Bees and higher education: perception of environmental, economic and social importance

Abstract

The objective of this research was to verify the students perception of undergraduate courses in the areas of Agrarian and Biological Sciences on the bees. Considering the strategies of the Convention on Biological Diversity for the use and conservation of pollination and pollinators, a questionnaire was composed of ten closed questions, with two alternatives each question (yes or no) related to the environmental, social and economic axes. The data were submitted to the Chi-square test and multiple exploratory multivariate analysis was performed. With the results it was observed that a large number of students of the five evaluated courses knows no bee species. There is a need for greater interaction between the university and producers. Between 80% and 100% of the students of the evaluated courses do not know the risk of extinction of the bees, nor have they ever heard of the Colony Collapse Syndrome (CCD). The students' perception about bees is more geared towards the ecological axis, making it necessary to emphasize the economic and social importance of the bees. As well as suggesting the adequacy of the curricula of the courses, as to the insertion of an interdisciplinary approach to the subject bees in the disciplines, which will certainly collaborate in the training of professionals better prepared to meet the demands of sustainable development, contemplating the environmental, social and economic axes.