Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T01:35:38.649Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Constructivism in Environmental Education: Beyond Conceptual Change Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2015

Ian Robottom
Ian Robottom*
Affiliation:
Deakin University
*
†Faculty of Education, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3217, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Constructivism, as a set of theories about how learners learn, has been an important discourse in the educational research literature for a number of years. Interestingly, it has been far more visible in science education research than in environmental education research. This article considers conceptual change theory within constructivism as a contested concept, outlines differing expressions of constructivism in science education and environmental education, and argues for approaches to environmental education that adopt socially constructivist perspectives with respect to the character of the subject matter content as well as to learners' apprehension of such content. In considering implications for research, this perspective is juxtaposed with a recent United States Education Act, which prescribes a far more objectivist approach to educational research and which serves as a reminder that research itself is a powerful factor in shaping how we construct the nature of subject matter, learning and the implications of these for teaching practice.

Keywords

Environmental educationscience educationconstructivismconceptual changeresearch.
Type
Research Article
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , 2004 , pp. 93 - 101
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2004

References

Bell, B. (1993). Children's science: Constructivism and learning in science. Geelong, Victoria: Deakin University Press.Google Scholar
Bodner, G. (1986). Constructivism: A theory of knowledge. Journal of Chemical Education, 63(10), 873–878.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brody, M. (1990/91). Understanding pollution among 4th, 8th and 11th grade students. Journal of Environmental Education, 22(1), 24–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brody, M., & Koch, H. (1989/90). An assessment of 4th, 8th and 11th-grade students' knowledge related to marine science and natural resource issues. Journal of Environmental Education, 21(2), 16–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheung, K., & Taylor, R. (1991). Towards a humanistic constructivist model of science learning: changing perspectives and research implications. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 23(1), 21–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenall Gough, A., & Robottom, I. (1993). Towards a socially critical environmental education: Water quality studies in a coastal school. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 25(4), 301–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gunstone, R. (1990). “Children's science”: A decade of developments in constructivist views of science teaching and learning. Australian Science Teachers Journal, 36(4), 9–19.Google Scholar
Kuhn, L. (1998). Unpublished Doctoral Thesis. Geelong, Victoria, Deakin University.Google Scholar
Lisowski, M., & Disinger, J. (1992). The effect of field-based instruction on students' understandings of ecological concepts. Journal of Environmental Education, 23(1), 19–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lochhead, J. (1985). New horizons in educational development. Review of Research in Education. Washington, D.C.: American Educational Research Association.Google Scholar
Robertson, A. (1994). Toward Constructivist Research in Environmental Education. Journal of Environmental Education 25(2), 21–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robottom, I., & Andrew, J. (1996). Creatures from the other side: Environmental education and the feral animal debate. Geelong, Victoria: Deakin University Press.Google Scholar
Robottom, I., & Hart, P. (1993). Research in environmental education: Exploring the debate. Geelong, Victoria: Deakin University Press.Google Scholar
Tytler, R. (1997). Constructivism and social change approaches to science teaching. Unpublished paper, Faculty of Education, Deakin University.Google Scholar
Tobin, K. (1990). Social constructivist perspectives on the reform of science education. Australian Science Teachers Journal 36(4), 29–35.Google Scholar
van Rensburg, E. (1997). Trading taboos. Constructivism and environmental education in an African context. Paper presented at the Annual conference of the North American Association for Environmental Education, Vancouver, Canada.Google Scholar
Wals, A. (1992). Young adolescents' perceptions of environmental issues: Implications for environmental education in urban settings. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 8, 45–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar