PROOF COVER SHEET Journal acronym: CEER Author(s): Bela Yavetz Article title: How do preservice teachers perceive ‘environment’ and its relevance to their area of teaching? Article no: 803038 Enclosures: 1) Query sheet 2) Article proofs Dear Author, 1. Please check these proofs carefully. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to check these and approve or amend them. A second proof is not normally provided. Taylor & Francis cannot be held responsible for uncorrected errors, even if introduced during the production process. Once your corrections have been added to the article, it will be considered ready for publication. Please limit changes at this stage to the correction of errors. You should not make insignificant changes, improve prose style, add new material, or delete existing material at this stage. Making a large number of small, non-essential corrections can lead to errors being introduced. We therefore reserve the right not to make such corrections. 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AQ1 Please provide complete details for reference ‘Authors (2006, 2007, 2009)’. AQ2 Please provide volume number and page range for reference ‘Kronlid and Őhman (2012)’. AQ3 Please provide the name of the city of publication for reference ‘Leopold (1949)’. AQ4 Please provide the name of the city of publication for reference ‘National Environmental Education Advisory Council (2005)’. CEER 803038 18 May 2013 Initial CE: JV QA: SS Coll: QC: Environmental Education Research, 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2013.803038 How do preservice teachers perceive ‘environment’ and its relevance to their area of teaching? Bela Yavetza*, Daphne Goldmanb and Sara Pe’erc a Biology and Environmental Education, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology and the Arts, Tel Aviv, Israel; bEnvironmental Science and Agriculture, Beit Berl Academic College, Kfar Saba, Israel; cScience and Environment Teaching, Oranim Academic College, Tivon, Israel 5 (Received 29 July 2012; final version received 2 May 2013) The environment is not only an ecological entity distinct from people but a cultural, social, and political construct. Understanding how learners conceptualize ‘environment’ may contribute to more effective environmental education (EE). This study investigated, in a paired pre–post design, 215 students’ understandings of ‘environment’ and perceptions of its relevance to their teaching area, at the onset and toward the end of their studies in teacher-education colleges in Israel. While student teachers, regardless of their major, acknowledged the importance of EE to their future function as teachers, they do not demonstrate an adequate understanding of the concept environment: humans are not viewed as part of the environment nor is the environment understood as a complex web of interactions among people, man-made systems and natural ecosystems. The fact that toward the end of studies, student teachers’ understandings of environment remained essentially basic indicates the necessity to reorient teacher-education programs toward EE. The various ways in which students perceived the relevance of environment to their teaching area are the starting points for this change. 10 15 20 Keywords: environmental education; perception; teacher education; sustainability; environmental philosophy 25 Introduction This study investigated preservice teachers’ perceptions of the concept ‘environment’. Clarifying students’ perceptions of ‘environment’ is important based on the following assumptions: 30 (a) Environmental issues are defined by the way people perceive their impact on individuals, society, and natural systems. Furthermore, the way people experience and understand the environment projects onto their environmental behaviour, and hence, it is important to elucidate these understandings (Loughland, Reid, and Petocz 2002; Palmer 1998). This point is especially relevant for environmental education (EE) in view of its aim to empower learners toward *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] Ó 2013 Taylor & Francis 35 CEER 803038 18 May 2013 2 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Initial CE: JV QA: SS Coll: QC: B. Yavetz et al. social and environmental change, i.e. change that leads to responsible environmental behavior. Therefore, to attain its goals, EE should be contextual, based on the ways in which different people perceive and understand their environment and define their place in it (Wals 1992). (b) One of the goals of teaching is to lead learners toward meaningful learning. Learners enter the learning process with a complex collection of understandings, ideas, beliefs, and values regarding their world. These constructed in the course of previous experiences effect their learning (Robertson 1993). Assuming that students’ perceptions of the environment reflect their understandings, worldview and attitudes regarding environmental issues, analysis of these perceptions may enable development of more effective and meaningful EE programs and teaching methods, that broaden and deepen these understandings (Loughland, Reid, and Petocz 2002; Payne 1998; Robertson 1998). Elucidating learner’s perceptions is all-the-more valid in the context of preservice teachers. Teachers are key agents for achieving meaningful EE in the education system and developing environmental literacy (EL) among students (McKeown and Hopkins 2002). To fulfill this role, teachers need to enrich their students with more than knowledge. They need to cultivate the students’ abilities to understand, criticize, and participate rationally in the discourse on controversial, value laden issues of sustainability which require a holistic approach addressing social, cultural and ethical aspects. If teachers lack proficiency in their environmental knowledge, skills and commitment, it is unlikely they will be able to effectively lead environmental change in schools (National Environmental Education Advisory Council 2005). There is accumulating empirical evidence indicating that inadequate incorporation of EE within teacher education is one of the obstacles to successful implementation of EE in schools (Babiuk and Falkenberg 2010; Cutter and Smith 2001; McKeown and Hopkins 2002; UNESCO 1997). In light of this, the present study explored perceptions of preservice teachers, at the beginning and toward the end of their studies, regarding the concept ‘environment’, human–environment interrelationships and how these are related to the subject-area that they are being trained to teach. This investigation is one component of a broader longitudinal investigation of the development of these student teachers’ EL during their professional preparation (Authors 2006, 2007, 2009). EL variables, such as environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behavior, were evaluated using quantitative tools (Authors 2006, 2007, 2009). Elucidating students’ perceptions of the environment (in this study), illuminates aspects that are not exposed through quantitative tools and thus contributes to constructing a more comprehensive picture of their EL. The purpose of elucidating student teachers’ EL is to provide insight whether graduates of the current teacher-education programs are prepared to function as environmental educators, and how EE can be effectively integrated within their education. The only refinement that I would suggest is a stronger case be made for the original contribution this paper makes to the literature in this area. There might be a case made, for example, that this paper reports on the unique application of two different analytical frameworks. The current argument for an original contribution is that teacher education (or training) does not promote environmental knowledge, values and behaviors. This is hardly new as the authors acknowledge in this paper. CEER 803038 18 May 2013 Initial CE: JV QA: SS Coll: QC: Environmental Education Research 3 Theoretical framework Frameworks for analyzing perceptions of environment Various frameworks can be found in the literature that can be used for analyzing how individuals perceive the construct ‘environment.’ A useful framework that resonates with the sustainability approach is the conceptual model provided by UNESCO (2002) in the context of education for sustainable development and also described by O’Donoghue and Russo (2004). The model emphasizes interactions among social, economic, political, and biophysical dimensions of the environment and environmental issues and thus provides a holistic and integrative framework that addresses the environmental–social interphase. Another framework, derived empirically, was presented by Loughland, Reid, and Petocz (2002). From their phenomenographic study of primary and secondary pupils’ conceptions of ‘environment,’ they identified six qualitatively different categories: environment as a place; environment as a place that contains living things; environment as a place that contains living things and human beings; the environment as something that does something for people; people are part of the environment and are responsible for it; people and the environment are in a mutually sustaining relationship. These categories are hierarchical, ranging from a limited understanding of ‘environment’ to the most inclusive and comprehensive view. The first three categories reflect perception of ‘environment’ as an object, while the remaining three reflect a view of ‘environment’ as different relationships between people and the environment. Individuals’ perceptions of the relationships among humans, man-made systems, and the natural world are related to the environmental values they hold, which influence their behavior with respect to the environment (Dietz, Fitzgerald, and Shwom 2005; Scott and Oulton 1998). A central aspect of environmental values focuses on the value humans assign to nonhuman nature. An anthropocentric worldview situates humans and their needs at the center and assigns an intrinsic value only to humans and a utilitarian value to nature (Dietz, Fitzgerald, and Shwom 2005). This approach views nature as a resource for human exploitation, and therefore, its value is determined by the benefits or uses that it provides to human. This value approach underlies the dominant social paradigm of Western industrialized societies (Dunlap 2008). Opposing anthropocentrism is a bio/ecocentric worldview by which people are perceived as one component of the ecological system, acknowledging intrinsic value also to nonhuman components of nature, independent of the services they provide people. This value approach is a basic foundation of the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) (Dunlap and Van Liere 1978; Dunlap et al. 2000). These opposing value approaches are commonly abstracted as a continuum in which one pole represents the anthropocentric position and the opposite pole represents the bio/ecocentric position. The anthropocentric/ecocentric distinction is often used to characterize basic values relating to the natural environment and to examine changes in these over time and following exposure to EE. Specifically, EE strives to move learners from a more anthropocentric orientation to a more ecocentric orientation. It is recently critiqued that the anthropocentric/ecocentric distinction is often taken as synonymous with a nonenvironmentally friendly orientation vs. an environmentally friendly position and that this parallelism can lead to an over simplification of a more complex reality when implemented in the study of human behavior (Kronlid and Őhman 2012; Wiseman and Bogner 2003). For example, 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 CEER 803038 18 May 2013 4 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Initial CE: JV QA: SS Coll: QC: B. Yavetz et al. people who hold anthropocentrically oriented values can be environmentally responsible in their behavior. Schultz et al. (2004) argue that peoples’ environmental attitudes and concerns can be associated with the extent to which they view themselves as part of the natural environment or distinct from nature. At one extreme is the individual who believes him/herself separate from nature and thus superior to other living organisms. At the other end of the continuum is the individual who believes that s/he is a part of nature, and therefore, the rights that apply to humans should also apply to other organisms (Schultz et al. 2004). From a different perspective, this idea of a separation between humans and nature may reflect a ‘romantic’ perception by which nature is perceived as a pristine, pure and undisturbed place, and humans and their artifacts are viewed as ‘outside’ of nature. As such, nature provides people with esthetic and spiritual values and psychological enrichment (Leopold 1949; Muir 1915). These values have significant practical importance in management of the environment (Safriel 2010) and are acknowledged in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) as the ‘esthetic’ ecosystem services. The above theoretical and empirical frameworks were used in the present study as the lenses for analyzing the students’ perceptions of the environment Previous studies on perceptions of environment in educationally related target populations Various studies have explored environmental perceptions of different target populations: students in the education system (Loughland, Reid, and Petocz 2002; Shepardson 2005; Shepardson et al. 2007; Wals 1992), higher education students (Duan and Fortner 2005; Ewert and Baker 2001; Kagawa 2007; McMillan, Wright, and Beazley 2004; Rideout 2005); and student teachers (Desjean-Perrotta, Moseley, and Cantu 2008; Moseley, Desjean-Perrotta, and Utley 2010). Using the hierarchical framework derived from their phenomenographic study of perceptions of the environment, Loughland, Reid, and Petocz (2002), and Loughland et al. (2003) found that pupils in the Australian educational system demonstrated mainly an ‘object’ view of the environment, while the ‘relation’ view was much less prevalent. Interestingly, the ‘relation’ view was more prevalent in primary school children as compared to high school pupils. The authors traced this difference to the approach by which the subject was integrated within the two levels of schooling: in primary schools, EE was taught in an integrated manner, whereas in high schools, it was taught as a separate subject – ‘environmental science’. Shepardson et al. (2007) analyzed school childrens’ drawings and explanations of the environment, to identify their Mental Models as reflections of their conceptualizations of the environment. The researchers found that the environment was most frequently perceived by the pupils as a natural place devoid of people and concluded that these pupils understand the environment from a narrow ecological perspective (Shepardson 2005; Shepardson et al. 2007). Payne (1998) found that Australian urban sixth grade students generally have a romantic idea of nature, as something ‘out there’ – living and nonliving things existing naturally in the external environment, excluding humans and their artifacts. They view the environment mainly through its physical dimensions, while conceptions of dynamics and change were mostly absent. CEER 803038 18 May 2013 Initial CE: JV QA: SS Coll: QC: Environmental Education Research 5 The perceptions reflected by the school pupils in the above studies, which implemented different tools, indicate that these young people have an incomplete understanding of the environment, and the researchers relate how children perceive the environment to the ways this subject is being taught in schools (Loughland, Reid, and Petocz 2002; Loughland et al. 2003; Shepardson et al. 2007). Such a situation needs to be taken into consideration in the way the environment and issues of sustainability are addressed in teacher-education programs, as this is reflected in the student teachers’ comprehensions of the environment and of environmental issues. Along this line, several studies have addressed preservice teachers’ perceptions of the environment (Desjean-Perrotta, Moseley, and Cantu 2008; Moseley, DesjeanPerrotta, and Utley 2010; Robertson 1993, 1998; Van Petegem, Blieck, and Van Ongevalle 2007). Robertson (1993) identified, in student teachers in a secondary school teacher-education program in a South African University, four different conceptualizations of the environment/social (focusing on social interactions and effects of environmental issues on humans); political (awareness of social justice, economic inequality and nonrepresentation of general public interests in decision-making); biophysical (focusing on natural systems and effects of human activity on them); and inclusive (interactions among the three foregoing aspects). These students’ conceptualizations reflect the dimensions of the environment depicted in the model described by UNESCO (2002) and O’Donoghue and Russo (2004). An investigation of early childhood preservice teachers’ mental models of the environment, as reflected in their drawings and explanations of the environment, found that the majority of these students did not include human factors and very few indicated human relationships with other factors. Based on this, the authors concluded that these students teachers have incomplete mental models of the environment (Desjean-Perrotta, Moseley, and Cantu 2008; Moseley, Desjean-Perrotta, and Utley 2010). Regarding humans’ place in relation to the natural world, Robertson (1998) found that student teachers’ approaches to such relations could be organized on a bipolar axis/one pole reflects perception of people separate from the natural world and the other extreme expresses perception of the environment as a totality of interrelations among people, other living and nonliving components of nature. Based on the assumption that individuals’ perceptions of the environment are one reflection of their understanding of this construct, the present study explored student teachers’ conceptions of environment and its relevance to their area of teaching, and whether their teacher preparation studies are contributing to the development of their capacities in this realm and thus to their potential to promote sustainability discourse with their pupils in the education system. Methodology Participants The study was conducted in a pretest–post-test design with 215 students from three teacher-education colleges in Israel (Beit Berl Academic College, Oranim Academic College of Education and Kibbutzim College of Education). The programs in these colleges extend four years and students graduate with a Bachelor in Education degree (BEd) and a teaching certificate. The academic programs are structured similarly in all three colleges and are comprised of three components: (1) disciplinary 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 CEER 803038 18 May 2013 6 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Initial CE: JV QA: SS Coll: QC: B. Yavetz et al. studies in one or two major fields, (2) education and pedagogy studies and (3) internship, the latter two designed according to the students’ professional preparation track (preschool, elementary school, secondary school, special education, nonformal education). Based on their academic major, students were classified into two groups: those studying environment-affiliated fields such as environmental studies, agriculture, geography, life sciences (termed EAF-majors) and those studying nonenvironment-affiliated fields such as social studies, history, literature, mathematics, arts, physical education, etc. (termed NEAF-majors). Seventy-one percent of students (71%) majored in NEAF. Although the departments categorized in this study as environment-affiliated address the environment through different approaches that can influence students’ EL-outcomes, the relatively small number of students enrolled in each of these disciplines did not enable subgrouping them according to their approach with regards to EE. Students in all programs are also exposed to various educational activities on campus that include environmental aspects. Students’ age at the onset of studies was 24 ± 2.5. The majority (86.6%) of the students were females. Instrumentation This study addressed two open-ended questions: (1) When you hear the word ‘environment’, you think of…; (2) In your opinion, how do environmental topics relate to the teaching area you chose to major in? Explain. The pretest questionnaire was conducted with students during the first month of their first academic year (beginner students) and the post-test was conducted with the same students during the last month of their third academic year (advanced students). Data analysis Qualitative analysis of students’ answers was based on the phenomenographic approach (Martin and Booth 1997). Inductive content analysis was conducted in two stages: (a) While reading students’ answers, words or sections of the content were labeled with descriptive words. These were grouped into categories that were titled. (b) With respect to the first question, the categories that emerged were then organized into higher order themes that correspond to models, scales, and ideas from the literature and presented in the theoretical background. In this manner, results were the outcome of students’ responses/the initial categories emerged from students’ answers, and regrouping was informed by researchers’ insights based on theoretical perspectives. Students’ answers to the first question underwent an additional quantitative analysis using the four-dimensional model of the environment (UNESCO 2002) and the empirical categorical framework described by Loughland, Reid, and Petocz (2002) (see theoretical background). Since this framework is hierarchical, it is useful for identifying increasing levels of complexity of understanding the construct ‘environment.’ The distinction between an ‘object’ vs. ‘relation’ view of the environment is relevant for characterizing environmentally responsible citizenship as this is reflected in behavior. Finally, this typology contains aspects of many environmental orientations, such as the anthropocentric/ecocentric distinction, the Dominants Social Paradigm vs. the NEP (Loughland, Reid, and Petocz 2002). With respect to CEER 803038 18 May 2013 Initial CE: JV QA: SS Coll: QC: Environmental Education Research 7 Loughland’s et al. framework, only responses that explicitly addressed any of these categories were included in this analysis, and each response could be assigned to only one category, and hence, the sum of categories equals 100%. For analysis using the four-dimensional framework, participants’ perceptions may fall under a number of categories, and hence, the sum of categories may not equal 100%. The combined application of the two above-described frameworks for analyzing the data has not been reported in the literature and thus introduces to the research exploring individuals’ perceptions of the environment some useful frameworks. For validity, analyzes were conducted independently by each of the three researchers. The outcomes were then compared and discrepancies were discussed until agreement was reached regarding the categories. Results Students’ understandings of ‘environment’ Analysis of students’ responses revealed a number of categories and themes that reflect the different ways in which they perceive and understand the concept ‘environment.’ The following categories appeared in both the beginner and advanced students’ responses: Romantic perception identifies the environment with pastoral nature, using esthetic terms associated with pristine nature: ‘green, nature, bird-chirps, hikes, flowing rivers, serenity, pure water’; … ‘outings in nature’; ‘… Mother Earth’. This approach also views the environment as a refuge from the hazards of the modern world: ‘pastoral environment … no noise, no pollution’; ‘a world of nature where we can isolate ourselves from the technological environment …’ Environmental quality represents an idea of the environment through the lens of adverse effects of human activity, with extensive use of the terms pollution and cleanliness: ‘… pollution, smoke, soot’; ‘air pollution from cars, industry’; ‘degraded environment, environmental damage’. In addition, the environment may be viewed as an object that needs to be preserved: ‘How important it is to save nature and animals in nature’. Students’ views of how to preserve the environment reflect different value approaches, for example nature conservation – ‘to conserve nature, flora and fauna, in our country’ and wise-use: ‘People should protect the environment, especially the natural environment, because it provides use, protects us and meets many of our needs.’ A dual perception opposes between nature and human impact – the environment is viewed a conflict between nature, associated with good, and negative impacts of man’s activities. Most answers were lists of words among which the contrasting aspects were dispersed: ‘animals, nature, air pollution, nature’s beautiful scenery, serenity, illnesses’. Only a few of the respondents better articulated this duality, emphasizing contrast: ‘open space with plants and flowers, water, wind and earth but sorrowfully I also think of recycling containers, dirty beaches and lots of unnecessary pollution.’ Students’ responses mirrored the dimensions described in the model of the environment (UNESCO 2002; O’Donoghue and Russo 2004): the biophysical dimension: ‘anywhere on earth that includes animals, fungi, bacteria, scenery, and seas, and of course the air that surrounds u’s; the social dimension: ‘my family, my friends, everyone I know’; the economic dimension (only one respondent): ‘many 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 CEER 803038 18 May 2013 8 5 10 15 20 25 30 Initial CE: JV QA: SS Coll: QC: B. Yavetz et al. nature reserves charge admission … you have to pay for parking’ and the political dimension (two respondents only): … political corruption’, ‘No one pays attention to this in Israel because the institutions that control the country don’t consider it important’. Only few respondents expressed a complex perception relating to interactions among these dimensions, for example: ‘nature, animals, people, the interactions and mutual effects’ or ‘the State of Israel that damages the environment, overuses resources and enables capitalists to damage the country’s unique living environments’. Perception of the environment in biophysical terms was the most prominent (Table 1). Students expressed several value-based perceptions of the environment. Categories that dealt with human–environment relations were organized on a continuum ranging from a view of man-separate-from-environment (‘Trees, green spaces, streams, without human influence’), through perception of man-part-of-the-environment (‘plants, animals, light, water and people who take part in this house called earth’) to a recognition of interdependence between human and natural environments (‘interaction between all components of the world, between them and man’). The number of students’ that expressed each of the views decreased along this continuum (Table 1). Another theme – Value-of-nature-deals with the value people allocate to nonhuman nature, which can also be organized on a continuum. One end of this continuum represents an anthropocentric, utilitarian worldview by which the value of non-human nature is perceived in terms of human needs: ‘everything around me that helps me live’; ‘natural environment has use – it protects us and provides our many needs’. The other end represents a ecocentric worldview: ‘all the conditions necessary for human life and all living creatures’, ‘how to live without damaging our partners in nature’. Only few students explicitly articulated the value-of-nature theme (Table 1). Another perspective that could be found in the students’ texts expressed a selfcentered point of view, by which the students place themselves as a reference point Table 1. The percentage each category comprises from total responses – Comparison between students at the beginning and towards the end of studies (N = 164). Themes Dimensions of environment based on UNESCO (2002) Environmental quality Human-nature relations Categories Romantic perception Self-centered perspective Biophysical Social Economical – political Adverse effects of human activity Environmental protection Man separate from environment Man part of the environment Man and the environment are interdependent Beginning of studies (%) End of studies (%) 25.6 20.7 55.5 3.7 3.0 40.2 30.5 18.3 54.3 3.0 3.0 36.0 20.1 1.8 15.2 0.6 15.2 15.9 3.7 5.5 Notes: Fifty one students did not respond on one of the investigation dates. Sum of categories is not 100% since students’ responses may include several categories. CEER 803038 18 May 2013 CE: JV QA: SS Coll: QC: Initial Environmental Education Research 9 for the environment with themselves as the center: ‘Nature that surrounds me in the place where I live; everything outside the skin of my body’; ‘everything that surrounds me and helps me live’. Comparison between students at the beginning and toward the end of their studies Table 1 compares the categories and themes that emerged from students’ texts between students and the beginning and toward the end of their studies. Analysis of the frequency of the different categories and themes indicates that the environment is perceived mainly in biophysical terms by both beginner and advanced students. For most categories, no prominent differences could be found between beginner and advanced students. Differences were only found for the perception of the environment in terms of environmental protection, which decreased during studies, (a) Beginning of studies 70 EAF % of responses 60 NEAF 50 40 30 20 10 objects (b) mutual relationship people part of env. & responsible env. does something for people place, organisms & people place & organisms Place 0 relations End of studies % of responses 60 EAF 50 NEAF 40 30 20 10 objects mutual relationship people part of env. & responsible env. does something for people place, organisms & people place & organisms Place 0 relations Note: EAF - environment affiliated fields; NEAF - non environment affiliated fields Figure 1. Distribution of EAF and NEAF students’ responses (%) according to the categories described by Loughland, Reid, and Petocz (2002) at the beginning (a) and towards the end (b) of studies (N = 139). 5 10 CEER 803038 18 May 2013 10 5 10 15 20 25 30 Initial CE: JV QA: SS Coll: QC: B. Yavetz et al. and for the romantic perception, which increased during studies (Table 1). From a linguistic perspective, the 60% of the responses were comprised of lists of components or characteristics of the environment, and the rest were phrased in complete sentences. Comparison between EAF and NEAF students at the beginning and toward the end of studies Analysis of the students’ responses using the categorical framework described by Loughland, Reid, and Petocz (2002) (Figure 1) demonstrates that the prevailing category in both groups of students (EAF and NEAF), at both the beginning and toward the end of studies, is ‘The environment is a place that accommodates living creatures’. Furthermore, both groups of students, at both time points, perceive the environment mainly as an object and seldom as relations. Noteworthy differences between the groups were found with respect to perception of the environment in terms of relationships, as follows: among beginner students, EAF students identified the environment as mutual relationships between people and the environment, while NEAF-students emphasized people are part of the environment and responsible for it. Toward the end of studies, these differences disappeared. Figure 2 presents the ratio between students (EAF and NEAF) who perceive the environment in relational terms and those who perceive the environment as an object, at the beginning and toward the end of studies. In beginner students, this ratio did not differ between EAF and NEAF students, whereas toward the end of studies, the ratio was higher for EAF as compared to NEAF students. It should be noted that the low values of this ratio are consistent with the perception of the environment mainly as an object. Students’ perceptions concerning the relevance of environmental topics to their teaching area Nearly, all the students (95%), both EAF and NEAF, felt that environmental topics are relevant to their area of teaching. This relevance was perceived in two major Note: EAF - environment affiliated fields; NEAF - non environment affiliated fields Figure 2. The ratio between percent of students that perceive the environment as relations to the percent of students that perceive the environment as object, at the beginning and towards the end of studies (EAF: N = 46; NEAF: N = 94). CEER 803038 18 May 2013 CE: JV QA: SS Coll: QC: Initial Environmental Education Research 11 ways (Figure 3): on educational premises and via subject-matter (sciences as well as social studies). Perceptions reflecting the educational premise of relevance included four subcategories: (1) Environment as a universal issue – The environment is perceived as universal and relevant to all people, for example, ‘Environment is connected to all aspects of life. Its validity is independent on place, language, knowledge’ (A1); (2) Education for values – The environment and concern for the environment are perceived as an educational value, for example: ‘We’re supposed to teach our children not only subject matter but also a minimum of values related to fellow men and the world’ (A2); (3) Mission as educators – Students identified educating for the environment as one of their future ethical responsibilities as educators, for example: ‘As a seminar student, and in the future, it is my role to lead change. I hold the power to provide students with the knowledge they require to protect the environment’ (A3); (4) Role model – A few students expressed an approach that they, as teachers, should, through their personal environmental behavior, serve as role models for their pupils, for example: ‘as an educator of future generations I should provide a personal example for my pupils in my conductance’ (A4). The disciplinary lens of relevance included three subcategories (Figure 3): (1) Environmental content –The students’ teaching area is perceived as framework for integrating environmental content, for example: ‘When you teach English, you can teach the environment via the whole topic of English, be it in poetry, literature, or grammar, or an international film, or speaking’ (B1); (2) Environmental values – Students’ area of teaching is perceived as a framework for promoting environmental values, for example: Informal education provides an opportunity to convey the environmental message (B2); EE pedagogy – The educational methodologies used in teaching about, and in, the environment are perceived as a means for achieving the educational goals of their specific teaching area: ‘In special education we can integrate things from nature and environment to develop our target population in different aspects such as motor skills, etc.’ (B3). beginning end 35 A1 - Environment as a universal issue A2 - Education for values A3 - Mission as educators A4 - Role model B1 - Environmental content B2 - Environmental values B3 - Environmental education pedagogy NO - no connection % of respondents 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 A1 A2 A3 A4 B1 B2 B3 Notes: Sum of categories is not 100% since students’ responses may include several categories. Figure 3. The percentage of responses that addressed each of the rationalizations (subcategories) for relevance of the environment to the students’ area of teaching (Students at beginning of studies, N = 184; students towards end of studies, N = 162). 5 10 15 20 25 30 CEER 803038 18 May 2013 12 B. Yavetz et al. (a) (b) Beginning of studies End of studies 60 60 50 50 40 EAF NEAF 30 20 10 % of respondents % of respondents CE: JV QA: SS Coll: QC: Initial 40 EAF NEAF 30 20 10 0 0 A1 A2 A3 A4 B1 B2 B3 NO Perceptions on relationship of the environment to area of teaching A1 A2 A3 A4 B1 B2 B3 NO Perceptions on relationship of the environment to area of teaching Notes: The categories are the same as in Figure 3. Figure 4. The percentage of EAF students (beginning of studies, N = 61; towards end of studies N = 57) and NEAF (beginning of studies, N = 123; towards end of studies, N = 102) that addressed each of the rationalizations (sub-categories) for relevance of the environment to the students’ area of teaching. 5 10 15 20 25 Some of the students articulated no connection between environmental themes and the subject they intended to teach (NO). Generally, beginner students perceived the relevance of the environment to their teaching area through the educational lens, with emphasis on education for values. Advanced students placed greatest emphasis on subject matter as the basis for relevance, and environmental content was the most prevalent category was. Furthermore, beginner students’ texts could be characterized as intuitive, ideological and general declarations, reflecting their expectations regarding educating future generations and the power of education as a vehicle for change. As advanced students, their answers reflected a more developed perception of their teaching area, expressing more focused and specific relationships between the environment and their teaching area. Figure 4 compares perception of the relevance of environment to students’ teaching area between EAF and NEAF students. EAF students perceive the relevance mainly through the disciplinary lens, articulating this relevance via subject matter (B1). NEAF students, at the beginning of their studies, perceive relevance of the environment to their area of teaching mainly through the educational perspective. Toward the end of studies, these differences between EAF and NEAF students became more pronounced/perception of relevance through content (B1) grew in EAF students, while perception of students’ area of teaching as a framework for integrating environmental values (B2) became more pronounced in NEAF students. Discussion Recent years have witnessed a significant increase in government commitment to infuse EE within the Israeli educational system (Ministry of Education 2011). This trend has created a necessity for teachers sufficiently prepared to lead and conduct EE as an inherently integrative subject. From this perspective, teachers should comprehend the environment as a dynamic system of interactions between living and CEER 803038 18 May 2013 Initial CE: JV QA: SS Coll: QC: Environmental Education Research 13 nonliving components, including human beings and man-made systems as integral components of a holistic system. In addition, to promote a sustainability perspective, environmental issues need to be understood not only as biophysical by nature, but as multidimensional integrating environmental, social, economic and political aspects. Results of this study indicate a gap between such a comprehension of the environment and that demonstrated by the student teachers at the onset but also toward the end of their professional preparation, as elaborated in the following. One of the tools used in this study to analyze findings was the multidimensional model described by UNESCO, (2002). Since this model is based on the Sustainable Development approach, it provides a suitable framework for interpreting findings relating to EE. Based on this, most students comprehend ‘environment’ in the narrow sense of its biophysical dimension, similar to the findings reported by Van Petegem, Blieck, and Van Ongevalle (2007) with respect to preservice teachers in Zimbabwe. Those few that addressed the social dimension focused on their social circle (i.e. family, friends, etc.) and did not address social components central to sustainability such as social welfare, public health, and environmental justice. Economic or political perspectives of the environment were rare as was articulation of interactions among the different dimensions (Table 1). Another analysis, using the hierarchical framework constructed by Loughland, Reid, and Petocz (2002), showed that the majority of students view the environment as an object and not in a relational perspective as a web of interdependencies including humans (Figure 1). Loughland, Reid, and Petocz (2002) argue that the distinction between perception of the environment as an object or as a web of relations is consequential for an individual’s behavior with respect to the environment: a person who perceives the environment as an object may not necessarily grasp and understand the need to take personal responsibility for it. In line with this idea, a study of the environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of the same student teacher population investigated in the present study, found that they demonstrated limited involvement in environmentally responsible behavior (Authors 2006, 2009). Another issue stemming from the results relates to how the students perceive the position of human and manmade systems in relation to the natural world. Only a few students expressed the understanding that human beings and/or their systems are integral components of the environment. This issue was addressed by O’Donoghue and Russo (2004) in their critical analysis of EE programs and materials used in South Africa. According to these authors, the nature-based programs and activities used in EE until the late 1980s, focused on the study of nature as an ecological system, placing humans outside nature and identifying social, economic and political processes as factors that upset nature’s balance. O’Donoghue and Russo (2004) contend that these programs reflect an approach that both idealizes nature vs. modernization and further fuels this approach. Barry (2010) terms this human–nature dialectic the ‘environment/society disconnect,’ embedded in and characterizing modern western society, which treats the environment as one extreme of an adversarial binary opposing society. The students’ understandings, elicited in this study, resonate with these appositions of nature and human systems. This is portrayed in their romantic perspective which views the environment as undisturbed nature and separates between humans and human-made systems and natural systems. It is further reflected in their perception of the environment as an arena of conflict between pristine nature (regarded as positive) and anthropocentric effects (viewed as negative) (Table 1). 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 CEER 803038 18 May 2013 14 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Initial CE: JV QA: SS Coll: QC: B. Yavetz et al. It can be concluded from the multi-analyses that the majority of students do not have a clear comprehension of all components of the environment. They see the environment as an object and not as a system of inter-relationships including relations between people and the natural world. Their writing about environment is mainly descriptive and not explanatory or with reference to processes. These findings are similar to those reported for elementary and junior high-school students (Loughland, Reid, and Petocz 2002; Shepardson 2005) and teacher students (Desjean-Perrotta, Moseley, and Cantu 2008; Moseley, Desjean-Perrotta, and Utley 2010). The emerging picture is that these student teachers’ understanding of ‘environment’ is essentially basic and their professional preparation did not lead to substantial development in this. This incomplete understanding of the concept of environment is consistent with the typically low level of environmental knowledge found for this same group of students (Authors 2007, 2009). What insights stem from these results with respect to the preservice programs? In the Israeli educational system, teaching about environment is still viewed mainly as the responsibility of science teachers and less related to other disciplines. The students defined in this study as environment-affiliated viewed the relevance of the environment to their teaching area mainly through the disciplinary perspective, with focus on biology and ecology-related content. In this, they are reflecting the mechanistic and positivistic approach of the disciplines they studied that emphasizes objective scientific knowledge, without developing a comprehensive and integrative view of the environment essential for understanding and coping with environmental issues. These findings support the growing realization that ecology studies and EE are not the same thing (McKeown and Hopkins 2002; McKeown-Ice and Dedinger 2000; Van Petegem, Blieck, and Van Ongevalle 2007) and that the former is not sufficient in enabling students to fully comprehend the complex environmental– social issues of daily life so that these will be reflected in their future teaching. In spite of the students’ limited comprehension of ‘environment.’ they assign significant relevance of this field to their future teaching-area and perceive the environment as a value laden issue regardless of their disciplinary major (Figure 4). Values, and educating for values, are a central focus of public discourse, philosophical thought and the pedagogy of education and educational practice in any society or educational system (Kleinberger 1962; Scott and Oulton 1998). In line with this, the findings of this study may reflect the significant place value education holds in the teacher-education programs. A crucial component of EE is the awareness of the importance of environmental issues. That the majority of students, regardless of their major, acknowledged relevance of the environment to their future function as teachers, is encouraging and provides a basis to work upon. Conclusions – Implications for teacher preparation The global environmental crisis of the twenty-first century, as a social/ethical crisis, presents education with one of the most complex challenges. In response, Israel, similar to other countries, is supporting implementation of EE within the school system (Babiuk and Falkenberg 2010; Ferreira et al. 2009; Ministry of Education 2011; Sleurs 2008). In light of these trends, preparing teachers who are equipped to educate their pupils toward sustainable values and life styles becomes imperative. Students explanations regarding the essence of the construct ‘environment’ provide a deeper and richer understanding of the nature of the environmental beliefs CEER 803038 18 May 2013 Initial CE: JV QA: SS Coll: QC: Environmental Education Research 15 and understandings underlying their ratings to the questionnaire exploring their ELcharacteristics (Authors 2006, 2007, 2009). Most specifically, understanding of the environment as an ‘object’ and not as a web of interrelationships that include humans and their artifacts as components of a holistic system, and a dual view of conflict between pristine nature and man-made systems, should be taken into consideration in designing of programs oriented to the development of a sustainability perspective. Combining the above with the diverse ways in which the students perceived the relevance of ‘environment’ to their teaching area provide some directions for effective dissemination of EE in teacher-education programs: 5 Perception of relevance on educational premises indicates the advantage of using the educational and pedagogical elements of teacher-education programs as a scaffold for integrating EE: It takes advantage of the common component of all programs. Furthermore, in view of the interdisciplinary nature of EE, it can both contribute and benefit from the integrative nature of pedagogy studies. Finally, the pedagogical component provides a built-in framework for addressing practical aspects of the pedagogies for teaching environmental dilemmas in the classroom. The fact that students (both environment and nonenvironment affiliated) toward the end of their studies acknowledge subject-matter as a basis for relevance, supports that teacher-preparation courses should be encouraged to integrate EE into all teaching subjects. The results pertaining to students majoring in environment-affiliated disciplines point to the necessity to update these teacher preparation courses to include concepts, principles, and approaches associated with sustainability, aimed at developing a multidimensional perspective. Science education will benefit from such an approach. 10 Acknowledgments 25 15 20 This research was supported by the MOFET Institute, Kibbutzim College of Education, Oranim College of Education and Beit Berl Academic College. We would like to thank Mrs Tali Zeiger from the Unit for Research and Evaluation of Beit Berl College for her methodological assistance. Notes on contributors 30 Bela Yavetz is a lecturer in the Departments for Biology and Environmental Education at the Kibbutzim College for Education, Technology and the Arts. Her PhD is in endocrinology. She currently is head of the committee for the Science and Technology curriculum for junior high schools, Ministry of Education. Her research interest is in environmental education. 35 Daphne Goldman is a senior lecturer in the Department of Environmental Science and Agriculture, Beit Berl Academic College, where she just recently culminated 7 years as chair of this department. She sits on the Ministry of Education committee for the high school Environmental Science curriculum and on the National Committee for Accrediting Green Campuses. Daphne’s PhD is in environmental biochemical toxicology. Her current fields of research includes environmental education (focus on teacher and higher education). 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