Environmental education: pupils’ perspectives on classroom experience

Abstract

This paper presents findings from research about pupils’ experiences of environmental education in UK secondary schools. The study focused on six pupils aged 13‐ to 14‐years‐old and nearing the end of their compulsory geography education. Geography provided a relevant a curricular context for exploring pupils’ experiences of environmental education as it is one of the main subject areas dealing with environmental issues and education for sustainable development in the UK. Classroom observation and interviews offered insights into the way the six pupils interpreted a range of classroom experiences. This paper elucidates the personal ideas and agendas that children may bring to their environmental learning experiences, and demonstrates how lessons that were not intended to be environmental in focus may nonetheless be interpreted as such by pupils.

Acknowledgements

Nick would like to thank Graham Corney and Ann Childs for their constructive criticism throughout the study. The research was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.