Developing Environmental Decision-making in Middle School Classes (original) (raw)
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One of the fundamental goals of environmental education (EE) is to equip students with the skills to make more thoughtful decisions about environmental issues. Many examples of environmental and science education curricula work to address this goal by providing students with up-to-date information about a myriad of environmental issues from a variety of scientific disciplines. As noted by previous researchers
International Education Studies, 2014
This study aimed to identify nature of students' decisions patterns towards environmental issues and the possibility to improve these decisions during teaching process using Socio-Scientific Issues Approach. And to achieve this, the researcher prepared and developed tools of the study represented by a test of open questions focused on socio-scientific issues in environmental subjects and a school unit about environmental issues according to Socio-Scientific Issues Approach. Validity and reliability of the study were asserted using the appropriate ways. The population of the study, which consisted of the students of Educational Sciences department in Educational Sciences Faculty in World Islamic Sciences and Education University in Jordan in the first semester in 2012/2013, was 576 male and female students. The sample of the study, which consisted of (40) male and female student, was selected purposefully. Results of the study showed using Socio-Scientific Issues approach enhanced students' ability in improving their decisions towards environmental issues and the results showed existence of four patterns of students' decisions: decisions based on wrong understanding of scientific concepts and their applications, logical linear (formal) decisions taking into account few limited dimensions, decisions on a limited level of controversy. Issuing decisions include scientific thinking takes into account the integrated comprehensive dimension. In light of these results, the researcher recommended paying attention to Socio-Scientific Issues Approach (SSI) as an axis to teach the scientific concepts and issues at the university level and to train the teachers on using it.
Journal of Education in Science, Environment and Health, 2020
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.
The Environmental Education (EE) curricula of most educational institutions focus on teaching students different environmental processes and phenomena. The different calamities such as typhoon Ondoy and increased flooding in different provinces of the Philippines have highlighted the importance of an EE curriculum that will address not only the impacts of this natural disasters but the education of the general population. The study aimed to establish a correlation between cognitive style (System 1 and System 2) and personal demographic factors, environmental values and environmental decision making of students to help in the formulation of an EE curriculum. Results of the study present evidence that cognitive style of individuals is significantly correlated to environmental decision making (p=0.015) and consideration for future consequences (p=0.001) but not to environmental values (p=0.114). There is also no significant correlation between environmental values and environmental decision making (p=0.247), indicating that environmental decision-making is independent of the lack or presence of proenvironmental values or behavior towards the environment. Individuals who have a reflective cognitive style (System 2) tend to exhibit more positive environmental decision making that can positively impact the environment. Taking an environmental science elective is not correlated with individual environmental values and environmental decision making. The relationship among consideration for future consequences, cognitive style and environmental decision making of individuals can be used to guide curriculum developers in the development of an Environmental Education curriculum that will address current environmental problems. A focus on cognitive style rather than a content-based environmental science EE curriculum might be more impactful on the development of proenvironmental decision making.
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