample included 250 students selected through intentional non-probabilistic sampling. Theoretical methods (analytic-synthetic, historical-logical, inductive-deductive, systemic-structural, and modeling) and empirical methods (interview, survey, and pedagogical test) were used. Results: After implementation, a positive transformation in students' behavior regarding environmental care and protection was evidenced. Evaluated indicators showed 92.0% at a high knowledge level and 91.6% in favorable attitudes. Discussion: The results demonstrate the effectiveness of complementary activities in integrating environmental education into the curriculum, reaffirming the importance of practical and contextualized approaches. Conclusions: The applied activity system significantly improved students' environmental knowledge and attitudes, contributing to sustainable development from Primary Education.