Determining pupil orientation toward the natural environment and conservation

[摘要] ENGLISH SUMMARY: The urgency of the issues concerning of man's relationship to the naturalenvironment is confirmed by the large-scale publicity given to them by the media.This has resulted in a fairly general public awareness of environmental issues whichis at present reflected by numerous efforts to further stimulate positive interest inconservation and the responsible use of natural resources.It is generally accepted that the next generation of decisionmakers should be morethoroughly equipped to face these environmental issues and problems, some ofwhich threaten life's very existence. Over the past 15 years, therefore, severalorganizations have accepted the responsibility of making school-children much moreaware of the environment and of encouraging in them a sense of responsibilitytowards it.To date, however, these efforts have taken place outside the formal educationsector. In fact, there are indications that environmental education has had very littleimpact on our school programmes. It appears that those school subjects inparticular which are supposed to introduce pupils to aspects of the naturalenvironment are still taught as if there were nothing wrong with the environmentand as if the environment were just another topic to be studied. Environmentalissues are avoided in most current school syllabuses, designed as they are to preparepupils academically for university or the labour market.,However, there are indications that, particularly as a result of increased publicpressure, the formal education sector will eventually have to accept responsibilityfor assimilating the principles of environmental education into school curricula.The White Paper on Environmental Education (April 1989) seems to support this.It is being generally accepted that environmental education will not be regarded as anew school subject, but that it will re-emphasize classic educational principles aimedat encouraging positive pupil attitudes toward the environment. These attitudes can be defined by terms such as responsibility, concern, inclination toward conservation,environmental awareness and respect for creation.It is clear that some basic aspects of attitudes should be investigated in formaleducation. A cognitive component has long been accepted as a prerequisite for theexistence of any particular attitude, while a personal value system is also important.A third is the conative aspect, that is, a tendency to act in a certain way. Thisimplies that the emphasis in formal education will have to shift towards a holisticapproach which will acknowledge the importance of these aspects in the learningprocess.The crucial role of evaluation and assessment in education has long been accepted.Both serve to not only gather information on the pupils' development, but alsoexpose learning needs and lacunae which should enable the teacher to makeinformed decisions on curriculum materials and methodology.Since it seems that environmental education will widely serve as an importantstimulant for educational reform, classroom evaluation practice is one of the areaswhich should benefit from the introduction of this approach. However, evaluationinstruments will have to be developed that will enable teachers to collectinformation on pupil orientation toward the environment and conservation. Thiswill not only enable teachers to develop curricula suited to the needs of pupils andsociety- more effectively, but it may also enable them to monitor the development ofpositive attitudes in pupils on an ongoing basis. There are indications that in acomplex society as exists in southern African culture and ethnicity greatly influenceorientation and attitudes toward the environment, and this should be considered inthe development of curricula. Therefore these evaluation techniques should beeffective in the classroom as well as in a variety of social contexts.The main purpose of this research project was to develop an evaluation instrumentthat could be used to gather information to enable the teacher to formulate relevantand suitable curriculum objectives and to choose suitable curriculum materials andmethodologies. This may be instrumental in educating a new generation who willbe better equipped to address environmental issues and problems than the presentone. This development should be regarded as an attempt to encourage the unforcedintroduction of environmental education into formal education systems, therebycomplying with some of the recommendations in the White Paper.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University