The Failure of Environmental Education (And How We Can Fix It)


Book Description

“The hope for the future depends on teaching current and future students the analytical and critical thinking skills for dealing with the most critical problems. My own hope is for this book to be read by everyone, even those outside the field of environmental education. Read this book, read it again, share it widely, and do something - anything - to help our needy and wounded planet."-Marc Bekoff, author of The Animal Manifesto: Six Reasons For Expanding Our Compassion Footprint "Saylan and Blumstein provide a compelling vision of what can be, and what should be, if we have the courage to open our eyes and the boldness to act.”-Peter Saundry, Ph.D., Executive Director of the National Council for Science and the Environment “A clarion call to incorporate environmental education in all grades K-12, across all academic disciplines, in order to produce future generations of environmental stewards."-Mark Gold, President, Heal The Bay "We need a sea change in the educational system. After all, if we can teach schoolchildren that vandalism is wrong, why can we not teach them that environmental destruction is wrong? This book is a haunting call to action. A beautifully written manifesto that gets it right."-Ron Swaisgood, Director of Applied Animal Ecology, Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Global “The greatest threat to the future of all species on the planet is the huge gap between what is understood about global climate change by the scientific community and what is known about climate change by the people who need to know -- the public. The sound prescriptions in this book need to be read now. We are running out of time.”-Dr. James Hansen, world-renowned climatologist and author of Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity “Environmental education is a disaster and educating the public on environmental issues is the greatest challenge facing humanity today. This book will help us understand why we are headed toward the collapse of civilization, and more important, how to fix it. Packed with sound science, useful information, and brilliant ideas, it is a book we must read, and give, to our local school boards and principals nationwide. Our children will thank us."-Paul R. Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb and Humanity on a Tightrope




Education in Times of Environmental Crises


Book Description

The core assumption of this book is the interconnectedness of humans and nature, and that the future of the planet depends on humans’ recognition and care for this interconnectedness. This comprehensive resource supports the work of pre-service and practicing elementary teachers as they teach their students to be part of the world as engaged citizens, advocates for social and ecological justice. Challenging readers to more explicitly address current environmental issues with students in their classrooms, the book presents a diverse set of topics from a variety of perspectives. Its broad social/cultural perspective emphasizes that social and ecological justice are interrelated. Coverage includes descriptions of environmental education pedagogies such as nature-based experiences and place-based studies; peace-education practices; children doing environmental activism; and teachers supporting children emotionally in times of climate disruption and tumult. The pedagogies described invite student engagement and action in the public sphere. Children are represented as ‘agents of change’ engaged in social and environmental issues and problems through their actions both local and global.







Environmental Values in American Culture


Book Description

How do Americans view environmental issues? This study by a team of cognitive anthropologists reveals similarities in the way different groups of Americans view environmental change, while also showing that Americans may have misunderstandings about these




The Handbook of Environmental Education


Book Description

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.




Contemporary Approaches to Outdoor Learning


Book Description

This book explores contemporary developments in outdoor learning, where the outdoors is seen as the context rather than the subject of learning. Ranging from pathfinder pieces written by practitioners to rigorous research-based pieces of work, the book explores the growing interest in animals as the basis for wider learning strategies as well as drawing together a wide range of outdoor learning approaches for all ages. Within these two discrete sections the contributors, who are drawn from a wide range of practitioners, academics and researchers, describe and analyse innovative approaches that address the need to explore alternatives to current test-based approaches to education in the western world. The whole offers a contemporary, informative, alternative approach to outdoor learning for teachers, practitioners and students.




Environmental Education and Awareness - Volume II


Book Description

Environmental Education and Awareness is a component of Encyclopedia of Human Resources Policy, Development and Management which is part of the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme is organized into seven different topics which represent the main scientific areas of the theme: The first topic, Formal Environmental Education at Preschool, Primary and Secondary Levels; important issues of children's formal environmental education are discussed in this topic, considering that as future adults today's children are more likely than not to make adverse impacts on the natural environment and earth's life-support systems through their behavior, life-styles and attitude, the importance of formal environmental education for children as well as of instilling in their consciousness awareness of the natural environment and respect for it cannot be over-stated. The succeeding six topics are Formal Environmental Education at the Undergraduate Level; Formal Environmental Education at the Graduate Level; Modern and Innovative Techniques for Environmental Education; Professional Environmental Education; Continuing Education; The Voluntary Sector and Initiatives in Environmental Education. Each of these consists of a topic chapter emphasizing the general aspects and various subject articles explaining the back ground, theory and practice of a specific type of environmental education and awareness for achieving global sustainable development and global environmental sustainability that are now at the top of international environmental agenda. These two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students, Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers and NGOs.




Models of Teaching in Environmental Education


Book Description

Contents: Introduction, Theoretical Framework, Review of Research Literature, Models of Teaching in Environmental Education (EE), Methodology, Data Analysis and Interpretation, Summary and Conclusions.




Education and Society in Comparative Context


Book Description

"What was the interrelationship between education and society during the twentieth century in the United States and India? What is the essence of the historical development of educational policies and social systems in these two countries? What philosophical views and developmental courses underlie their outdoor-oriented education? What are their aims of outdoor-oriented education? What procedures are connected with their outdoor-oriented education? These questions are examined in this unique volume.This book is divided into three parts. The first part creates a context for the comparison of the issues concerning education and society. The central point of departure used here regards education as being closely related to the totality of culture and human activity. The dialectic process between education and society is realized differently in accordance with the value objectives that provide the background for different societies. This comparative educational study uses a historico-hermeneutical approach. The second part analyzes the social systems and educational policies of the United States and India following their developmental trends and patterns. The nature of the relationship between education and society for each country is further brought into focus when it is interpreted from the perspective of the philosophical views, pedagogical aims, and procedures of twentieth-century outdoor-oriented education. The case studies provide an interesting insight into how changes in educational policy have been reflected in the every-day pedagogical procedures used in schools in the United States and India.The third part is an analysis and comparison of the phenomena previously presented that are related to education and society through the lenses suggested by sociological theories. It compares the dimensions of the interrelationship between education and society from the standpoint of outdoor-oriented education in the two countries during the twentieth century.This thought-provoking volume is intended for anybody interested in the interplay between education and society in all its complexity. It offers a fascinating journey into the past and present of the issues that have defined the development of education and society in the United States and India."