Advocating sustainable lifestyles : the case for contemporary environmental education

Abstract

The implications of environmental damage have been documented for some decades, however, societies around the world continue to conduct lifestyles that compromise environmental quality or are environmentally unsustainable. The objective of this report is, therefore, to explore the contribution that school-based environmental education may make to improvements in the level of environmental awareness amongst citizens. The study addresses three questions:

• are today's students environmentally aware? • how does the New Zealand education system affect the development of environmental awareness in students? and • what is the role of the educator in facilitating environmental awareness?

The first and last of these questions are examined by comparing outcomes of empirical studies with theoretical models established through literature reviews. A literature review forms the basis for discussing the second question.

Examination of students' attitudes and abilities reveals that students do not exhibit environmental awareness at levels conducive to the practice of environmentally-sustainable lifestyles. The level of students' environmental awareness is a reflection of the structural and ideological framework underpinning New Zealand's education system - a system that presents barriers to the implementation of effective environmental education programmes. Barriers include the content and structure of the National educational curriculum, the underlying ideology of State-funded education, the recent developments in the teacher's role and current methods of formal assessment.

Teachers, as one aspect of the education system, present significant barriers to the potential for students to develop levels of environmental awareness that are consistent with environmentally-sustainable lifestyles. Limiting factors include teachers' attitudes toward the environment; their perceptions of their role as environmental educators; methods of teaching and assessment; and the level of understanding of the principles and purposes of environmental education.

The report concludes with a list of recommendations expressed as objectives for the Government, teacher-training facilities, Boards of Trustees, teachers and the community. The recommendations are supported by a range of actions and benefits. Together, all the recommendations reported in Section 8 provide a positive strategy for the successful implementation of effective school-based environmental education in New Zealand.