Integrating environmental education into the curriculum: practical elements emerging from educational experiences and research

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

1 PhD in curriculum planning, Kharazmi University and primary school teacher

2 PhD student of Public Administration of Payam Noor University.

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Today, the implementation of environmental education in the curriculum of schools has been raised as an important and effective issue. In other words, the protection of human health and the protection of the environment are among the subjects that should form an integral part of the school curriculum. However, the results of research and studies conducted in this field confirm that students do not have enough knowledge to help create and develop a healthy lifestyle and awareness of the environment. Although the changes in school policies and curricula confirm that environmental education has been recognized, school performance still needs changes. Therefore, the current research has been carried out with the aim of identifying the actions taken by different countries in the direction of environmental education in curricula. The current research is based on the descriptive approach of documents that was conducted with the library method and a review of related theoretical sources. For this purpose, it first deals with the goals and objectives of environmental education programs. Then, it discusses the measures that different countries have used in the field of environmental education in their curriculum. The results showed that the principles of environmental education are based on adding relevance to the curriculum, adopting a subject-based approach, emphasizing participation and action-oriented dimensions in learning, and emphasizing value education.

Keywords

References

-      Ayford, C. (1991). Environmental education in the National Curriculum: an up-date, Annual Review of Environmental Education, (4):11-13.
-      Barraza, L., & Walford, R. A. (2002). Environmental education: A comparison between English and Mexican school children. Environmental Education Research, 8(2): 171-186.
-      Baxte, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and Implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13(4): 544-559.
-      Chatzifotiou, A. (2006). Environmental education, national curriculum and primary school teachers. Findings of a research study in England and possible implications upon education for sustainable development. The Curriculum Journal, 17(4): 367-381.
-      Chatzifotiou, A. (2002). An imperfect match? The structure of the National Curriculum and education for sustainable development, The Curriculum Journal, 13(3): 289–302.
-      Curriculum Planning Division (1993). Science Syllabus (Lower Secondary). Singapore: Ministry of Education.
-      Drake, L. (2004). Mind in Society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard university press.
-      DfES (1990) The national curriculum, London:HMSO.
-      De Alba, A. (1993). El Libro de texto y la cuestión ambiental: los contenidos ecológicos en el currículum de primaria. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coordinación de Humanidades, Centro de Estudios sobre la Universidad.
-      Engleson, D. C., & Yockers, D. H. (1994). A guide to curriculum planning in environmental education (No. 94371). Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
-      Estévez Nenninger, E. H. (2014). Entramado del currículo y desarrollo de innovaciones en educación. Revista mexicana de investigación educativa, 19(63): 1291-1295.
-      GOODSON, I. (1983). School Subjects and Curriculum Change (London, Croom Helm).
-      Johnson C. (2005). Becoming compatible: Curriculum and environmental thought, Journal of environmental Education, 24(2): 2-11.
-      Jacobi, P. (2003). Environmental education, citizenship and sustainability. Research Notebooks, (118):189-205.
-      Hungerford, H., Peyton, R. B., & Wilke, R. J. (1980). Goals for curriculum development in environmental education. The Journal of Environmental Education, 11(3): 42-47.
-      Kadji C. (2002) Evaluation of whole school environmental education, Kansas association for conservation and environmental education, Available at: www.kacee.org (Accessed October 2014].
-      Kwan, F. W. B., & Stimpson, P. (2003). Environmental education in Singapore: a curriculum for the environment or in the national interest? International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 12(2): 123-138.
-      Lucas, A. M. (1972). Environment and environmental ed- ucation: Conceptual issues and curriculum implications. PhD Dissertation, Ohio State University. ERIC Document ED068371.
-      Paredes-Chi, A. A., & Viga-de Alva, M. D. (2018). Environmental education (EE) policy and content of the contemporary (2009–2017) Mexican national curriculum for primary schools. Environmental Education Research, 24(4): 564-580.
-      Ramsey, J. M., Hungerford, H. R., & Volk, T. L. (1992). Environmental education in the K-12 curriculum: Finding a niche. The Journal of environmental education, 23(2): 35-45.
-      Stevenson, R. B. (2007). Schooling and environmental education: Contradictions in purpose and practice. Environmental education research, 13(2): 139-153.
-      Ministry of Environment (1993). Singapore Green Plan. Singapore: Ministry of Environment.
-      National Curriculum Council (1990) Curriculum guidance 7: environmental education (York, Pindar Graphics).
-      Stapp W. (1997) The Concept of Environmental Education. In: The Concept of Environmental Education. Michigan: University of Michigan.
-      Terrn, E. (2004). La Educacin Ambiental En La Educacin Bsica, Un Proyecto Inconcluso [Environmental Education in Basic Education, an Unfinished Project]. Revista Latinoamericana De Estudios Educativos, XXXIV (4): 107–164.
-      Tilbury, D. (1995). Environmental education for sustainability: Defining the new focus of environmental education in the 1990s. Environmental education research, 1(2): 195-212.
-      TILBURY, D. (1993) Environmental education: developing a model for initial teacher education, PhD thesis, University of Cambridge.
-      Unesco. (1980). Environmental education in the light of the Tbilisi Conference. Paris: Unesco.
-      URT, (2009). National education and environment communication strategy. 2nd ed. Dar es Salaam: National Environment Management Council.
-      Wuest, T. (1992). Ecología y educación: elementos para el análisis de la dimensión ambiental en el currículum escolar. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coordinación de Humanidades, Centro de Estudios sobre la Universidad.
-      WALS, A. (1990) Caretakers of the environment; a global network for teachers and students, Journal of Environmental Education, 21(3): 3-7.
Williams, R. (1991). Teacher education survey: environmental education—interim report, Education Network for Environment and Development, unpublished.
Research in Biology Education
Volume 4, Issue 2 - Serial Number 11
February 2023
Pages 63-74

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics