Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T04:40:43.206Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Matching the Purposes of Environmental Education with Consistent Approaches to Research and Professional Development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2015

Ian Robottom*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Education, Deakin University, Victoria
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

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.

The aim of this paper is to address the issue of the coherence of three dimensions of environmental education activities - its substantive purposes; the research informing its policy, organisation and practices; and the professional development processes supporting its practitioners. It will be argued (i) that the purposes of environmental education are socially transformative, (ii) that the dominant approach to research in the field is behaviourist and deterministic, and (iii) that within a context of socially transformative environmental education, the role that the dominant behaviourist approach to research plays in professional development needs to be critically examined. The paper outlines a current international project in environmental education which includes in its aims an exploration of the relationships among environmental education purposes, research and professional development.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

References

Buzzati-Traverso, ASome thoughts on the philosophy of education.” in UNESCO, Trends in Environmental Education. Paris, UNESCO, 1977.Google Scholar
Cantrell, D. “Alternative Paradigms in Environmental Education: The Interpretive Perspective”. Paper presented as part of a symposium entitled Contesting Paradigms of Environmental Education Research at the annual conference of the North American Association for Environmental Education, San Antonio, Texas, 1-7 11, 1990.Google Scholar
Elliott, J. “Developing Community-focussed environmental education through action research.” Draft paper tabled at an OECD Seminar on “Participatory Research and Environmental Education”, University of East Anglia, Norwich, 21-28 06, England, 1991.Google Scholar
Gough, N.Narrative inquiry and critical pragmatism: liberating research in environmental education.” Mimeo, Victoria College -- Rusden (paper submitted for publication in a North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) monograph on alternative paradigms for research in environmental education), 1991.Google Scholar
Huckle, JEducation for Sustainability: Assessing pathways to the future.” Australian Journal of Environmental Education 7, pp. 4362, 1991.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenall Gough, A. and Robottom, I.Environmental Education and the Socially Critical School.” Mimeograph. Deakin University, Geelong, 1991.Google Scholar
Hart, P.Alternative Perspectives in Environmental Education Research: Paradigm of Critically Reflective Enquiry”. Paper presented as part of a symposium entitled Contesting Paradigms of Environmental Education Research at the annual conference of the North American Association for Environmental Education, San Antonio, Texas, 1-7 11, 1990.Google Scholar
Hines, J., Hungerford, H., and Tomera, A. (19861987) “Analysis and Synthesis of Research and Responsible Environmental Behavior: A Meta-Analysis”. Journal Of Environmental Education 18(2), 1986–87, pp. 18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howe, R. and Disinger, J.Environmental Education Research News.” The Environmentalist 11(1), 1991∖pp. 58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hungerford, H.The challenges of K-12 environmental education.” Paper presented at the First National Congress for Environmental Education Futures: Policies and Practices. University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, 1983.Google Scholar
Hungerford, H., Peyton, R., and Wilke, R.Goals for Curriculum Development in Environmental Education.” Journal of Environmental Education 11(3), 1980, pp. 4246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hungerford, H., Peyton, R., and Wilke, R.Yes, environmental education does have definition and structure.” Journal of Environmental Education 14(3), 1983, pp. 12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hungerford, H. and Volk, T.Changing Learner Behavior Through Environmental EducationJournal of Environmental Education 21(3), 1990, pp. 821.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jickling, B. “Environmental Education, Problem Solving and Some Humility Please” Paper presented at the annual conference of the North American Association for Environmental Education, San Antonio, Texas, 1-7 11, 1990.Google Scholar
Marcinkowski, T. “A Conceptual Review of the ‘Quantitative Paradigm’ in EE Research”. Paper presented as part of a symposium entitled Contesting Paradigms of Environmental Education Research at the annual conference of the North American Association for Environmental Education, San Antonio, Texas, 1-7 11, 1990a.Google Scholar
Ministry of Education Environmental Education Policy. Melbourne, Ministry of Education, 1990.Google Scholar
Ramsey, J. and Hungerford, H.The Effects of Issue Investigation and Action raining on Environmental Behavior in Seventh Grade Students.” Journal of Environmental Education 20(4), 1989, pp. 2934.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robottom, I.Towards inquiry-based professional development in environmental education.” In Robottom, I. (ed.) Environmental Education: Practice and possibility. Deakin University Press, Geelong, 1987.Google Scholar
Robottom, I. “Beyond Behaviorism: Making EE Research Educational.” Reaction paper presented at a symposium entitled “Contesting Paradigms in Environmental Education Research.” Annual Conference of the North American Association for Environmental Education: San Antonio, Texas, 1-7 11, 1990a.Google Scholar
Sia, Hungerford and Tomera, Selected Predictors of Responsible Environmental Behavior: and analysis.” Journal of Environmental Education 17(2), 1985, pp. 3140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silberman, C. Crisis in the Classroom: the Remaking of American Education. New York: Random House, New York, 1970.Google Scholar
UNESCO Environmental education in the ligt of the Tbilisi confeence. Unesco, Paris, 1980.Google Scholar
VEEC Educating for our Environment: Towards an Environmental Education Strategy for Victoria. Victorian Environmental Education Council, Melbourne, 1991.Google Scholar
Willis, G.A reconceptualist perspective on curriculum evaluation”. Journal of Curriculum Theorising 3(1), 1981, pp. 185192.Google Scholar