Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-rvbq7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-09T02:25:25.894Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Long-Term Impact of an Education for Sustainability Course on Israeli Science and Technology Teachers’ Pro-Environment Awareness, Commitment and Behaviour

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 October 2015

Anat Abramovich  and
Yahavit Loria
Anat Abramovich*
Affiliation:
Malam — Israeli Center for Scientific Technological Education, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
Yahavit Loria
Affiliation:
National Science and Technology Pedagogic Training, Ministry of Education, Israel
*
Address for correspondence: Anat Abramovich, Malam — Israeli Center for Scientific Technological Education, Canada Building, Technion, Haifa 32000, Israel. Email: anat.malam@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The impact of an Education for Sustainability (EfS) course for science and technology junior high school teachers on the intentional and actual environmental behaviour of participants was studied by researching the EfS implementation of 13 science and technology teachers within their family, community, and work environment. The research was qualitative in nature, where science and technology teachers’ insights on the EfS course were determined by means of an open-ended questionnaire and intensive interviews. Results indicated that the course clearly influenced the vast majority of the participants, who claimed that their environmental awareness had increased and they were capable of acting responsibly. All participants acted in favour of the environment among family, community, and at work. Yet, 2 years later, implementation seemed to be undermined by various internal and external barriers, such as the unavailability of convenient resources, or resistance on the part of family. The study suggests that course designers must include reference to potential difficulties and barriers in order to circumvent future obstacles. In addition, the implementation of post-course support would encourage overcoming the gap between willingness to act and actual practice.

Keywords

education for sustainabilityenvironmental awareness and behaviourinternal and external barriersenvironmental commitmentscience and technology teachers
Type
Feature Articles
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , December 2015 , pp. 264 - 279
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramovich, A., & Tal, T. (2009, August–September). Environmental awareness, behavior, and commitment of pre-service teachers who participate in an outdoor inquiry unit. Paper presented at the Biennial International Meeting for the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA), Istanbul, Turkey.Google Scholar
Abramovich, A., & Tal, T. (2011, September). Environmental workshop — A model for education for sustainability. Paper presented at the Biennial International Meeting for the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA), Lyon, France.Google Scholar
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behaviour. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Bamberg, S., & Moser, G. (2007). Twenty years after Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera: A new meta-analysis of psycho-social determinants of pro-environmental behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 27, 14–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berenguer, J., Corraliza, J.A., & Martin, R. (2005). Rural-urban differences in environmental concern, attitude, and action. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 21, 128–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blake, J. (1999). Overcoming the ‘value-action gap’ in environmental policy: Tensions between national policy and local experience. Local Environment, 4, 257–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brody, S.D., & Ryu, H-C. (2006). Measuring the educational impacts of a graduate course on sustainable development. Environmental Education Research, 12, 179–199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chawla, L., & Cushing, F.C. (2007). Education for strategic environmental behavior. Environmental Education Research, 13, 437–452CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Common, M., & Stagl, S. (2005). Ecological economics: An introduction. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corraliza, J.A., & Berenguer, J. (2000). Environmental values, beliefs, and action. A situational approach. Environment and Behavior, 32, 832–848.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DiEnno, C.M., & Hilton, S.C. (2005). High school students’ knowledge, attitudes, and levels of enjoyment of an environmental education unit on non-native plants. The Journal of Environmental Education, 37, 13–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Disinger, J.F., & Roth, C.E. (1992). Environmental literacy. Eric/CSMEE Digest. Retrieved from http://www.ericdigests.org/1992-/literacy.htmGoogle Scholar
Erdoğan, M., & Tuncer, G. (2009). An evaluation of a course: ‘Education and awareness for sustainability’. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 4, 133–146Google Scholar
Gough, A. (2011). The Australian-ness of curriculum jigsaws: Where does environmental education fit? Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 27, 9– 23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heimlich, J.E., & Ardoin, N.M. (2008). Understanding behavior to understand behavior change: A literature review. Environmental Education Research, 14, 215– 237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hines, J.M., Hungerford, H.R., & Tomera, A.N. (1986/87). Analysis and synthesis of research on responsible environmental behaviour: a meta-analysis. Journal of Environmental Education, 18, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsu, S.J. (2004). The effects of an environmental education program on responsible environmental behaviour and associated environmental literacy variables in Taiwanese college students. The Journal of Environmental Education, 35, 37– 48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsu, S.J. (2009). Significant life experiences affect environmental action: A confirmation study in eastern Taiwan. Environmental Education Research, 15, 497– 517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hungerford, H.R., & Volk, T.L. (1990). Changing learner behavior through environmental education. The Journal of Environmental Education, 21, 8– 21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kollmuss, A., & Agyeman, J. (2002). Mind the gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behaviour? Environmental Education Research, 8, 239–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leithwood, K., Mascall, B., Strauss, T., Sacks, R., Memon, N., & Yashkina, G. (2007). Distributed leadership to make schools smarter: Taking the ego out of the system. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 6, 37–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lincoln, Y.S., & Guba, E.G. (2000). Paradigmatic controversies, contradiction, and emerging confluences. In Densin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 163–188). London: Sage Publications Inc.Google Scholar
Ministry of Education. (2004). Management circular [in Hebrew]. Retrieved from http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/applications/mankal/arc/sd5bk9_4_5.htmGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Education. (2008). Management circular [in Hebrew]. Retrieved from http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Applications/Mankal/EtsMedorim/9/9-4/HoraotKeva/K-2009-3a-9-4-8.htmGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Education (2012). Science and Technology curriculum in Junior High School in Israel (Hebrew). Retrieved from AEE-AR-2014-0016Ritchie_edited_text.dochttp://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/Tochniyot_Limudim/science_tech/TochnitMeodkenet/Google Scholar
Ministry of Environmental Protection. (2003). Israeli Government decision, no. 246 [in Hebrew]. Retrieved from http://www.environment.gov.il/bin/en.jsp?enPage=blankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enDispWho=News%5El1487&enZone=gov_decisions&enVersion=0Google Scholar
Meichtry, Y., & Smith, J. (2007). The impact of a place-based professional development program on teachers’ confidence, attitudes, and classroom practices. The Journal of Environmental Education, 38, 15–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mintz, K., & Tal, T. (2013). Education for sustainability in higher education: A multiple-case study of three courses. Journal of Biological Education, 47, 140–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrone, M., Manci, C., & Carr, K. (2001). Development of a metric to test group differences in ecological knowledge as one component of environmental literacy. The Journal of Environmental Education, 32, 33–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orr, D.W. (1992). Ecological literacy: Education and the transition to a postmodern world. Albany, NY: State University of New York.Google Scholar
Patton, M.Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Rickinson, M. (2001). Learners and learning in environment education: A critical review of the evidence. Environmental Education Research, 7, 207–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roth, C.E. (1992). Environmental literacy: Its roots, evolution, and directions in the 1990s. Columbus, OH: Education Resources Information Center/Center for Science.Google Scholar
Sauvé, L. (2005). Currents in environmental education: Mapping a complex and evolving pedagogical field. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 10, 11– 37.Google Scholar
Stern, P.C. (2000). Toward a coherent theory of environmentally significant behavior. Journal of Social Issues, 56, 407–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stern, P.C., Dietz, T., Abel, T., Guagnano, G.A., & Kalof, L. (1999). A value-belief-norm theory of support for social movements: The case of environmentalism. Research in Human Ecology, 6, 81–97.Google Scholar
Stern, P.C., Dietz, T., Abel, T., & Kalof, L. (1993). Value orientation, gender, and environmental concern. Environment and Behaviour, 25, 322–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tal, T., & Abramovitch, A. (2013). Activity and action: Bridging environmental sciences and environmental education. Research in Science Education, 43, 1665– 1687.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tilbury, D., & Cooke, K. (2005). A National Review of Environmental Education and its Contribution to Sustainability in Australia: Frameworks for Sustainability. Canberra, Australia: Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage and Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability.Google Scholar
Yavetz, B., Goldman, D., & Pe’er, S. (2009). Environmental literacy of pre-service teachers in Israel: A comparison between students at the onset and end of their studies. Environmental Education Research, 15, 393–415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar