Опубликована Окт. 10, 2010
According to environmental education scholars, most people do not use their environmental awareness to behave proenvironmentally. Scholars therefore believe that there is a gap between humans‟ cognitive and behavioural patterns. On one hand, a plethora of factors, such as religion, culture, self-efficacy, emotions, and so on, may be responsible for this gap. On the other hand, the ways we try to create environmental awareness may be problematic. The present study addresses the latter issue. Instead of conveying shallow environmental information, we foresaw that an action-oriented program would provide fruitful conclusions. To this end, the aim of this study was to …
Опубликована Окт. 10, 2010
In the Ontario publically-funded school system, there are no provincial curriculum guidelines or distinct courses for Ecological Literacy. Rather, the Ontario Ministry of Education policy is that “environmental education” should be taught in all grades and all existing subject matter. Because there are no specific Ecological Literacy courses in the provincial curriculum, few programs in Ontario Faculties of Education exist to train teachers in Ecological Literacy. Thus, in this study, we examined what incoming teachercandidates from various disciplinary backgrounds know about general concepts of Ecological Literacy, as the expectation is that all teachers should teach “environmental education” in whatever subject …
Опубликована Сен. 1, 2010
In this study, we investigated the relationships among cognitive conflict and situational interest induced by a discrepant event, attention and effort allocated to learning, and conceptual change in learning the concept of density. Subjects were 183 seventh graders from six middle schools in Seoul, Korea. A preconception test, a test of responses to a discrepant event, and a questionnaire of situational interest were administered as pretests. Computer-assisted instruction was then provided to the students as a conceptual change intervention. Questionnaires regarding attention and effort, and a conception test were administered as posttests. The conception test was administered once more as …
Опубликована Янв. 10, 2011
Traditional secondary science education draws on markedly different pedagogies than those made use of in contemporary environmental education, therefore, embedding environmental education within secondary science curriculum presents both epistemological and practical difficulties for teachers. This ethnographic study examines the work of six secondary science teachers in Northern Ontario, Canada, as they engage in an action research project focused on merging environmental education in their science lessons. Over the course of five months the teachers examine and discuss their views and their professional development related to the project. In the place of definitive conclusions, six propositions relating the work of secondary …
Опубликована Янв. 10, 2011
Despite inquiry-based teaching was introduced and encouraged as significant tool to develop students‘ scientific knowledge and habits of mind, its implementation has not been well established in science classrooms in Korea. To understand the challenges and difficulties of the practice of inquiry practical work, this study particularly aims to understand how pre-service teachers‘ understandings of inquiry and practical work have been shaped in educational and social contexts in Korea and later how their views and willingness could be developed through redesigning and practicing textbook activities. 25 third-year students in an elementary science methods course in Korea participated in the study. …
Опубликована Янв. 10, 2011
The purpose of this study was to investigate what Greek secondary school students (grades 8 and 11) believe about the greenhouse effect and climate change. A total of 626 students completed a closed-form questionnaire consisting of statements regarding the causes, impacts and solutions for this global environmental issue. The possible influence of three factors – i.e. educational level, gender and previous participation in Environmental Education extracurricular programs – on students‟ ideas was examined. The results suggest that eleventh graders were much better informed than eighth graders although some of the misconceptions reported in the literature (such as the cause-effect relationship …
Опубликована Янв. 10, 2011
This study was conducted to determine 4th, 5th, and 6th grade primary students‟ conceptions about the particulate nature of matter in daily-life events. Five questions were asked of students and interviews were used to collect data. The interviews were conducted with 12 students, four students from each grade, after they finished the formal courses related to the particulate nature of matter. The results show that the understanding level of students in all grades about the microscopic properties of matter was quite low. They have little knowledge of or alternative conceptions about the microscopic properties of the particles such as the …
Опубликована Июль 10, 2010
The purpose of this study was to assess the association between United States K-4 preservice teacher‟s attitudes toward specific animals and the likelihood that the preservice elementary teachers would incorporate these specific animals in their future science curriculum. A strong statistically significant association was found between the preservice elementary teacher‟s attitudes towards a specific animal and their likelihood to include or exclude that animal from their future science curriculum. Specifically, if a preservice elementary teacher had a positive attitude toward an animal they were much more likely to believe they would use that animal in their future science curriculum. Conversely, …
Опубликована Апрель 10, 2010
This study examined the level of awareness, knowledge and practices of secondary schools students with regard to waste management. Few studies have captured waste management problems in Nigerian educational institutions, particularly the views of students. Using a structured, self-administered questionnaire, 650 students were surveyed from six secondary schools in two of the four educational zones of Ogun State. Data collected were subjected to percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test and chi-square statistical analyses. Findings revealed that secondary school students from the sampled zones were aware of waste problems on their school compounds, but possessed poor waste management practices. The study showed …
Опубликована Апрель 10, 2010
The present study aimed to determine level of pre-service chemistry teachers‟ environmental literacy and their perceptions on environmental education. This study was realized during the fall semester of 2006-2007 academic year with the participation of 60 students enrolled in five-year chemistry teacher education program. The data collected by administration of Environmental Literacy Test and Environmental Education Perception Survey were analyzed by descriptive statistics and content analysis. The pre-service chemistry teachers strongly emphasized promotion of feelings of concern for the environment, development of awareness and sensitivity to the total environment, and gaining social values to protect the natural resources through teaching …