Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-8bljj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-22T20:05:42.707Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Pre-Service Teachers' Knowledge, Participation and Perceptions About Environmental Education in Schools

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2015

Yovita Gwekwerere
Yovita Gwekwerere*
Affiliation:
School of Education, Laurentian University, Ontario, Canada
*
Address for correspondence: Yovita Gwekwerere, Laurentian University, School of Education, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, Ontario P3E 2C6, Canada. Email: ygwekwerere@laurentian.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Despite the ever-growing body of knowledge about human impact on the environment and the need to work towards a sustainable future, participation in environmental action initiatives among the general population remains low. There is an increasingly urgent need to develop a culture of participation among young people who in turn may become future leaders. This article describes a study that was undertaken to investigate pre-service teachers’ environmental knowledge, their willingness to participate in environmental initiatives, and their perceptions about environmental education in schools. The study participants were pre-service teachers between the ages of 19 and 22. Data were collected through online surveys, followed by focus group interviews where pre-service teachers were given the opportunity to expand and comment on the survey responses. Findings from this study are consistent with previous research on pre-service teacher literacy, attitudes, perceptions and participation. However, the pre-service teachers’ perceptions about the role of schools and adults in nurturing environmental awareness and active participation among youth provides educators with new insights for the development of a more comprehensive environmental education curriculum that focuses on integration of theory and action.

Keywords

environmental educationpre-service teachersteacher educationperceptionsenvironmental actionenvironmental knowledgeparticipationpro-environmental behaviourself-determined motivation
Type
Feature Articles
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , December 2014 , pp. 198 - 214
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

Armagan, F.O., & Koksal, E.A. (2010). Factors effecting pre-service teachers’ performances on an environment achievement test. Procedia — Social and Behavioural Sciences, 9, 1585–1591.Google Scholar
Boubonari, T., Markos, A., & Kevrekidis, T. (2013). Greek pre-service teachers’ knowledge, attitudes and environmental behaviour towards marine pollution. The Journal of Environmental Education, 44, 232–251.Google Scholar
Boyes, E., Chambers, W., & Stanisstreet, M. (1995). Trainee primary teachers’ ideas about the ozone layer. Environmental Education Research, 1, 133–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chapman, D., & Sharma, K. (2001). Environmental attitudes and behavior of primary and secondary students in Asian cities: An interview strategy for implementing an eco-schools programme. The Environmentalist, 21, 265–272.Google Scholar
Creswell, J.W., & Plano, C. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Crompton, T., & Kasser, T. (2009). Meeting environmental challenges: The role of human identity. Surrey, UK: WWF-UK: Panda House Goldaming.Google Scholar
Corraliza, J., & Berenguer, J. (2000). Environmental values, beliefs and action: A situational approach. Environment and behaviour, 32, 832–848.Google Scholar
Culen, G.R., & Mony, P.R.S. (2003). Assessing environmental literacy in a non-formal youth program. Journal of Environmental Education, 34, 26–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cutter-Mackenzie, A. (2010). Australian Waste Wise Schools Program: It's past, present and future. The Journal of Environmental Education, 41, 165–321.Google Scholar
Cutter, A., & Smith, R. (2001). Gauging primary school teachers’ environmental literacy: An issue of priority. Asia Pacific Education Review, 2, 45–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deci, E.L., & Ryan, R.M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Deci, E.L., & Ryan, R.M. (2012). Self-determination theory. In Van Lange, P.A.M., Kruglanski, A.W., & Higgins, E.T. (Eds.), Handbook of theories of social psychology (pp. 416–437). London: Sage Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deci, E.L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R.M. (1999). A meta-analysis of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 627–668.Google Scholar
Dove, J. (1996). Student teacher understanding of the greenhouse effect, ozone layer depletion and acid rain. Environmental Education Research, 2, 89–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Esa, N. (2010). Environmental knowledge, attitudes and practices of student teachers. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 19, 39–50.Google Scholar
Fien, J., Yencken, D., & Sykes, H. (2002). Young people and the environment: An Asia Pacific perspective. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.Google Scholar
Foutz, S., Hall, M., Luke, J.J., & Mayhew, M. (2011, April). A youth directed science café: Impacts on teen pre-service teachers. Paper presented at the National Association of Research in Science Teaching International Conference, Orlando, FL.Google Scholar
Groves, F.H., & Pugh, A.F. (1999). Elementary pre-service teacher perceptions of the greenhouse effect. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 8, 75–81.Google Scholar
Gwekwerere, Y. (2011). Meeting environmental sustainability challenges: Strategies for increasing environmental awareness and nurturing pro-environmental behaviour among youth. Interactions: The Ontario Journal of Environmental Education, 24, 34–35.Google Scholar
Hart, R.A. (2008). Stepping back from ‘the ladder’: Reflections on a model of participatory work with children. In Reid, A., Jensen, B.B., Nickel, J., & Simovska, V. (Eds.), Participation and learning: Perspectives on education and the environment, health and sustainability (pp. 19–31). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Holdsworth, S., Wyborn, C., Bekessy, S. & Thomas, I. (2008). Professional development for education for sustainability: How advanced are Australian universities? International Journal of Sustainability in Higher education, 9, 131–146.Google Scholar
Hsu, S.J., & Roth, R. (1998). An assessment of environmental literacy and analysis of predictors of responsible environmental behavior held by secondary teachers in the Hualien area of Taiwan. Environmental Education Research, 4, 229–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jans, M. (2004). Children as citizens: Towards a contemporary notion of child participation. Childhood, 11, 27–44.Google Scholar
Khalid, T. (2003). Pre-service high school teachers’ perceptions of three environmental phenomena. Environmental Education Research, 9, 35–50.Google Scholar
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lerner, R.M., Lerner, J.V., & Phelps, E. (2008). The positive development of youth: Report of the findings from the first four years of 4-H study of positive youth development 2002–2006. Medford, MA: Tufts University, Retrieved from http://ase.tufts.edu/iaryd/documents/4HStudyAnnualReport2008.pdfGoogle Scholar
McKeown, R., & Hopkins, C. (2002). Weaving sustainability into pre-service teacher education programs. In Filho, W.F. (Ed.), Teaching sustainability at universities: Towards curriculum greening (pp. 251–274). Frankfurt: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Madruga, K., & da Silveira, C.F. B. (2003). Can teenagers educate children concerning environmental issues? Journal of Cleaner Production, 11, 519–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matthews, H., & Taylor, M.L.M. (1999). Young people's participation and representation in society. Geoform, 30, 135–144.Google Scholar
Michail, S., Stamou, A.G., & Stamou, G.P. (2007). Greek primary teachers’ understanding of current environmental issues: An exploration of their environmental knowledge and images of nature. Science Education, 91, 244–259.Google Scholar
National Environmental Education Advisory Council. (2005). Setting the standard, measuring results, celebrating success: A report to Congress on the status of environmental education in the United States. Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Nielsen, W., Anderson, P., Hurley, A., Sabljak, V., Petereit, A., Hoskin, V., & Hoban, G. (2012). Preparing action competent environmental educators: How hard could it be? Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 28, 92–107.Google Scholar
Orr, D.W. (2004). Earth in mind: On education, environment and the human prospect. Washington, DC: First Island Press.Google Scholar
Pe'er, S., Goldman, D., & Yavetz, B. (2007). Environmental literacy in teacher training: Attitudes, knowledge, and environmental behavior of beginning students. The Journal of Environmental Education, 39, 45–59.Google Scholar
Pelletier, L. (2004). A motivational analysis of self-determination for pro-environmental behaviours. In Ryan, R. & Deci, E. (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 205–232). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.Google Scholar
Rickison, M. (2001). Learners and learning in environmental education: A critical review of the evidence. Environmental Education Research, 7, 207–320.Google Scholar
Rickison, M., Landholm, C., & Hopwood, N. (2009). Environmental learning: Insights from research into student experience. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.Google Scholar
Reid, A., Jensen, B.B., Nickel, J., & Simovska, V. (2008). Participation and learning: developing perspectives on education and the environment, health and sustainability. In Reid, A., Jensen, B.B., Nickel, J., & Simovska, V. (Eds.), Participation and learning: Perspectives on education and the environment, health and sustainability (pp. 1–18). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Reid, A. & Nickel, J. (2008). Differentiating the evaluation and conceptions and examples of participation in environmental-related learning. In Reid, A., Jensen, B.B., Nickel, J., and Simovska, V. (Eds.), Participation and learning: Perspectives on education and the environment, health and sustainability (pp. 32–60). New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryan, R.M., & Deci, E.L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development and well- being. American Psychologist, 55, 68–78.Google Scholar
Spiropoulou, D., Antonakaki, T., Kontaxakaki, S., & Bouras, S. (2007). Primary teachers’ literacy and attitudes on education for sustainable development. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 16, 443–450.Google Scholar
Salter, Z., Venville, G., & Longnecker, N. (2011). An Australian story: School sustainability education in the lucky country. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 27, 149–159.Google Scholar
Stir, J. (2006). Restructuring teacher education for sustainability: Student involvement through a strengths model. Journal of Cleaner Production, 14, 830–836.Google Scholar
Tuncer, G., Tekkaya, C., Sungur, S., Cakiroglu, J., Ertepinar, H., & Kaplowitz, M. (2009). Assessing pre-service teachers’ environmental literacy in Turkey as a means to develop teacher education programs. International Journal of Educational Development, 29, 426–436.Google Scholar
UNESCO. (1997). Educating for a sustainable future: A transdisciplinary vision for concerned action (UNESCO publication no. EPD-97/Conf.401/CLD.1). Paris: Author.Google Scholar
Warner, A., Langlois, M., & Dumond, C. (2010). Voices from youth action teams: Creating successful partnerships for community action. In Linds, W., Goulet, L., & Sammel, A. (Eds.), Emancipatory practices: Adult/Youth engagement for social and environmental justice (pp. 95–108). Boston, MA: Sense Publishers.Google Scholar
World Commission on Environmental Development. (1987). Our common future. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Yavetz, B., Goldman, D., & Pe'er, S. (2014). How do pre-service teachers perceive ‘environment’ and its relevance to their area of teaching? Environmental Education Research, 20, 354–371.Google Scholar
Youniss, J., & Levine, P. (2009). Engaging young people in civic life. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.Google Scholar