http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1135-3931
Synopsis
In formal education systems, environmental education is often neglected or in a state of disunity with the rest of the subjects in the curriculum. At school and classroom levels, this is amplified when environmental education is not explored with intensity and contextualised by those involved in its teaching. This thesis makes a statement about recognising the significance of teachers’ environmental education conceptions, what they think about its teaching and place in school programmes.
The thesis investigates the environmental education conceptions of 11 in-service school teachers and the factors which affect environmental education in Year 6. The research was conducted through a multiple-case study in six schools that are located in Monterrey, the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico. The thesis also presents an analysis of environmental education in the 2011 National Curriculum for basic education and Year 6 Natural Sciences. The case is formed by a document analysis, a triad of semi-structured face to face interviews with each teacher, and nonparticipant observation sessions per teacher. The conceptions of the teachers were analysed through Lucie Sauvé’s typology for environmental education, an exercise that adds to the critique of this instrument.
Amongst other key findings, the teachers’ environmental education conceptions were found remarkably complex and diverse. Yet, these features were not prominent in the lessons of most teachers because there was a tendency to teach environmental education from a disciplinary and textbook-centred approach. Furthermore, the ideas of the teachers about cross-curricular environmental education were underdeveloped across the different data sets.
The environmental education conceptions of teachers are a valuable starting point for situated teaching strategies that are significant for students. Hence, researchers and school teacher educators are encouraged to advance the methods that maximise the use of environmental education conceptions in teaching. Despite the inherent challenges of formal education, school authorities and their school communities are also recommended to openly discuss and agree on what type of environmental education they need and can adopt. International audiences are invited to reflect upon the use of Lucie Sauvé’s environmental education typology, since this could motivate ideas for further critique, future research designs and teaching strategies.
Conferring University: The University of Leeds
Year of award: 2018
Further information: http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/20134/
Email: [email protected]