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SE 052 976

Sterling, Stephen R., Ed.Annual Review of Environmental Education: 1990-91.

Council for Environmental Education, London(England).aN-0-906711-207; ISSN-0953-0428

?an 9156p..; For till 1589 report, see ED 325 351.

Annual Review -vironmental Education, CEE,

Faculty of Education and Community Studies,University of Reading, Reading RG1 5AQ, UnitedKingdom (4 pounds plus 80 pence postage.)Collected Works Serials (022)Annual Review of Environmental Education; n4

1990-91

MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.Core Curriculum; *Curriculum Development;*Educational Development; Elementary SecondaryEducation; *Environmental Education; ForeignCountries; Government Role; InternationalCooperation; *Nonformal Education; *Philosophy;

Postsecondary Education; Professional Training;Vocational Education

IDENTIFIERS 'British National Curriculum; *EnvironmentalEducation Research; Great Britain; United Kingdom

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this annual publication is to report,

evaluate, encourage, and help guide progress in Environmental

Education (EE) in the United Kingdom and to provide information on

important initiatives and comparative international developments.

Issues and priorities are identified with an emphasis on current EE

philosophy rather than practice and methodology. In this issue,

articles cover a range of topics including the following: the White

Paper on the Environment, issued by the British Government, and

Curriculum Guidance 7, Environmental Education, from the National

Curriculum Council; global perspectives; review of 1990 achievements

of British EE; EE developments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern

Ireland; local authority policies; the National Curriculum; core

skills; pre-service and in-service teacher education; youth service;

the Bergen conference; dangers of the evangelical approach to EE;

teaching about the greenhouse effect; networking in Scotland; case

study of the Milton Keyes community EE program; EE information

technology; the Environment, Community, Arts Network; primary school

teachers and EE; EE in the Netherlands; and education for sustainable

development. An "Updates and News" section contains reports on global

environmental education, on recent developments regarding the 1988

European Resolution on Environmental Education, and on the Learning

through Landscapes Trust. A book review section is included, and a

subscription order form is attached. (MCO)

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AnnualReview

OfEnvironmental

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90/91

1

ARE'Annual Review ofEnvironmental EducationNo.4 - 1990/91

Published January 1991

ISSN 0953-0428ISBN 0 906711 20 7

Executive EditorStephen R Sterling

Associate Editor for ScotlandTom Masterton, Head of Department ofSocial Studies, Moray House College

Associate Editor for WalesMalcolm McElhone (Dr), SeniorLecturer, Gwent College of HigherEducation

Editorial Advisory BoardChristopher G Gayford (Dr), CEEConsultant and Head of Department ofScience and Technology Education,U-...versity of Reading

Graham Hawkins, Senior SecondaryAdviser, Somerset

Peter Martin, Principal EducationOfficer, WWF UK

Timothy O'Riordan, Professor ofEnvironmental Sciences, University ofEast Anglia

Kate Sankey, Director, ScottishEnvironmental Education Council

William Scott (Dr), School of Education,University of Bath

David Selby, Director, Centre for GlobalEducation, University of York

John Smyth (Prof), Chairman, ScottishEnvironmental Education Council

Michael Storm, former Staff Inspector,Geography and Environmental Studies,ILEA

Tony Thomas, Director, Field StudiesCouncil

Peter Townsend, Principal, LosehillHall, Peak National Park Centre

Philip Turner, RTPI EnvironmentalEducation Group and Assistant CountyPlanning Officer, Hants

Published by the Council forEnvironmental Education, (CEE)

Copyright CEE, 1991.

CEE ices established in 1968 to providefocus for organisations with an interest inenvironmental education in England,Wales and Northern Ireland. It is nowwidely recognised as the national body withresponsibility and concern for all asrects ofenvironmental education.

Cover design by Robert Fitzmaurice, tel(0734) 599305.

Printed on recycled paper

tAarra,e Mow,

1 Beyond the paradoxes Stephen Sterling

a s

2 Think globally, act locally Rt Hon Chris Patten, MP3 Education for a global community John Smyth

4 A review of 1990 Stephen Sterling5 A Scottish perspective Kate Sankey6 A Welsh perspective Malcolm McElhone7 A view from Northern Ireland Janet Wilson

8101113

151719

202123

25

---,AI '444...q...WASSW-414.4;-.:-Se ect .

Local authority policies on environmental education Monica HaleCharging legislation and the incidence of fieldwork Monica HaleEnvironmental education in the National Curriculum: an update Chris Gayford'Core' and 'cross'...educational jargon or essential ingredients of the educational diet forthe 1990s? (The skills debate) Tony ThomasThe changing arrangements for in-service training Geoff HopkinsonEnvironmental education and initial teacher education Chris OultonA core curriculum for the youth service? Tony Penney

Scotland's REEFs (Educational networking) William BlazekA unique year - Milton Keynes Year of the Environment Mark YoxonEnvironmental education, Information Technology and I.T. CERES Norman Longworthand Alan PritchardThe Environment, Community and Arts Network Pete Hawkins

,Luisr ;goL.4

27 Environmental education and primary school teachers Christiane Dorion and Chris Gayforo

100,4411a11400103099Sk29 Lessons from the Bergen experience Tim O'Riordan

31 The evangelical approach to environmental education32 Teaching about the greenhouse effect David Wright34 The National Youth Agency and environmental education David Stead

Michael Storm

35

36383940

Recent developments in environmental education in the Netherlands Chris MaasGeesteranusOur Common Future and the case of the missing chapter John FienCaretakers of the Environment Richard ParishTouch 90 Geoff CooperGlobal education David Selby

Updatesand News-

44 Patrick Geddes Keith Wheeler45 The Australian Journal of Environmental Education John Huckle

BEST Copy A Viiii401:3

Editorial

EDITORIAL POLICYThe purpose of the Annual Reviewis to report, evaluate, encourageand help guide progress inenvironmental education,particularly as it relates to schooland non formal education. It aimsto:provide a critical overview of

the progress of environmentaleducation in the UK

provide information on impor-tant initiatives and developmentsand comparative internationaldevelopmentsuse the evidence of the past year

to identify issues andpriorities for the future.Emphasis is given to articles oncurrent thinking and develop-ments in environmental educa-tion rather than detailed practiceand methodology.Its goals are to:assist and encourage all those

interested or involved in workingin this area by providing anauthoritative review of the yearand of trends

help win increased support andrecognition for environmentaleducation amongst decisionmakers at all levels.

Page making and design by JohnBaines, based on a design bystudents of the Department ofTypography and GraphicCommunication at the Universityof Reading.

Printed by Radavian Press,Reading, on recycled paper.

The views expressed in thisjournal are not necessarily sup-ported by the Council for Envi-ronmental Education.

The Annual Review is a yearlyjournal, available at £4.00 percopy plus 60p p&p. All enquiriesshould be addressed to AnnualReview of EnvironmentalEducation, CEE, Faculty ofEducation and CommunityStudies, University of Reading,Reading RC1 5AQ, UK. Tel 0734756061.

Contributions and commentsYour comments on this issue, orsuggestions of topics to becovered in the next issue, arevery much welcomed.Potential authors are invited tosend for a copy of Contributor';notes.Please contact the Editor, AnnualReview of EnvironmentalEducation, CEE (address above).

There's a temptation, if youonly write an editorialannually, to sound off withrhetorical phrases such as'landmark year', 'watershedfor the future' and so on.

But too much trumpetblowing hides a situationmarked by paradox, perhapsbest summed up by 'It's good- but not that good'. Thisphrase is the advertisingslogan of a brand of beer, butit's maybe also appropriate tothe current state of environ-mental education. Things are

going well - but not that well.Many practitioners know ofsuperb work here, of bur-geoning enthusiasm there -but also of educational areashardly touched by environ-mental education. There aremajor developments takingplace but at the same time realconstraints 'on the ground'. Inother words, we need both

our optimists and pessimistsat this stage, our idealists andrealists, because the reality ofthe situation and the basis offuture progress lies betweenthe two.

Take the key events of 1990 -the release by HM Govern-ment of the White Paper onthe Environment which, verysignificantly, endorsed envi-ronmental education as a keymeans of realising environ-mental policy, and Curricu-lum Guidance 7 EnvironmentalEducation from the NationalCurriculum Council.

Did these represent a break-through for environmentaleducation as some haveclaimed? By some criteria, theanswer is clearly 'yes'. Aftermany years during which anycrumbs of central recognitionwere scized on by a hungryenvironmental educationlobby, these documentssignify a major achievement

Beyond the paradoxes

Stephen SterlingExecutive Editor

and a shift in governmentthinking - for which environ-mental educationists canclaim some credit.

The doc..ments have lentfurther weight and impetus toa very real growing interest inenvironmental educationwhich has been booked bymany other factors frominternational developmentssuch as the Bergen conferenceand moves towards Brazil '92,to the steady greening of localgovernment, of industry, andof public concern. Thereappears to be a certainsynergy taking place, openingup opportunities andresponsibilities - that environ-mental education has neverbefore had. But it has torespond well if the newopportunities are not to bemissed, and the potential is tobe realised.

Can the disparate 'environ-mental education movement'adequately respond? It'spartly a matter of capacity -sufficient trained people,money and resources. There'sa shortage of all of these. Butit's also a matter of vision anddetermination.

Environmental educationistsneed to think boldly. Theyhave to - the issues facing theworld demand it. If educationand training has any role at allin their solution, in securing asafe and truly sustainablefuture, (and the White Paper,the post-Brundtland debate,and most environmentaleducationists assume that itdoes), it needs to take on thetechniques, objectives andethos of environmental

education at a deep andthorough level. Environ-mental education needs tobecome not just in the WhitePaper's words 'an importanttheme' in education, but aprime function of virtually alleducation in all sectors. ChrisPatten, in this issue of theAnnual Review, says it needsto 'permeate all levels ar.:.1aspects of education'.

In many respects, we areclearly still a long way fromachieving such status andpractice. There are at least twothings which environmentaleducators can do to movethings further towards thisgoal.

The first is to think broadlyand strategically, in whateversituation one is in, and tobuild on existing structureswhere possible. For example,the Scottish EnvironmentalEducation Council (SEEC) isservicing a group looking at anational strategy for environ-mental education that willidentify objectives, gaps,resource implications and soon. But similar exercisesshould be repeated byeveryone concerned, formallyor informally at every level -from company to school,from government to individ-ual.

The second is to engage indebate. Curiously, the deeperquestions inherent in environ-mental education are notmuch discussed these days.There seems to be a feeling insome quarters that nowthere's consensus on 'what itis', we just need to get on withimplementation. Certainly,the effective implementationof environmental education asa coherent approach andexperience is difficult enough.But as the extent of its impor-tance and practice grows, the

JEST On AVAILABLE 4AREE FOURTH ISSUE 1

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questions and issues it raiseswill have to be addressedmore thoroughly.

These issues include:- the tensions within andbetween the spectrum of'dark green', and 'light green'views;- tensions between theaccepted need to changepeople's values and behav-iour towards more environ-mentally sensitive modes, andcharges of imbalance andcontroversialism;- the difficulties of presentingcomplex and crucial globalissues to young people inways which are not negativein effect and retain the vitalaesthetic and enjoymentaspects of the environment;- the problem of presentingenvironmental educationhousiically within a stillpredominantly compartmen-talised education system.

Despite current emphasis onknowledge and skills, follow-ing CG7 and the White Paper(perhaps too blindly?), Fachvital questions of value ":tdquality are likely to becomemore pronounced with time.If environmental education isto be effective it needs toaddress more systematiballythe difficult questions that itspractice r?' es.

Think globally - act locally

Chris Patten discusses the implications for education of the White Paperon the Environment.

On September 25 1990 theGovernment published itsEnvironment White Paper.This covers a breadth of en-vironmental issues notpreviously addressed andsets a challenging agenda forthe next ten years. What isthe significance of this forthe education world?

To protect the environmentand control pollution, govern-ments around the world mustconsider the issues, weigh thepriorities and then makeobjective decisions based onsound information andanalysis. It may soundstraightforward, but at theheart of the problem are theuncertain and complex rela-tionships between people, re-sources, the environment andeconomic growth. The natureof each and the interplaybetween them have to berrastered if the decisionsraken are to prove fruitful.The task calls for highlydeveloped environmentalunderstanding.

Central to this search for asafer planet are education andtraining. To provide thehuman funding, environ-mental education will need topermeate all levels andaspects of education, begin-ning with the NationalCurriculum in schools, con-tinuing in colleges anduniversities and extendinginto professional and voca-tional training. Equally, thewide spectrum of environ-mental objectives will de-mand qualified specialists anda trained workforce in allfields. For education thechallenge will never be

Rt Hon Chris Patten MPFormer Secretary of State for theEnvironment

bigger.Until now we have assumed

that the world would remainfundamentally the same, re-gardless of changes we madeto its seas or lands. We nowknow this is no longer trueand we need to ensure thatour children know it too. Theproduction of food and fuelfor a rapidly expandingpopulation, as well as theresulting waste, have taken itstoll on nature. Over the nextdecade we have to make surethat our actions do not stretchthe world's resources beyondbreaking point. To tackle theproblem we will need toapply certain key principles toeverything we do.

StewardshipThe foundation for the futuremust be a real grasp of ourrole as stewards, custodiansof the planet. Each of us hasan individual contribution tomake. The Earth is not ours tofritter away or degrade; wecan enjoy it but we must lookafter it for future generationstoo. And in order to achievethis we need economicgrowth - sustainable develop-ment which blends economicand environmental policieswithout ransacking the earth'sprecious resources. In thisway we can provide themeans to lead better andfuller lives, to clean up thepollution of old industries inthe developed world and

overcome the toxic effects onthe environment of povertyitself in the Third World.

Fact not fantasyWe have learnt to our cost thedangers of action based on in-adequate evidence - CFCs andlead in petrol were originallyhailed as scientific advancesbringing greater benefits. Butnow they exemplify how im-portant it is to examine all thefacts and likely outcome of ac-tions on the basis of soundscience. We must ensure thatour children are taught theprinciples of sound scienceand put into practice theNational Curriculum prin-ciple that argument is impos-sible without facts. Theteaching of scientific fact istherefore imperative in orderto maintain environmentaleducation standards and topromote reasoned debate andargument among young andold alike.

Safety firstWhere the planet is at stake -from global warming orozone depletion - it mayprove risky and costly to takelate corrective action; preven-tion is likely to be better andcheaper than cure. At allcosts, we must avoid leavinga burden of environmentallebts for the future.

Sound knowledge andunderstandingEnvironmental informationwill be crucial in the 90s.Armed with freely availablefacts and with proper inter-pretation of those facts, wewill all be able to make sound

2 A REE FOURTH ISSUE

BEST COPY AVAILABLE 5

Soundings

consumer decisions and topress for change for the better.During the next decade agreat deal of effort will gointo scientific research,monitoring and publishing ofresults to furnish govern-ments, organisations andindividuals with this all-important information. And,of course, schools andcolleges will be at the top ofany agenda designed toeducate and to disseminateinformation.

International co-operationGlobal problems requireglobal action. The oceans and'he atmosphere are a commonbirthright which can only bepreserved Ly international co-operation on an unparalleledscale. That is why this Gov-ernment is playing a full partin developing a concertedapproach with bodies such asthe United Nations, theOrganisation for EconomicCo-operation and Develop-ment and the EuropeanCommunity. Pooling knowl-edge and resou; ces interna-tionally will F,peed progress toscientific understanding. Butthe basis of environmentalstatecraft will be mutualunderstanding across fron-tiers and cultures. Developingnations will need access to theknow-how of the developedworld on fair and affordableterms.

The best instrumentsIn the same way that we areanxious to use wisely theworld's resources, so we mustbe careful not to bankrupt itwhen searching for safe-guards. The most cost effec-tive pollution control methodswill be adopted. There aretwo broad methods:

regulation - centrally deter-mined rules applied by law;

price signals - costs used toinfluence the behaviour ofmanufacturers and customer,.

Each of these courses repre-sents an economic incentive tokeep pollution down and eachworks on the 'polluter pays'principle. Teachers and theirpupils will therefore be ableto calculate the consequencesof each approach and to

speculate on how thoseconsequences will help shapefuture patterns of behaviour.

Regulations have workedwell in the past and willcontinue to do so. The lateststep is to establish Integrated

'Central to thissearch for a saferplanet are educationand training.Environmentaleducation will needto permeate all levelsand aspects ofeducation.'

Pollution Control, a single co-ordinating control, which willregulate all dirty emissionsinto the air, into water and

onto land - to ensure the bestoutcome for the wholeenvironment. But regulationalone is not always the bestform of control. This is whythe Government is looking atmore flexible methods, suchas price signals, which workwith the grain of the market.The price differential betweenleaded and unleaded petroland the massive upturn in thesale of unleaded is probablythe best example of how aprice signal can encouragecustomers and producers tobehave in environmentally-friendly ways.

In the 90s, the true marketcosts of the services weconsume and the quality wedemand will become muchmore apparent. The price ofenergy in particular will riseto reflect its environmentalcost, signalling to us the needfor greater efficiency and

conservation in order toreduce the effect of globalwarming.

Action for allIn the final analysis, responsi-bility for our environmentmust be shared; it is not aduty for Government alone -householders, drivers,shoppers, gardeners, neigh-bours, investors, retailers,manufacturers - everyonemust take stock to makechanges, improvements andcontributions to the sharedgoal: the conservation of ourcommon inheritance.

The Environment WhitePaper contains all the impor-tant information that teacherswill need to lead their pupilsthrough the next decade. Iurge every teacher who caresto get hold of a copy withoutdelay.

Education for a global communityJohn Smyth reflects on some lessons drawn from his extensive contact

with environmental education in other cultures.

Everyone now knows thatenvironmental issues are notreadily confined by nationalfrontiers. Acid rain, thegreenhouse effect, the ozonehole, Chernobyl, pollutionof the Rhine and many morehave provided convincingevidence of this. But weshould have known itbefore: war, colonisation,the spread of diseases,international trade, holidaysin the sun have all had envi-ronmental impacts as wide-ranging or more so. Ourworld has not really beendivisible for a long time.

If we are to survive as aspecies we shall have todevelop a more globaloutlook on both environmentand the people that live in it.It's not specially easy. Ourcultures and traditions andeven languages are better atemphasising differences andcontrasts than resemblances

Professor John SmythChairman, Scottish EnvironmentalEducation Council

and common features -between races, religions, socialclasses and any other distinc-tion we can pick on. Diversityis a quality to be valuedhighly, social as well asenvironmental, but beneath itare great elements of commonneed and somehow we haveto extend our minds from themore superficial diversethings, to those underlyingcommonalities that we mustco-operate to protect.

So environmental educationneeds to become more global.We have to give more thoughtand ingenuity to providingyoung people (and not soyoung) with really convincingevidence that their lives are

closely tied to people andtheir environments far away:that if something is goingwrong, even in a remotecommunity and environmentfar across the world, it can belike an infection starting at thetip of a finger which mayspread and poison the wholebody. We must get to knowthose who share our globalcommunity much better, andunderstand them better, andbe concerned for their healthas for our own.

Among other things thisneeds effective communica-tion, something we should begood at in our high-techculture. But it is still subjectto difficulties. At a recentconference in Bangaloreorganised by the IUCN Com-mission on Education andCommunication, the partici-pants (mostly from India andneighbouring countries) wereasked what were the main

,TREE FOURTH ISSUE 3

6

Soundings

difficulties they encounteredin communication relating toconservation and sustainabledevelopment. Here are a fewexamples of their replies:The modern commercial cul-

ture, in which anti-conserva-tion messages are very strongand media messages often sonegative as to induce despair;Socio-economic change, with

parents dropping out of edu-cation (eg. working mothers)and city-dwellers rejecting theenvironment as irrelevant tosuccess;

The speed of change, toogreat for social change toadapt to it - and much too fastfor educational change;

The insulation of decision-makers against the effects oftheir actions;

Information being withhelddeliberately; or being trans-mitt:- ' or received incorrectly- either deliberately orunwittingly;

Lack of economic stimulantsto reward good environ-mental behaviour and lack ofjobs for young trainedpersonnel;

Lack of consultation withindigenJus people and failureof 'experts' to recognise thatcommunication is a two-wayprocess.

These replies come fromIndia but are they not mostlyfamiliar here? To what extenthave we exported difficultiesfrom our culture to theirs?Can we learn to listen betterto communications fromother people of differenttraditions from our own?

We have much to learn. Inless developed countries theyoften know far better than wedo the feel of environmentalsickness: some Ministries ofthe Environment are workingvery hard to get more influ-ence on education, seeingvery clearly how they dependon its success for the future.Perhaps in our developedworld we could benefit fromsimilar conviction.

In countries where illiteracyis widespread they are goodat using alternative methodsof communication - story-telling, theatre, dance. I thinkof one particular street theatre

group (Jagran = awakening)putting across excellentenvironmental messages tothe street crowds in poorquarters of Delhi (where thetourists do not go, but wheremost of the actors belongedthemselves). We have ourown problems about literacy.One of our Western exports todeveloping countries istelevision - some of our soapoperas for example. Are webetter at communicating noisethan signals?

Traditional Indian systemsof education could teach usabout the value of silence,offer a concept of universalone-ness (more comfortable

than the world 'holistic' witha more ancient philosophicalfoundation), emphasise peaceof mind, and peaceful placesas appropriate environmentsfor education ('How canpeople learn in huddles?').We have not fully appreciatedthe importance of the environ-ment in which we expectpeople to learn, but othershave thought about it for along time.

I could easily continue withthese reflections, but whatshould we be doing? Manygood projects and ideas areavailable these days to helpyoung people appreciate thereality of our global commu-

nity, but too many youngstersare not yet touched by them.The young are, of course,excellent ambassadors: directcontact between young peopleof different countries is veryeffective, but also expensiveand deserves far more to bespent on it.

The 1992 UN Conference onEnvironment and Develop-ment will soon be upon us.Can the environmentaleducators of our globalcommunity get together topresent a united call for ahigh priority to be put onmuch improved communica-tion for environmentaleducation across the planet? III

4 AREE FOURTI: ISSUE

A review of 19901990 was another importantyear for environmentaleducation - and probablycritical to its future. Such alot has happened that anyoverview can only present ahighly selective picture, andthe rest of this issue of theAnnual Review expand thisshort piece.

As in recent years, greendebate and green action inmany areas of society havecreated a climate of opinionconducive to progress inenvironmental education.And again opinion pollsunderlined public interest andconcern relating to environ-mental matters. In particular,a poll undertaken for TheGuardian in Septembershowed that people put theenvironment second only tothe poll tax in a list of seriousissues that concerned them,whilst a survey undertakenfor the Co-op showed thatover a third of young peoplebetween ages 11 and 16considered it to be the mostimportant world issue.

p

-')7.....

Stephen SterlingExecutive Editor

Significant 'green develop-ments' include environmentalpolicy statements and guide-lines from the Association ofCounty Councils, certain localauthorities, the CBI and TUC.Some of these have direct andencouraging implications forenvironmental education.

Key events were the publica-tion of the Government'sWhite Paper on the Environ-ment which included achapter on 'Knowledge,Education and Training' andCurriculum Guidance 7Environnirtital Education fromthe National CurriculumCouncil. The fact that theycame out around the sametime seemed to increase theimpact of each.

CEE and Wildlife Link madeconsidered submissions togovernment on the White Pa-per, and it is clear that thesehad an effect on the final

draft. However, for many,pleasure at the White Paper'srecognition of environmentaleducation was tempered bythe extent to which theoriginal draft of CG7 hadbeen weakened.

At the same time as a copyof the summary of the WhitePaper was sent to all schools,Mr MacGregor said, reassur-ingly, that the governmentwas building on the goodwork done by schools 'byplacing environmentaleducation at the heart of theNational Curriculum'....

Against the background ofthese documents, many localauthorities have producedguidelines and policy docu-ments on environ.,,entaleducation, and it appears thata significant number ofschools have also worked toproduce environmental poli-cies or are developing wholeschool curriculum documentswhich recognise the place ofcross-curricular environ-mental education. Mostauthorities now have an

.p.t4ap

7

Reviews of the year

inspector with this specificbrief - a change around fromthe situation some years agowhen numbers were declin-ing. How environmentaleducation is to be resourcedremains an issue, however, inmany authorities..

In the youth sector, thedebate over a core curriculumafforded the chance forenvironmental educationinterests and youth intereststo work together to helpensure that environmentaleducation is officially recog-nised as a fundamental aspectof young people's social andpersonal development. CEE'sinnovative 'Youth andEnvironment Training Project'completed its final year, and aNational Youth Work Train-ing Programme is arising outof the project.

There have also been signifi-cant developments at interna-tional level, including the Ber-gen Conference held in May.The UK government attendedan EC governmental meetingto assess progress since theEuropean Resolution on envi-ronmental education of May1988. Such events appear tobe feeding into official recog-nition for environmentaleducation at governmental-level.

A special conference forsenior representatives ofcentral and local government,voluntary organisations artdbusiness on environmentaleducation is scheduled fornext March. There is someimplication, following theWhite Paper, that there couldbe a measure of cross-depai t-mental responsibility for envi-ronmental education withincentral government. If so, thiswelcome development wouldecho a similar direction beingtaken at local governmentlevel in some authorities. Inaddition, there is evidence ofincreasing interest in environ-mental education and trainingbeyond the school and formalsectors, for example in indus-try.

There is still need forresearch in environmentaleducation - both in terms ofexisting practice and provi-

sion, and the development ofnew material and techniques.As ever, the voluntary sectorhas taken a lead. Notably,WWF UK is funding a largenumber of important curricu-lum development projects,and is also funding researchnto teacher education provi-

sion as well as tertiary educa-tion - two areas which a num-ber of bodies have identifiedas important targets for futurework.

Meanwhile, CEE is mount-ing a research programme tomonitor environmentaleducation in the curriculum -thus addressing a need thathas existed for years.

It has been a good year forexcellent EE conferences -which perhaps is indicative ofthe health of the area. Theseinclude the seventh biennialconference of the Environ-mental Education AdvisersAssociation (EEAA) (good tosee lots of new faces here!), aDES course on EE and

Outdoor Education, the re-markable 'Caretakers of theEnvironment' event (reportedin this issue), NAEE's annualcourse which this year lookedat local and global issues, aone-day marathon held byWWF looking at EE and theNational Curriculum, and'Education for Enterprise andthe Environment' whichlooked at tertiary education,industry and environmentand was initiated by IUCN'sUK Committee.

Philip Neal, General Secre-tary of NAEE, and long timeveteran of EE campaignsreceived a much deservedMBE in recognition of hiswork.

Whilst much satisfaction canbe gained from the progressmade in the last year, anumber of issues and priori-ties remain:- how, when and if environ-mental education will actuallybe delivered in each and everyschool;

- the relatively poor provisionfor environmental educationin teacher education at preand inservice levels;- uncertainty over the use ofin-service funds;

the effects of LMS on thequality and very existence ofmany field-centres (whichprovide a unique and vitalelement of environmentaleducation experience);- the need to collaborate withdevelopmental work inrelated areas of interest (inparticular the other cross-curricular themes)- the need for further researchand development in virtuallyall areas of environmentaleducation, (including curricu-lum models);- resourcing EE at all levels asinterest grows;

increasing training provisionin EE for the youth service;- increasing dialogue andwork with the 'new sectors'interested in environmentaleducation such as industry.

This year SEEC published itscorporate strategy 1990-1993.It was tough putting inwriting our target pro-gramme of activities, butnow the thinking has beendone we can monitor prog-ress. However, we operateagainst the background conational and internationaldevelopments in the envi-ronmental education field, sothere wit' always be anunpredictable element. Thisyear there has been morethan a fair share of changestaking place. We haveobserved the roller-coasterride of colleagues in EasternEurope as participation inchange has opened horizuns,and as the real environ-mental, economic and socialsituation has unfolded. SEECcontinues to organise theInternational Youth Conser-vation Exchange programmewith the Atlantic Centre for

A Scottish Perspective

Kate SankeyDirector, Scottish EnvironmentalEducation Council

the Environment, Massachu-setts and the IndependentEcological Centre, Budapest.This year an internationalgroup including five fromScotland followed a fiveweek study tour in Hungary.As a result the east-west gapis being bridged in quiteremarkable ways. Majorfinancial support has comefrom the Cross Trust, theRoyal Bank of Scotland aswell as the Youth ExchangeCentre.

Curriculum changesNon-educationalists in Scot-land would be forgiven for as-suming that the National Cur-riculum with all its ramifica-tions and implications was a

UK education initiative. Thesituation is different inScotland; here the schoolcurriculum for childreni)etween the ages of 5 and 14is under total review. Nodoubt some of the underlyingrationale is analogous withthat which drove the NationalCurriculum debate. Here, weawait the guidelines forEnvironmental Studies, dueout soon. This will be acurricular document aboutthe teaching of science,technology and the socialstudies and as such hasn'tinvolved formal input fromoutwith the formal educationsystem. Many environmentaleducators wait with batedbreath for the word& ofwisdom and deliberation,whilst in many cases environ-mental education activitieshave been put on hold. Butenvironmental education hasa lEgitimate place in all of the

A REE FOURTH ISSUE

Reviews of the year

other four Review andDevelopment Groups - Artand Aesthetic studies, inMoral and Religious studiesas well as Language andMaths. The EnvironmentalStudies and DevelopmentGroup was significantly thethird of these five groups -sitting right in the middle.

SEEC is understandably con-cerned that environmentaleducation will not haA e beengiven an appropriate airingwithin this crowded curricu-lum. Notwithstanding that thecross-curricular guidlelines ofthe National Curriculumsouth of the border have nostatutory basis, at least therewould appear to be somespecific commitment toenvironmental education. It istrue that a special Review andDevelopment Group hasrecently been set up to look atall cross-curricular themes butthe timing of this rather lookslike a tag-on. Meanwhileagainst this background ofimpending change in theformal education system, realprogress in environmentaleducation is being made at alllevels. Some of the most inno-vative programmes are to befound at school, communityand even at regional level,usually as a result of commit-ted individuals and forward-thinking community orregional leaders who willalways be practitioners ofprogress.

Strategic groupThis time last year we werelooking forward to a morestrategic approach to environ-mental education in Scotland.I am happy to report that onthe 11th September 1990 theRt Hon Malcolm Rifkind QCMP, then Secretary of State forScotland announced theestablishment of a WorkingGroup on EnvironmentalEducation. It is charged withreviewing all activitiesrelating to environmentaleducation by the public,private and voluntary sectors.There is a small secretariatmanaged by SEEC to supportthe group; the chairman isProf John Smyth and there are

nineteen members of thegroup representing a broadspectrum of interest. It is dueto report in two years but weexpect that it will be pro-active throughout the period.This is surely an importantopportunity for Scotland,particularly as it bringstogether the formal, informal

'We would like tobelieve that all thi!schange 'teralds a fun-damental shift to-wards educationaland environmentalpolicies in line withthe aims and aspira-tions of sustainabledevelopment.'

and non-formal contributorsto environmental educationincluding governmental, non-governmental, voluntary,private and commercialsectors. It will also bring usmore in line with our Euro-pean neighbours, many ofwhom already have nationalstrategies for environmentaleducation.

SEEC initiativesDespite the lengthy and persis-tent discussions with the Scot-

4111.011.

tish Office relating to the set-ting up of this working group,SEEC has has a full programmeof activities. The Regional Envi-ronmental Education Forum(REEF) networking project hasgone from strength to strength(see separate article by Dr BillBlazek in this issue).

Our annual conference wasonce again a stimulatingevent. Held in Glasgow, wejoined the City of Culturecelebrations and focussed onthe value of city environmentsfor environmental education.Conference proceedings areavailable, sponsored by theNCC (Community NatureScheme).

We have set up a jointproject with the ScottishConsultative Council on theCurriculum (similar to theNational Curriculum Councilin England) in response to theOECD Schools and theEnvironment Initiative. Thiswill further promote innova-tion in environmental educa-tion in schools. Just launchedin Scotland with a ProjectOfficer in post, the projectwill run for at least two years.But schools are not our onlytarget; we are anxious toexamine post school experi-ence in education and trainingas well as the links withemployers and the needs ofthe work place. A seminarheld at Stirling Universitywith the Department of

Education Policy and Devel-opment was held to explorethe response of highereducation - through courseprovision - to the future needsfor decision makers with aclear understanding ofecologically sustainabledevelopment. It is interestingthat this is an area highlightedby the government WhitePaper. We would like tobelieve that all this changeheralds a fundamental shifttowards educ .mal and envi-ronmental po... -es in linewith the aims and aspirationsof sustainable development.

Always of special impor-tance to SEEC is our mem-bers. Without their drive ourprogress would not have beenpossible. The SEEC staff is asmall, committed and dy-namic team who are tremen-dous to work with. But we arehelped by the voluntarysupport of many Councilmembers and officers. A spe-cial recognition must go toour very special Chairman,Prof John Smyth.

Maybe next year, financialsupport will be easier to comeby from both the public andprivate quarters? It would begood for the stress level to.nove from a position ofcontinual uncertainty andchange to one of consolida-tion and strength.

A Welsh PerspectiveExcited by the mountingpressures and opportunitiesthat have arisen over the lastyear or so, environmentaleducation activities havetaken off in Wales. Wales isvery proua of its beautifulnatural environment whichattracts millions of visitors tothe country each year but isequally aware of the need toreclaim the scars of its indus-trial past.

There has been a vast arrayof initiatives in Wales both in

Dr Malcolm McElhoneSenior Lecturer in EnvironmentalScience, Gwent College of HigherEducation

the formal and non formaleducation sectors - too manyto report on here! Importantdevelopments include theproduction of City of Car-diff's Environmental Strategyand the establishment of aneducation officer in the Wales

section of the RSPB. Manylocal authorities and countycouncils have appointedenvironmental officers, someof whom have an educationbrief. A mobile environmentalwagon has been developed byPhil Ormond, a teacher inDyfed. He is now secondedby the Nature ConservancyCouncil to carry out conserva-tion work in schools andplans an exciting series ofprojects.

6 A /ZEE FOURTH Issue

Reviews of the year

Recently, Wales haslaunched its first Welshmedium environmentalpulication called 'GwaithMaes' (the English translationis Field Work). GeraintGeorge and his colleagues areto be congratulated on theproduction of a first classpublication.

Over the last few years, thePrince of Wales' Committee'sEnvironmental Educationgroup has been very active,producing a National StrategyDocument for EnvironmentalEducation and most impor-tantly in establishing a WelshCentre for EnvironmentalEducation (WCEE) at GwentCollege of Higher Education.The Centre, whose aim is toserve the community ofWales, has been co-opera-tively sponsored by the WelshOffice, the Dulverton Trust,the Esmee Fairbaim Trust,Gwent College and the Princeof Wales' Committee. It is afirst step in an effort toprovide greater personnel andmaterial support for environ-mental education in Wales,and in the future the Environ-mental Education Grouphopesto promote a series ofsatellite centres throughoutWales.

An Information Officer andan Education/DevelopmentOfficer are currently workingat the Centre and throughtheir efforts it is hoped tobring about a greater co-ordination of environmentaleducation in Wales, to nurturethe development of environ-mental issues in the NationalCurriculum and to install acomputerised Welsh Environ-mental Education and Train-ing Information System. Workhas already begun on some ofthese aspects and closer co-operation is being soughtwith governmental and non-governmental agencies andindustry, particularly indeveloping resource materialsfor schools and colleges.

These activities will begreatly facilitated by therelocation of the Centre froma small office in the maincollege to an adjacent, larger,independent building. Themove will be completed by

December and the largerpremises will have a resourcearea, audio-visual, computerand teaching unit.

The WCEE is currentlyworking with CEE and SEECin developing capacity to re-spond on a UK-wide basis tomajor issues and needs in en-vironmental education. This

liaison, shortly to include aNorthern Ireland dimension,will be an important featureof the Centre's developmentin 1991.

Lastly, Dr Alan Young, theformer author of this reportfrom Wales, has recently leftfor Bophuthatswana inSouthern Africa. He will be

remembered largely for theenergy he devoted to the En-vironmental Education Groupand projects such as Cynefinand Welsh Acid Drops.

The Welsh Centre for Environ-mental Education may be con-tacted at Gwent College ofHigher Education, Caerleon,Gwent NP6

A view from Northern Ireland

Recent changes in the naturallandscape of NorthernIreland emphasise thenecessity for effectiveenvironmental education ifUlsters' rich heritage is notto become its history. Todate, the Northern Irelandeducation system has notpossessed any clearlydefined guidelines onenvironmental education.Some teachers have beendoing an excellent job ininvestigating environmentalissues but in general provi-sion is patchy and lacks acohesive framework. Educa-tion reforms, therefore,offers the challenge of a newperspective on environ-mental education.

Environmental educationin the CommonCurriculumIn Northern Ireland's Com-mon Curriculum environ-mental education is addressedwithin the cross-curricularthemes (particularly Educa-tion for Mutual Understand-ing, Cultural Heritage andEconomic Awareness) but notas a theme in its own right, asin the National Curriculumfor England and Wales.Consequently, it will relyheavily upon science and ge-ography for its implementa-tion.

Within the AttainmentTargets of the NI ScienceCurriculum (implemented inSeptember 1990) there isconsiderable emphasis placedon studies about and within

Janet WilsonEducation Adviser, Royal Societyfor the Protection of Birds, Belfast

the environment. As a broad,science-based education isessential for people to under-stand their personal role inL.aring for the environmentthis is to be welcomed.

The Report of the MinisterialWorking Group - Proposals forGeography in the NorthernIreland Curriculum - waspublished in September 1990.Five well-balance AttainmentTargets have been proposed,complemented bycomprehensive Programmesof Study requiring that casestudies and examples arechosen at a variety of scales. Ifadequate teacher support interms of resources andinservice training is provided,environmental education willhave a secure place withingeography.

Support forenvironmental educationIn addition to governmentagencies, the voluntary bodieshave provided much of thesupport for environmentaleducation in schools and lookset to continue in this field.The Northern Ireland Conser-vation Volunteers havehelped many schools with thedevelopment of schoolgrounds as a teaching re-source. The Ulster WildlifeTrust promotes a variety ofconservation activities backed

up by resources for teachers.The National Trust provideseducational programmes forschools at their sites through-out the Province and theWildfowl and Wetlands Trusthave extended their activitiesin Northern Ireland. As ademonstration of its commit-ment to environmentaleducation the Royal Societyfor the Protection of Birds hasappointed EducationalAdvisers throughout theUnited Kingdom, includingNorthern Ireland. The Advis-ers will liaise with curriculumdevelopment and the Educa-tion Boards, and provideadvisers and teachers witheffective educational re-sources and training.

ConclusionsThere may still be concernthat in the absence of environ-mental education as a cross-curricular theme opportuni-ties for its implementation insubjects other than geographyand science may be lost.Indeed, where pupils dropgeography after Key Stage 3,many important environ-mental issues may not havebeen adequately addressed.

However, in response to theWhite Paper on the Environ-ment, Environment Minister,Brian Mawhinney, has writtento all schools in Northern Ire-land impressing upon themtheir responsibility to embraceenvironmental issues andensure that environment,education is an integral partof the experience of all

AREE FOURTH ISSUE 7

10

Educational developments and environmental education

children within the CommonCurriculum.

In addition, discussionshave recently taken placebetween the Department ofthe Environment (NI) and theNature Conservancy Councilto explore the possibility ofsetting up a forum for

Environmental Education inNorthern Ireland. Such aninitiative, combined withsupport from Governmentlevel will undoubtedly help toensure that environmentaleducation is given the atten-tion it requires to moveforward into the 1990s. ill

`AMPIli-r4.11111111MIMaladalil=0111.01

Local authority policies onenvironmental educationMore local authorities are adopting 'green charters' and specificenvironmental education policies. Monica Hale reports, drawing

on the results of a CEE survey.

The role of localauthoritiesCounty and metropolitancouncils have wide-rangingstatutory responsibilities andperform a far-reachingstrategic and planning role.There is, therefore, consider-able opportunity to effectmore environmentally-friendly practices across abroad range of operations.Pressures for local action forenvironmental improve-ments have resulted in ahigher profile for greenissues and public concern forthese 'represents a greatopportunity for local authori-ties':

There is an increasing publicawareness that global prob-lems such as ozone depletionand the greenhouse effect canin part be addressed by localpolicies such as waste man-agement, purchasing practicesand environmental policies.Local authorities (LAs) areadapting their operations in anumber of ways in responseto pressure from both indi-

Monica HaleSenior Education Officer (Schoolsand Colleges). CEE

viduals and organisations.For example, the draftenvironmental charter forMetro Rochdale observes that,'local authorities are not onlydeveloping their t. aditionalroles as "guardians of thelocal environment" butincreasingly are recognisingthe role they have to play aspart of the wider movementin solving global environ-mental problems'.

Traditionally, local govern-ment responsibilities havelargely been promotingenvironmental initiativesconfined to: prevention;regulation and control; resto-ration, conservation and en-hancement; and co-ordinationand monitoring. However,education is increasinglyviewed as an essential part ofthe process leading to envi-ronmental improvement. TheLocal Government Training

8 AREE FOURTH ISSUE

Board (LGTB) has emphasisedthe role of environmentaleducation: 'Ultimately publicbehaviour can be changedonly by education, by dis-seminating an understandingof the issues involved' 2

The White Paper on theEnvironmentIn the White Paper on the En-vironment a significant mile-stone was achieved throughofficial recognition of the roleof education in ensuring thesuccessful implementation ofenvironmental policy objec-tives. In 'Action for All'(Chapter 22), it was statedthat local authorities need toprepare 'environmentalstrategies covering such areasas energy conservation,recycling...environmentaleducation, transport and plan-ning') The White Paper alsolinked its proposals to theNational Curriculum as this'will provide a sure basis fordeveloping and improvingenvironmental education'.

As regards implementation

r',427*.kletc '7

14 i) 4.44 iiisAILABLE

of the proposals in the WhitePaper, a strong plea wasmade that all sectors must 'dotheir bit', thus opening theway not only for cross-departmental cooperation atcentral and local level but alsofor close working links withthe voluntary and other sec-tors. It is anticipated that thiscross- departmental responsi-bility may also extend toenvironmental education.

LEAs and environmentaleducationThe Association of CountyCouncils (ACC) has acknowl-edged the role of educationand schools in promoting en-vironmental concepts andskills. It acknowledges thatschools are 'a major force inhelping children to develop areasoned and sensitiveconcern for the managementof the earth's resources andfor responsible use of theenvironment generally'.

The LGTB similarly sup-ports the role of environ-mental education as it identi-

11


Pies that 'early instilling of asense of environmentalresponsibility within schoolscan create a whole generationconscious of a need to safe-guard and respect the envi-ronment'.

The recognition of environ-mental education as a cross-curricular theme in the Na-tional Curriculum andelsewhere has draw,) furtherattention within local authori-ties to EE. Friends of the Earthhave advised that 'Authoritiesneed to include environ-mental issues and ecology intheir education strategies forall age groups within a formalenvironmental educationstrategy'. 5

The introduction of the Na-tional Curriculum and dutiesimposed on local authoritiesby the Education Reform Act,mean that it is the responsibil-ity of LAs to ensure that allschools in their areas meet therequirements of the newcurriculum. This means thatlocal authorities are placed ina prominent position toensure pupils and youngadults will be well preparedto protect and care for the en-vironment in the future.

The ACC has identified thatit will be necessary fos localauthorities to establish orreview their policies onenvironmental educationwithin their curriculumstatements .6 In addition, itwill be necessary for them toprovide sufficient resourcesand support through theiradvisory services to assist andadvise schools. In-servicetraining and the availability ofspecialist environmental andfield-study centres is crucialto this process. The LEA isalso responsible for themonitoring and assessment ofenvironmental education inschools.

Colleges of further educa-tion and specialised unitssuch as agricultural collegesare also included within theLAs' responsibilities. Agri-cultural colleges train stu-dents who will eventually beengaged in work directlyrelated to the environment. Itwould be appropriate for LAs

to work towards strengthen-ing the links and facilitatingjoint projects with theseestablishments.

Other areas of educationalresponsibility of LAs includethe youth service and adulteducation such as non-vocational and communityeducation. Aspects ofenvironmental educationshould also be built upthrough the additionalprovision of environmentaltraining and courses in thesesectors.' In Rochdale, forexample, the authority hasalready established a broadeducational commitment asexpressed in their draftenvironmental charter (1990).This states that Rochdale willbe working towards develop-ing 'a policy for environ-mental education in business,schools and the community,and make accessible to thepublic information on envi-ronmental issues held by theCouncil'.

The Association for CountyCouncils document empha-sises that the EducationService cannot take soleresponsibility for 'informing,moulding and sustainingpublic opinion in this area' asit is a task for the CountyCouncil as a whole and that'every County Council shouldhave a conscious educationand information policyelement to its EnvironmentalStrategy'.

CEE survey of LEA poli-cies on environmentaleducationDuring 1989/90, a CEEsurvey was carried out to findout how many LEAs have de-veloped and implemented en-vironmental educationpolicies. 107 LEAs werecontacted and were askedwhether such a policy existed,and, if so, to submit a copy toCEE. che findings varied

widely and are summarisedin Table 1.

The following reasons wereoffered by some of the 50LEAs not having a policy onenvironmental education:- 13 LEAs werecurrentlydrafting their policies;- 10 were waiting for Na-tional Curriculum Guidance;and- 3 requested advice and he'with the formulation of theirpolicy.

The policy documents ex-amined in this survey wri-widely in content, style, tev.Aof detail, intended audience,advice/guidance for imple-mentation, support facilitiessuggested and the degree ofpersuasion to take up all or

'It is apparent thatthe majority of LEApolicy documents donot include resour-cing implications,which could be sub-stantial if all theproposals are to beimplemented.'

part of the policy. There isalso little standardisation oragreement between the ter-minology .mployed todescribe such documents.These may take the form of a'charter' or a 'strategy' or ageneral statement of policy.

Most of the existing guide-lines for environmentaleducation consist of short'statements of intent' incor-porated into the LEA's cur-riculum policy document.These generally take theform of a definition of envi-ronmental education accom-panied by an outline of theaims and objectives ofenvironmental education,with supplementary advice

Table 1No-reply !No-policy I Existing policy Included in curricu-

lum policy statement/general guidelinesavailable

14 50 6 29

on implementation.Even those LEAs who have

produced comprehensive anddetailed policy documents arelikely to find that they needrevision in the light of the Na-tional Curriculum proposals.It is apparent that the majorityof policy documents do notinclude resourcing implica-tions, which could be substan-tial if all the proposals are tobe implemented.

One LEA has producedsummary guidelines in theform of a poster for use inschools. A number of au-thorities are encouragingindividual schools to developtheir own school policies inenvironmental education.

The CEE survey also foundthat it is not always clearwhich departments orindividuals have overallresponsibility for environ-mental education or thedevelopment of appropriatepolicies within authorities.Often it was difficult toascertain where approachesshould be made. It wasapparent that those authori-ties employing advisers forenvironmental educationwere far more active inpromoting environmentaleducation at all levels.

A number of LA's have pro-duced an 'environment char-ter indicating a commitmentto environmental concerns ingeneral. While environmentaleducation is given mention inthese 'charters', it has to be ac-tively encouraged and sup-ported ifthe aims embodied inthese statements are to beachieved.

To some degree the CEEsurvey brought into questionthe necessity for environ-mental education policydocuments as many LEAs aresupporting considerableinnovative work withoutrecourse to official policyguidance, for example:Hampshire, Shropshire andGloucestershire (although thelatter authority is currentlyworking on policy guidance).

Understandably, there isoften some reluctance toproduce more documents togo in to schools as they are

AREE r URTH ISSUE 9

12

-'.71411110


already overwhelmed bylarge quantities of paper.Some local authorities preferto support such developmentsby way of their INSET pro-grammes.

The Friends of the Earth'sEnvironment Charter for LocalGovernment puts forward 193recommendations to promoteconservation and sustainableuse of natural resources andto minimise environmentalpollution. 8 Included in thischarter are considerations onthe promotion of environ-mental education. FoE haspersuaded a number of localauthorities to subscribe to itsEnvironmental Charter, with12 councils so far adopting itin full.

However, there has beenconsiderable comment thatmany charters do not includestatements on education orthe role environmentaleducation has to play in thesuccessful implementation ofthese charters. The CEEsurvey has shown that theamount of guidance andplans for action included inthese charters varies widely,from detailed documents to afew paragraphs.

Conclusion: LEA policydevelopmentIn its report The Developmentof Environmental Education inLondon, the London EcologyUnit recommended the policycontent in education develop-ment plans should include,'sufficient resources and train-ing for teachers to facilitatethe full development of envi-ronmental education, and theinvolvement of the many non-governmental organisations inthis field'.9

Many local authorities, non-governmental organisations(NGOs) and other organisa-tions (such as the LondonEcology Unit) consider thatthere are a number of LAfunctional areas which needto be provided for andresourced, including:1 providing and maintaininglocal sites for fieldworkwithin school grounds and inthe immediate vicinity ofschools;

2 maintaining an environ-mental centre(s) for use by allsectors in the authority;3 the provision of a rural resi-dential centre(s) providingexperience which is essen-tially different from the homearea;4 the deployment of specialiststaff to help with ecological/environmental maintenanceon a variety of authority sitesand to offer advice to thosesuch as schools wishing tocreate semi-natural habitats;5 in-service teacher training(as well as initial teachertraining) in cross-curricularand environmental education,in the creation, maintenanceand educational use of natureareas, and other relatedmatters (eg. assessment andprofiling);6 educating counsellors andschool governors about envi-ronmental issues and keepingthem up to date. This can becarried out by the organisa-tion of workshops and

training/information sessions;7 developing and maintainingcontacts with nationally andlocally based NGOs who havea wealth of knowledge andexpertise and who are oftenwilling to assist authorities di-rectly. Authorities shouldsupport locally operatingNGOs through grant-aidingcertain of their functions.

The above recommendationsneed a resource commitmentfrom local authorities if theyare to fulfil their potential infurthering environmentaleducation within the author-ity.

All local authorities mightbenefit from the type ofapproach as that adopted byRochdale:

'Metro Rochdale recognisesthe key role it has to play as"guardian of the local envi-ronment". It will seek todevelop a "whole-environ-ment" approach to everythingthat it does and encourageothers to do the same.'

References& 2 Local Government Training

Board, The Environmental Role ofLocal Government, LGTB, 1990.3 Department of the Environment,This Common Inheritance: Britain'sEnvironmental Strategy, HMSO,London, 1990.4 & 6 Association of CountyCouncils, County Councils and theEnvironment, 1990.5 & 8 Friends of the Earth, TheEnvironmental Charter for LocalGovernment, FoE, London, 1990.7 Thomas, P, (in press) The Place ofEcology in Adult Education. Paperpresented to the Fifth INTECOLCongress, Yokohama, August1990.9 Greater London Ecology Unit,The Development of EnvironmentalEducation in London, ed. S Swales.LEU, London, 1988.

Charging lebisiation and theincidence of fieldworkMonica Hale reports on a survey designed to assess the effects of

recent government legislation on the opportunities for school pupils

to undertake fieldwork.

During the past year, CEEand the Field Studies Coun-cil have been researching theeffects of the 'charging forout of school activities'legislation on both fieldcentres and schools.

The survey was instigated asa direct result of a jointseminar organised by the FSCand CEE held in May 1989and was funded by theDepartment of Education andScience, to whom all theresults are communicated)

Organisation of the surveyField Centres: Data were col-lected on the effects of the leg-islation on the total numbersand booking habits of schoolsusing field centres regularly

Monica HaleSenior Education Officer (Schoolsand Colleges), CEE

and occasionally. By compar-ing the level and nature ofcourse/centre reservationsbefore and after the legislationcame into effect, it wasintended to determine what, ifany, effects the legislationmight be having in the short-term and to isolate longer-term trends.

Considerable time was ex-pended in establishing a data-base of existing field studycentres across a broad spec-trum from urban studies

centres to rural centres andfrom those specialising insubject-specific courses tostudies of a general environ-mental nature. These in-cluded both authority sup-ported and privately fundedcentres.

Field centres were interro-gated as to the level andstatus of their past andpresent bookings through aspecially devised question-naire which were sent to 440centres. 161 completed formswere subsequently returned(by January 1990).

The survey found thatduring the first year duringwhich the new legislationcame into operation littlechange in the numbers of

10 AREE FOURTH ISSUE 13


schools booking for fieldclasses had taken place.However, there was a discern-ible change in the age groupsbeing given the opportunityto carry out environmentalfieldwork away from thehome area.

It is possible the timing ofthe survey may have been tooearly to pick up any long termtrends in the pattern offieldwork opportunity. Thisconfirms the necessity for afollow-up survey and, ideallythe instigation of longer-termmonitoring of the trends infieldwork being carried outby pupils of all ages.

It should be emphasised thatthis first phase of the surveyonly reflects the usage of fieldcentres away from the imme-diate vicinity of the schoolsusing them.Schools: The second phase ofthe research sought to deter-mine the effects the legislationmight be having on the op-portunities for fieldwork (par-ticularly based on experienc-ing different environmentsother than the home environ-ment). The survey wasconducted in the summer1990 in nine selected LEAsacross the country (both

urban and rural), with everyschool receiving a question-naire. The results are cur-rently being analysed.

The purpose of organising aparallel survey of field studycentres and schools is to de-termine whether schools,limited by financial con-straints, are maintaining,increasing or decreasing theamount of field experienceprovided for pupils at eachKey Stage. This may notnecessarily be dependent onundertaking courses or timeat field centres.

With the other recent devel-opments relating to govern-ment funding for educationand disbursement of fundsdirectly to schools (under theLocal Management of Schools'LMS' legislation), thesupport of provisions forfieldwork are under furtherpressures. Finances availableto fund field centres (particu-larly those under localauthurity ownership) are ex-tremely constrained.

Results of the surveyThe results of the survey donot indicate the total environ-mental fieldwork experienceof pupils as locally-based

fieldwork may be undertaken.Thus the second phase of thesurvey must be viewed inconjunction with the out-comes of the first phase.

With regard to the effects ofthe out of school activities leg-islation, the conclusions of thesurvey are that at this stage nodramatic change in patterns offieldwork opportunities forpupils are discernible.'

However, perhaps more sig-nificant in its potential effect isthe devolvement of fundspreviously administered bythe LEAs which were directedtowards the maintenance andupkeep of authority run fieldstudy centres. With LMS andthe devolvement of funds toschools, the financial base formany authority supportedfield centres has been eradi-cated.

ConclusionA number of local authorityfinancial factors are affectingthe provision of fieldworkopportunities for pupils at allKey Stages.

It is not easy to determinethe effects of the 'charging forout-of-school activities'legislation in isolation fromthe effects resulting from

other recent governmentlegislation such as the LMSregulations. The disburse-ment of funds to schools,factors such as timetable con-straints resulting from theimposition of the NationalCurriculum, and additionalclef:lands being made uponteachers leave little 'extra'time to undertake (what areoften seen as) time consumingfield courses.

As the survey showed,charging for out-of-schoolactivities legislation has notyet directly resulted in theclosure of field centres orcessation of field coursebookings as at first feared.However, it is necessary tocontinue to monitor andevaluate fieldwork trends atall levels.

ReferencesI Hale, M, 'Charging for Out-of-School Activities', NAFSO Journal,1990.2 Charging Surrey; Initial Report ofResults, FSC/CEE, 1990. (Avail-able at £2.50 from the Field StudiesCouncil, Preston Montford,Montford Bridge, Shrewsbury, SY41HW.)

Whereas the actual hue ofgreen represented in theGovernment White Paper onthe Environment is perhapsdisappointing, especially inrelation to environmentaleducation, developments inthe National Curriculumgive greater cause for opti-mism.

Reports from the subjectsThe three subjects, mathemat-ics, science and English, iden-tified as 'core' in the earlystages of the National Cur-riculum, are now well inplace and into the second year

Environmental education in theNational Curriculum: an update.

of implementation for KeyStages 1 and 3 and the firstYear for Key Stage 2. 1992 will

see the introduction of KeyStage 4. Already many pub-lishers have prepared revisedor new texts to address the re-quirements in these subjectareas. The introduction of thefirst phase of the standard as-sessment tasks (SAT's) isscheduled for Summer 1991.These will be awaited withconsiderable interest to seehow the assessment relates tothe statements within theattainment targets and pro-grammes of study. Clearly,

Chris Gayford maps progress over another year.

Dr Chris GayfordHead of Department of Scienceand Technology Education.University of Reading

the incorporation of environ-mental material in theseassessment tasks will have aprofound influence onwhether the environmentfeatures significantly in theseareas of the school curricu-lum.Technology' has now beendeveloped as a subject withinthe curriculum. There has al-

ready been considerable con-tention over the identity oftechnology and its relation toother subject areas. Interimdocuments and the finalreport of the National Cur-riculum Council WorkingGroup showed radicalchanges from one stage to thenext. Throughout, the empha-sis had been on process ratherthan content. The StandingOrders which were agreed inMarch 1990 showed somesurprising changes from thefinal report in that the term'design' had been removedfrom the overall title. Also,

A REE FOURTH ISSUE 11


although the Orders areclearly la' Riled 'Technologyin the National Curriculum'and the preamble contains noreference to design, theAttainment Targets andStatements of Attainment aregiven the heading 'Design andTechnology Capability'.

The environmental contentof the technology documentreceived considerable furtherexplicit recognition, particu-larly in the final report of1989, compared to the earlierinterim report. However, thisrecognition has been modifiedin the Statutory Orders. Theenvironmental implicationsare no longer a recurrenttheme as previously; now themain environmental contribu-tion is through AT4 whichrelates to evaluating techno-logical design and activities.

There appear to be two par-ticular problems that schoolsface in the implementation oftechnology in the curriculum:1 Technology lacks the tradi-tion of consistent and well-documented developmentthat other more establishedsubject areas have enjoyedover decades. As a result itmust establish its own nicheand this is likely to vary fromschool to school, especiallywith the introduction of moredevolved management ofschools.2 Identifying appropriateteachers and setting upsuitable resources is likely tocause difficulties in manyschools.

Further, the particular refer-ences to the environment inthe Oraers, although many,are.somewhat equivocal andcertainly do not guarantee thesort of environmental educa-tional input that many wouldlike to see in this young andexciting area of the curricu-lum.

The Final Reports from theGeography2, History3 andModern Foreign Languagesworking groups have nowbecome available; the formertwo in mid-1990, the latter inlate 1990. It seems appropriateto give special attention hereto the Geography Reportsince this area of the curricu-lum has been explicitly

identified by central govern-ment as being one of the mainvehicles for deliveringenvironmental education. Wenow await the StatutoryOrders in the first half of1991.

The first thing that willstrike critical readers of theGeography Report will be thegreater emphasis placed onthe Programmes of Study(PoS) compared to thatadopted in the Interim Report.No longer do the Statements

'the incorporation ofenvironmentalmaterial in theassessment tasks willhave a profoundinfluence on whetherthe environmentfeatures significantlyin the curriculum.'

of Attainment (SoA's) withinthe Attainment Targetscontain overwhelmingpreponderance of informa-tion. The latter have now beenconsiderably streamlined andthe PoS for each Key Stageallow teachers to see interrela-tionships between the AT'sand to achieve some coher-ence. I still find it difficult tounderstand why the extensiveuse of examples in the AT'swas adopted rather thanincluding these in the PoS foreach Key Stage, which wouldhave been more logical.

AT 7, entitled 'Environ-mental Geography', will be ofparticular interest to environ-mental educators. This dealswith the development ofknowledge and understand-ing in three areas:a the use and misuse of envi-ronmental resources;b the ona'Icy and vulnerabil-ity of different environments;c the possibilities of protect-ing and managing environ-ments.

It is to the credit of theWorking Group that adetermined attempt has beenmade to address each of theseaspects at each level ofattainment.

One of the problems thatarises from the inclusion of'Environmental Geography'as a separate AttainmentTarget is the widely acknowl-edged all-pervasiveness ofthese ideas throughout thegeography curriculum. Thereis discussion of this difficultywithin the document andclearly it is envisaged thatteaching will involve thecombination of AT's in orderto achieve coherence acrossthe skills, areas and themesthat make up the subject ofgeography. Teachers will findthe achievement of this aimchallenging and negotiatingtheir way through the modelspresented here will be anexacting task, for which asignificant amount of help islikely to be required.

Ideas as to the place of geog-raphy in the whole curricu-lum have been extensively de-veloped both in terms of thelinks with the other su5;2ctareas as well as the cross-curricular dimensions, skillsand themes. In the documentit is explicitly stated thatgeography is likely to be themajor vehicle for delivery ofenvironmental education inthe curriculum and this maywell be realistically what hap-pens over the next few years.However, as discussed in theFinal Report the way is openfor imaginative co-operationbetween subject specialistsand curriculum planners touse the undoubted experienceand expertise of geographersas a catalyst to develop envi-ronmental education acrossthe curriculum.

In the case of the HistoryReport there are clear state-ments about the relationshipbetween history and environ-mental education, although itis clear throughout that the'burden' of environmentaleducation is not expected tofall heavily on this subject. Avaluable section at the end ofthe report considers therelationship between historyand the rest of the curriculum.Here discussion is not limitedto other subjects but alsoincludes the cross-curriculararea. History is stated to con-tribute to environmental edu-

cation in three interrelatedways which may be restatedas follows:a the requirement for histori-cal information and undr'r-standing in order to appreci-ate the way that the environ-ment has been shaped byhuman activity and ideasabout nature; hew thoseactivities have been shaped byenvironmental factors as acontinuing process.b the need for historical skillsto interpret written and gra-phical sources and physicalremains which relate to long-term changes in the environ-ment.c the objective of developinga concern for the environmentand its inheritance from thepast through an understand-ing of, and respect for, thatinheritance.

Also the use of the environ-ment as a resource for thestudy of history through visitsis clearly emphasized.

It is not possible in a briefarticle such as this to com-ment on all aspects of thedeveloping National Curricu-lum which have a directbearing on environmentaleducation since there are somany. However, it should bementioned that WorkingGroups for Art, PhysicalEducation and Music havebeen set up and will report in1991.

Curriculum GuidancedocumentsPerhaps some of the most sig-nificant developments in rela-tion to environmental educa-tion in the National Curricu-lum have been through the'Whole Curriculum'. Thedocument CurriculumGuidance No 3' whichappeared in early 1990 set outhow the various cross-curricular areas should be de-veloped and deliveredthrough the curriculum; howthey should relate to thefoundation subjects and toeach other. This was a helpfuland clear statement whichwas followed up in each ofthe Curricular Guidancedocuments dealing specifi-cally with the individualthemes.

12 AREE FOURTH ISSUE 5


Curriculum Guidance No 7:Environmental Education"appeared at the end of Sep-tember fairly well on sched-ule. It takes as its startingpoint the Resolution of theCouncil of Ministers ofEducation of the EuropeanCommunity in May 1988where it is urged that as amatter of priority environ-mental education should bepromoted within all sectors ofeducation in the Community.The aims of environmentaleducation are outlined asthree-fold:

to provide opportunities toacquire the knowledge,values, attitudes, commitmentand skills needed to protectand improve the environ-ment.

to encourage pupils to exam-ine and interpret the environ-ment from a variety of per-spectives - physical, geo-graphical, biological, socio-logical, economic, political,technological, historical,aesthetic, ethical and spiritual.

to arouse pupils' awarenessand curiosity about the envi-ronment and encourage activeparticipation in resolving en-vironmental problems.

The sort of knowledge andunderstanding, skills and atti-tudes are further elaboratedand the relationship to otherareas of the curriculum aredisaissed to include theexisting Attainment Targets inthe foundation subjects so fardeveloped. Approaches to theintroduction and co-ordina-tion of environmental eluca-tion across the curriculum arediscussed and variousstrategies mentioned.

A substantial part of thedocument is given to casestudies based on actualpractice in schools. These giveexamples of work undertakenin schools across the countryand they provide a range ofexamples addressing cross-curricular and single subjectapproaches at Key Stages.Perhaps due to the inevitablelimitation on the overallnumber of case studies it wasapparently not possible todemonstrate how more than a'topic based approach' can beadopted.

An appendix to the docu-ment contains extracts fromthe Programmes of Study forscience, technology andgeography to demonstratehow environmental educationpermeates these subject areas.Again, while this is aninteresting analysis, thefeeling remain.' that it wouldhave been more valuable hadthis covered the full range offoundation subjects, ratherthan only three. It seems thatthis is yet another example ofthe way that the NationalCurriculum has been devel-oped leading to considerabledifficulties in relating thecross-curricular activities tothe foundation subjectssystematically.

Concluding feelingsA great deal has occurred thisyear in relation to the Na-

tional Curriculum. Environ-mental educators should befar from disappointed. Manyteachers of a wide variety ofsubject areas that I havespoken to have an optimismas regards environmentaleducation that I have notexperienced for a long time, ifever. There is, without doubt,a good deal yet to be done butit is clear that we have come along way when we look backto the introductory statementsby the DES setting out thephilosophy of the NationalCurriculum in 198T. If youremember, there was littlemention of environmentaleducation then. However,Curriculum Guidance No 7 ishardly the sort of publicationwhich will fire teachers,parents or governors.

The task ahead is surely tobuild on what we have and to

take the opportunity to relateand interpret what has beenalready stated so that it can beincorporated into teachingprogrammes within ourschools.

References1 DES, Technology in the NationalCurriculum, HMSO, 1990.2 DES, Geography for Ages 5 to 16.(Proposals of the Secretary ofState), DES, 1990.3 DES, History for Ages 5 to 16.(Proposals of the Secretary ofState), DES, 1990.4 DES, Modern Foreign Languagesfor Ages 5 to 16. (Proposals of theSecretary of State), DES, 1990.5 National Curriculum Council,Curriculum Guidance No.3: TheWhole Curriculum, NCC 1990.6 National Curriculum Council,Curriculum Guidance No.7:Environmental Education, NCC1990.7 DES, National Curriculum 5 to 16,A Discussion Document, DES, 1987.

'Core' or 'cross' educationaljargon or the essential ingredients

of the educational dietfor the 1990's?

Tony Thomas looks at the current emphasis on core skillsagainst the ability of environmental education to 'deliver' them.

It seems that these days,without the prefix of 'core' or'cross', ideas, suggestions,even concepts, pale intoinsignificance. Emphasis isnow placed on the:core curriculumsyllabus corescore skills, core competenceORcross-curricular themescross-curricular dimensionscross-curricular skill.

What are core skills/crosscurricular skills? Who createdor re-created them and whatdo they offer to studentsfacing the 21st century?

In November 1989, JohnMacGregor (then Secretary ofState for Edu:ation) whenmaking reference to the

Tony ThomasDirector. Field Studies Council

maintenance of rigorousstandards at 'A' level, stressedthat 'this should not be at theexpense of developingbroader skills, knowledge andunderstanding which will beneeded in the 21st century'.His predecessor, KennethBaker, had defined a skill as 'acompetence based on knowl-edge and understanding'. 'He identified that youngpeople and adults will need:communication - written or

oral numeracypersonal relation - team

working and leadership

familiarity with technology -especially information tech-nologyfamiliarity with systems -

office and worksh:ip proce-dures

familiarity with changingworking and social contextsoverseas dimension - espe-

cially foreign languageknowledge

In the briefing document tothe Schools Examination andAssessment Council (SEAC),2Mr MacGregor requested thatit should in consultation withthe National CurriculumCouncil (NCC) considerwhich of the core skills couldbe promoted through com-mon requirement across allsyllabuses without undue

6 4

16A REE FOURTH ISSUE 13


Table 1Commonality of skills and attitudes/qualities

YTS

Skill problem solvingapplication and transferorganisation of timecollecting informationcomi nmicationnumeracypractical skillsrr

enterprise

Qualities personal effectiveness

& atti-tudes

TVEI

problem solvingcommunicationnumeracypractical skillsITstudy skills

personal & socialdevelopmentworking cooperativelyenterprise & individualinitiative

BTEC

problem solvingapplication and transferorganising and learninginformation gatheringcommunicationnumeracypractical and manual skillsusing ITdesign and visual discrimination

personal & social developmentreadiness to accept responsibilityapplication to workadaptabilityreliability

CPVE

problem solvingcommunicationnumeracypractical skillsusing ITstudy skills

personal and careerdevelopmentworking withothersflexibilityreliablitycreative develop-ment

NCC

problemsolvingcommunica-tionITmodernlanguage

personalskills

Table 2 Examples of skill development through EE exercisesCommunica-tion

Exposition Introductoryslide showprovidinghistory of thearea and theproposals forurban develop-ment

Structureddiscussion

Assign-ment

Practicalwork

Students makean oral pres-entation oftheir findingsfollowing anindividualassignment

Letters sent tovariousorganisations toexpress concernand to find outmore informa-tion aboutbadgers

Role play Studentspractise anddevelop oralskills

Work expe-rience

Numeracy Using IT

Studentscollect data onnumber of carsand heavyvehicles andcalculate theiraverage speed

Result of trafficsurveydisplayed inform of barcharts andgraphs with aidof computers

Problemsolving

In an enquiry into theneed for a pedestriancrossing near their school,students identify theproblem of heavy traffic

Students gainexperience usingmicro-computers inthe local studiescentre

Practicalskills

Workingcooperatively

Small group ofstudents discus'together their viewson food aid andpresent collectiveview to the wholeclass

Students produce, with local artist, alarge scale structure for the school

Students lay ahedge toincrease stock-proofing andmaintainlandscape value

Small groupsdesign solutions forthe redevelopmentof the docks

14 A REE FOURTH ISSUE 17


duplication and to considerthe implications for assess-ment, recording and reporting.

In 1989, Her Majesty's In-spectorate, stated that:

'skills are essential for the ef-fective performance of a task;intellectual or physicalattributes are necessary invarying degrees for theacquisition of skills. Skills areusually improved by frequentpractice and by an under-standing of their scope, rele-vance and potential')

HMI also suggest that:'attitudes and qualities affect

the way in which individualsuse and apply their knowl-edge, understanding and skillto achieve a successfuloutcome.'

Skills and aptitudes appearto be the common currency,with numerous initiatives andorganisations acknowledgingtheir importance (see Table1).

Skills are not necessarily de-veloped in isolation but inparticular contexts. Goodpractice in teaching andlearning offers students anappropriate variety of -ele-vant learning activities whichallows them to acquire anumber of the core skills irre-spective of the specific courseor syllabus they are following.

Environmental educational-ists are well practised in manyof, if not all, the learningstyles outlined by HMI.Although I have only filled afew of the boxes in Table 2using material from Curricu-lum Guidance 7, 5 the indica-tions are that teachers in-volved in environmentaleducation will have no prob-lem in 'delivering' core/cross-curricular skills.

An array of cross-curricularskills will be necessary toassist in the promotion ofpersonal and social develop-ment (ie. cross-curriculardimensions) and these can bedeveloped through either coreand foundation subjects in theNational Curriculum orthrough the cross-curricularthemes. Although the focuson the present debate is atages 16/19, the TVEI initiativebrings it down to 14 and the

growing need for greatercompetence in all these coreskill areas, including foreignlanguages, will be the aim offuture governments, whatevertheir political hue.

The jaundiced view mightbe that the core skill acquisi-tion concept is merely areworking of the obviousskills acquisition throughoutformal education. Thatgovernment is prepared to seecore skills identified withinsyllabuses and encourage col-leges/schools to ensure thatstudents study a range of sub-jects/topics to achieve a bal-anced diet of core skills is ob-viously raising the profile ofthe humble skill.

If core skills are assessedseparately, and/or recordedas a separate profile compo-nent in the record of achieve-

ment as well as forming thebasis of credit transfer forthose students changingcourses in mid-stream, this isyet a further indication oftheir importance. The onlyreservations on the incorpora-tion of core skills in specificsyllabuses, is the work ofWolf, Kelson and Silver 6 whofound that youngsters wholearn to tackle problemsoutside the occupation forwhich they were training didbetter than youngsters whodeal only with situationsclosely related to their jobtraining. The impact ofeducational research oncurriculum changes hasalways been minimal, and it istherefore unlikely that thisbroadside will stop the ad-vancement of the core skillinitiative.

ReferencesBaker, K, Speech to Association

of Colleges of Further and HigherEducation, February, 1989:2 MacGregor, J, SEAC Briefingpaper, November 1989, in respectof SEAC A/AS PrinciplesConsultation - Report of WorkingGroups A & C.3 HMI, Post -16 Education andTraining Core Skills, DES, July 1989.4 NCC, Core Skills, NCC, York,March 1990.5 NCC, Curriculum Guidance 7,Environmental Education, NCC,York, 1990.6 'Doubt raised over approach toproblem-solving at 'A' lever limesEducational Supplement 2/11/90.

The changing arrangements forin-service training

How are INSET funding arrangements affecting provision ofenvironmental education training? GeoffHopkinson views

trends with some concern.

The introduction of GrantRelatec In-Service Training(GRIST) monies in 1987 gavelocal authorities the opportu-nity to bid for centralgovernment funds to financepart of their in-servicetraining programmes. Thenature and volume of thebids varied from authority toauthority but in most in-stances it made possible anew style twelve monthprogramme of varied activi-ties.

For many working in envi-ronmental education, it wasthe first opportunity to enjoythe privileges normallyaccorded to what we nowknow as the 'core curricu-lum'. The earlier Schools'Council Project Environmentand the development of '0'and 'A' courses in Environ-

Geoff HopkinsonInspector for Environmental Educa-tion. Staffordshire LEA

mental Studies/Science hadprovided a framework and animpetus for teacher meetingsand working parties, but inthe absence of specificnational funding, the workwas often piecemeal andimpoverished compared withthe efforts put into such majorschemes as the grant aidedNuffield Science.

The initial 1987/88 alloca-tion, being percentage based,varied according to thefinancial status and percep-tions of the authority makingthe bid, but it gave environ-mental education inspectors

and advisers the opportunityto get teachers out from theirclassroom during the workingday. After years of 'twilight'and Saturday morningmeetings, it was also posstto get practitioners across tneauthority borders into con-genial surroundings to workin an appropriate fashion onthe tasks of the moment andthe grand designs for thefuture.

The appointment of advi-sory teachers on short-termcontracts was another majorimpetus, running parallelwith the momentum created

AREE FOURTH ISSUE 15

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by the Education SupportGrants for specific priorities,and which were proving to bethe comparative 'big spend-ers' in these areas of educa-tion. By 1989 GRIST hadsuccumbed to LEATG orLocal Education AuthorityTraining Grants, which expireon 1st April, 1991 and which,for many, will be the end ofthe 'halycon days'.

For environmental educa-tion, Grants for EducationSupport and Training (GEST),1 April, 1991 holds a rathersinister message. The centralgovernment pro-formacontains twenty six activitiesunder which bids may bemade, of which the localauthority is required toprovide approximately 40%.For some, rate cappingdominates a financial debateand those particular authori-ties will submit a nil return. Inother words, in some areasthere will be no specific sumsallocated for in-servicetraining, irrespective ofsubject definition. In addition,all authorities carry theproblem of Local FinancialManagement (LFM) and thedevolution of funding to theschools. Within this delega-tion of powers, headteachersmay or may not have a sumfor in-service training. If theyhave such a sum they exercisecomplete autonomy (as aschool) over its disposal.

It is a certain fact that despitethe publication of CurriculumGuidance 7, and the recentgovernment White Paper on theEnvironment, accompanied bythe current immensely highprofile of environmentally styledactivities, environmental educa-tion has a much lower ratingthan many imagine, with theschools needing to get the corecurriculum and the assessmentprocedures in good order. Inother words, it is very low on thelist of priorities.

There is however, a specificsection (column 7e), on cross-curricular activities, withinthe formal authority submis-sion to the DES. Where bidsare made and granted, thenpresumably this will beshared out between Careers,

Health Education, Personaland Social Education, Eco-nomic Awareness and Envi-ronmental Education. Whogets what is an authority deci-sion but the outlook is farfrom rosy for many workingfull time in this field.

Of course there are largeblocks of environmentaleducation in all core andfoundation subjects, but if anauthority is strugglingfinancially, the question ishow they will finance basicin-service training in those ar-eas, rather than how muchthey can spare for specific en-vironmental education devel-opments.

There are one or twcpossible loopholes. Manage-ment and assessment featurelarge in the bid structure,while maths and sciencetraining provided by Insti-tutes of Higher Educationreceives a mention. It is pos-sible that in a very few casessome environmental educa-tion slotsay be providedunder these headings but theopportunities do seem to belimited.

The urban and outdoor edu-

'Despite the publica-tion of CurriculumGuidance 7, and theWhite Paper on theEnvironment, environ-mental education hasa much lower ratingthan many imagine.'

cation centres have been keyfeatures in the trainingoperations carried out overmany years and particularlysince 1986, and their structureand traditions make themideal meeting points forteachers on an authority,regional or national basis.Under present financialconditions, some have closed,many are threatened and it isfair to say that staff morale isgenerally low. Many morewill be unable to continue ifrequired to charge at eco-

nomic rates under financialdelegation requirementseither in force or withincr :rent budgetary discus-sions. It is ironic that NCCDocument No7 makes morethan one favourable referenceto outdoor education centresin its choice of exemplarprojects in environmentaleducation. On the one handwe have a system controlledby central government thatadvocates a policy favourableto centres and at the sametime produces a financialclimate that reduces or eveneliminates their effective useby teachers!

What are the requirementsfrom this time onwards?Leaving aside the almostmonthly changes in theformat of the NationalCurriculum requirements,and without getting involvedin the minutiae of the assess-ment procedures, then for en-vironmental education thefollowing forecast is submit-ted for discussion:a Scientific rigour or theneed to give a whole range ofteachers greater experienceand confidence in scientificmethods and familiarisationwith the scientific unitsemployed in scientific reports.There is much woolly think-ing and performance in topicand thematic work, which isexacerbated by the unfortu-nate tendency of the media tohighlight and invariablydistort basic scientific researchpertaining to the problems ofthe biosphere. (A mastery ofScience Attainment TargetNo.1 would go a long way toplugging this deficiency.)b Confidence in ecologicaltechnique and particularly inthe purposeful direction ofpupils engaged on fieldwork,be it in the playground,shopping centre, mountainslope. Increasingly, there isthe need to work nearer tohome but the effectivepractitioners in this area rep-resent a minute proportion ofthe teaching force. Its success-ful execution as a valid cross-curricular activity requiresrather more than a trundlewheel and a tick sheet.

c The identification and sup-port of cross-curricular spe-cialists in all the Key Stagesmust be a priority. Although agenuine cross-curricularapproach represents an alienway of working for many it isnevertheless a sensible, costeffective teaching structure. Inthe case of environmentaleducation, it is the only waythe inherent messages of whatlies ahead for Planet Earth,can be integrated into oureducation system.

The heartening fact is thatthere does exist a core ofexperienced, able anddedicated teachers who willcontinue to practise the styleand philosophy that hasdeveloped over the last twodecades, delivering a messageand a content that isappropriate for their pupils. Itwould be sad if support werenot forthcoming.

16 AREE FOURTH ISSUE

19


Environmental education and initialteacher education

Are training institutions providing courses in environmental education? ChrisOulton reports on a brief survey.

The UK commitment to theResolution by the EuropeanCouncil of Ministers that'Environmental educationshould form part of the edu-cation of persons at all levelsin education", the commit-ment to promote environ-mental education made inthe White Paper on the Envi-ronment= and the establish-ment of environmentaleducation as a cross-curricu-lar theme in the NationalCurriculum' are importantsteps forward for the devel-opment of environmentaleducation in this country. Ateaching force willing andable to deliver such a cur-riculum is required if thesepolicies are to be realised.What therefore are theimplications of such policiesin terms of initial teachereducation?

Curriculum Guidance 7(CG7) describes how environ-mental education may bedelivered as one of the cross-curricular themes, permeatingmost of the subjects of the Na-tional Curriculum'. How-ever, it is recognised thatteachers of science andgeography will have a majorrole to play in this processparticularly at key stages 3and 4 (pupils aged 11 to 16).Therefore one could assumethat environmental educationwill need to be given a higherprofile in the training ofscience teachers.

The following analysis isbased on my experience as atutor on a PostgraduateCertificate in Education(PGCE) secondary sciencecourse, working with ascience method groupconsisting of students from arange of science disciplines.and with a group of environ-mental science students. In

Chris OultonLecturer in Education, University ofBath

addition, I shall refer to datacollected by questionnairefrom seven other teacher edu-cation institutions which trainsecondary science teachersthrough the PGCE route.

Environmentally educatedteachersPhilip Neal' sees 'environ-mentally educated teachers'playing a crucial role in thedevelopment of environ-mental education. Nealsuggests that 'all teachersshould have received afoundation course in environ-mental awareness'. He offers alist, first proposed in Connect°of the capabilities that such ateacher might have.

The environmentallyeducated teacher should beable to:

Apply knowledge of educa-tional philosophy and achieveboth Feneral education andenvironmental educationgoals.

Be competent to use appro-priate strategies to allowlearners to recognise the roleof values in environmentaldecision making.

Utilize current theories ofknowledge/attitude/behav-iour.Select, develop, and imple-

ment strategies to achieveeffective environmentaleducation goals.

Develop strategies to ensurethat learned knowledge,attitudes and cognitive skillswill be transferred to thelearners' choices and decisionmaking concerning lifestyleand behaviour.

Use sound methods to

achieve environmentaleducation goals.

Use effective methods of in-struction.

Infuse appropriate environ-mental education curriculaand methods into all disci-plines.

Evaluate the results of envi-ronmental education curriculanad materials.

it is a daunting list, althoughone might wish to argueabout the appropriatenss ofsome of the aims. However,many of them are the same asthe general aims of any initialteacher education pro-gramme, in this case appliedto environmental education.Given the limited timeavailable on a 36 week PGCEcourse, it is clear that, if sucha curriculum is to be deliv-ered, it must permeate thenormal elements of thecourse.

If environmental educationis to permeate initial teachereducation courses a numberof questions need to be posed.How is environmentaleducation being deliveredcurrently on such courses?Are teacher trainers them-selves environmentallyeducated and thus able toensure that a policy ofpermeation is effective? Whenthe students work in schoolson teaching practice willteachers reinforce the ideasabout environmental educa-tion that the students havedeveloped at their initialtraining institution?

A crucial issue to clarify atthis point is the meaningofenvironmental education.Presumably, if one is to beable to 'use sound methods toachieve environmentaleducation goals', one musthave a clear view of what ismeant by this. The authors of

CG7 have chosen to reuse theidea of education in, aboutand for the environment. It ishelpful to consider environ-mental education in this waybut it is essential to rememberthat each of these three facetsmust be present if a child'senvironmental education is tobe comprehensive. Thus,whilst environmental educa-tion begins with developingknowledge and understand-ing, it must go on from thereto include the development ofpupils' attitudes and valuesand, some would argue,prepare them to take action.For teachers to be fullyprepared to contribute toenvironmental education theyshould consider how theirsubject can contribute to thedevelopment of each of thesethree facets.

The situation in traininginstitutionsAll pre-service teachereducation courses mustcomply with criteria set outby the government.7 TheCouncil for Accreditation ofTeacher Education (CATE)uses these criteria in its task ofadvising the Secretaries ofState on the approval ofcourses. The criteria state that:'On completion of theircourse, students should beaware of the links andcommon ground betweensubjects and be able toincorporate in their teachingcross-curricular dimensions,themes and skills'.

Environmental education isspecifically mentioned in thecriteria as one of thosethemes.

To gain an initial impressionof the degree to which coursesare currently designed tointroduce students to issues inrelation to environmental


20


education, I asked membersof the Association of ScienceEducation Tutors (ASET) torespond to a short question-naire. Seven institutionsresponded. While this is asmall sample, an interestingspread of provision wasrevealed.

Responses to the question'How does environmentaleducation fit into the courseas a whole?' included: 'Itdoesn't, not here!'

Six of the seven institutionsclaimed that environmentaleducation was integrated intothe course as a whole al-though the degree to whichthat integration occurredvaried markedly as the quotesbelow indicate.

'It would most probably fitinto the 'methodology' part ofthe course. I don't think weHave ever analysed our workin those terms - perhaps weshould.' (my emphasis)

'Accidentally. There areobvious environmentaleducation aspects in thegeography course, andpossibly in others. But notplanned into the overallcourse or indeed the wholePGCE.'

'We have a focus weekwhich is compulsory for allscience and technologystudents. There are severalwritten assignments. Allscience technology studentsdo a project on alternativetechnology.'

Two institutions ran short,optional courses for studentswho wished to considerenvironmental educationfurther.

Institutions were not askedto comment on the threefacets of environmentaleducation directly but theywere asked to give examplesof the types of activity,undertaken by students,which they considered to berelated to environmentaleducation.Preparing students to teachABOUT the environmentThree courses had at least oneassignment for all sciencestudents specifically targetedon aspects of environmentaleducation. These include

making posters on an envi-ronmental issue; collectingnewspaper articles on acontroversial topic andshowing how it can be usedas a basis for teaching;evaluating the effectiveness oflaboratory experiments forteaching about pollution. Twoother institutions indicatedthat many students choseenvironmental contexts forassignments, for exampleproducing a teaching aid.

It would appear that in atleast some student teachers'experience, awareness raisingsessions and other opportuni-ties are provided for them toexplore some of the issues inrelation to teaching pupilsABOUT the environment.However, in other institutionsstudents may get little or noexperience in this area.Preparing students to teachpupils IN the environmentFive of the seven institutionsmentioned fieldwork as partof the students' preparationfor environmental education.In two of these institutions,environmental education is-sues were tackled directly onthe field visit. In the otherthree, environmental educa-tion appeared to be incidentalto the fieldwc .k. Two institu-tions provid A fieldwork forall students, two institutionsfor biologists only and one forbiologists and geologists only.With the move to broadbalanced science it is surpris-ing that all science studentsdo not have a fieldwork com-ponent in their initial trainingcourses.Preparing students to teachpupils FOR the environmentThis was more difficult toinfer from the data. At leasttwo institutions introducedstudents to methodologicalissues in relation to roleplayand simulation work and theimplications of teaching aboutcontroversial issues.Developing the environ-mental education componentof courses Without wishing toread too much into limiteddata, it seems reasonable tosuppose that the provision forscience students in relation to envi-ronmental education is patchy

across the country. Whilesome institutions are clearlytackling the issue directlyothers have vet to do so.

Only one institution had atutor who took specificresponsibility for environ-mental education, althoughtwo other institutions indi-cated that all science tutorswere interested. Taking intoaccount the rather patchyresponse in some institutionsit seems f lir to ask: who willtrain the trainers? Currentlythe Department of Trade andIndustry and the TrainingAgency are spending £3.5 mil-lion, over three years, on theEnterprise Awareness inTeacher Education (EATE)project8. Will a similaramount be available for envi-ronmental education?

It must also be rememberedthat environmental educationis oelv one of five cross -curricuiar themes within theNational Curriculum, each ofwhich needs to form part ofthe initial training of teachers.

The situation in schoolsI would argue that, currently,secondary science pupils get agood deal of education aboutthe environment and, if theyare lucky, they may get someeducation in the environment.The programmes of study and

'it seems fair to ask:who will train thetrainers?'

attainment targets for theNational Curriculum forscience include a number ofexamples of environmentalissues and work in the envi-ronment is specificallyprescribed.

In my judgement, educationfor the environment is not acommon experience for manysecondary science pupils.HMI" give some indication ofthe type of activities thatpupils might engage in as partof such an education.

'Pupils may be encouragedto engage in activities inwhich the ideas for changeand improvement can be

tested. This may take the formof practical work in the schoolgrounds; conservation workoutside school; writing to thelocal council about a localissue; raising money to allevi-ate the affects of naturaldisasters in other parts of theworld. Pupils may come toform definite views aboutsuch matters as the use of pes-ticides and fertilisers ornuclear energy and may wishto make these known in someway'.

The authors of CG7 make itclear that education for theenvironment should bedeveloped within the contextof a whole school policy. Iwould argue that scienceteachers have an importantrole to play in that process.

To what extent have scienceteachers considered thedevelopment of the threefacets of environmentaleducation in relation to theirown subject? There hascertainly been an increase inthe number of 'pollutionposters' on classroom wallsand environmental issues arenow more clearly identifiedwithin the curriculum. But,how complete is this environ-mental education if pupils arejust being given the facts andno more? What does a childdo with knowledge aboutglobal warming if the teacheroffers that child no actionsthat he or she might take?

In my experience of INSETwork with secondary scienceteachers it is possible to get aproportion to accept thatenvironmental educationmust go beyond teachingknowledge. They will alsorecognise that to achieve thisthey should use activities suchas role play, simulation anddiscussion. But some indicatethat they do not have theexpertise to organise suchactivities. Others also say thatthey dislike those activitiesand chose science options atschool to avoid them.

The publication of Curricu-lum Guidance 7 will, it is tobe hoped, stimulate manyteachers to include aspects ofenvironmental work in theirteaching programmes.


21


However, encouraging asthese advances are, we wouldbe foolish to think that there isnot still a long way to go.Parry'° has indicated anumber of factors whichmitigate against schoolsestablishing a school policyon environmental education.Given the beleaguered state ofmost teachers coping with theNational Curriculum, theintroduction of a non-statu-tory part of the curriculummay well be a low priority.

A further real concern isthat, while some institutionsof teacher education will raisestudents' awareness about the

to develop environ-tal education within their

teaching, the students maynot see positive role models intheir teaching practice. Normay they be encouraged toexperiment within this areathemselves. The incidence ofstudents on teaching practicebeing told that they must notdeviate from the set lessonplans provided by the schoolis still all too common.

If environmental educationis to form an effective part ofthe National Curriculum thereis clearly a great deal ofINSET work to be done tosupport teachers not only intheir own teaching but also inthe development of a wholeschool policy. In this case theINSET materials beingdeveloped by CEE will bemost welcome. Given theneed for some teacher traininginstitutions to develop theirown expertise in this area itmay be sensible to workthrough an IT/INSET modelof training where teachers,advisers, student teachers andtheir tutors work in a collabo-rative fashion on mutuallyagreed topics.

References1 Resolution of the Council andMinisters of Education meetingwith the Council, EnvironmentalEducation (88/077/03), EC, 24May 1990.2 DoE, This Common Inheritance,HMSO, London, 1990.3 NCC, Curriculum Guidance 3: TheWhole Curriculum, NCC, 1990.4 NCC, Curriculum Guidance 7:Environmental Education, NCC,1990.

5 Neal 1', 'From the General Secre-tary , Environmental Education,Summer 1990.6 'Environmentally educatedteachers - the priority ofpriorities?', Connect, UNESCO-UNEP, March 1990.7 DES, Initial Teacher Education:Approval of Courses (Circular 24/89), London, HMSO, 1989.8 Goodfellow M, Enterprise, 'Eco-nomic and Industrial Understand-

ing - The Challenge for TeacherTraining', Links, Vol. 15, No.3,1990.9 DES, Environmental Educationfrom 5 to 16, London, HMSO, 1989.10 Parry M, Planning and Imple-menting Environmental CurriculumInitiatives in Primary and SecondarySchools in England and Wales,N1AEE, 1988.

A core curriculum for theYouth Service

Down among the Youthgroups something has beenstirring in 1990. Or rather,some body has been stirring- and it's the same body thatstirred the schools, earlier,with a big spoon marked'National Curriculum'.

Most professionai youthworkers see themselves verymuch as educationalists andso the term 'curriculum' heldno terrors for them but it wasdifficult to imagine that a na-tional prescription could bewritten to cover the activitiesof organisations as diverse asthose making up the panoplyof the youth service.

This was the task presentedin December 1989 when AlanHo North, ParliamentaryUnder Secretary for Educationand Science, sponsored aconference where he askedthe service to consider theshape and nature of youthwork in the 1990's. Amongthose things that he asked theconference to address werethe general aims, objectivesand value base of the youthservice and the concept of a'core' curriculum. Thekeynote of the whole processwas to be one of consultation,with the National YouthBureau taking on theenormous task of conductingan exercise, to the usual tightdeadline, which would giveall interested parties thechance to respond.

It was evident from the startthat some areas, such as theage range of the service,

Tony PenneySenior Youth and Community Offi-cer. Herts and Chairman of theYouth Committee. CEE

would be difficult to resoly.e.The voluntary sector wouldwish to retain its work withyoung children whilst others,principally the 'statutory'service, would want anemphasis on work withteenagers.

One thing for certain wasthe golden opportunity itoffered for special interestgroups to get their subjectsfirmly on the agenda if anyagreed curriculum for youthwork was about to emergewith government blessing -here lay the prospect of futurefunding. Members of CEEYouth Committee had this inmind when they met inMarch, 1990.

'A belief in the need toprotect the environment'actually appeared in thenational consultation docu-ment as an example of howyouth work might change theattitudes and beliefs of youngpeople, but our concern wasthat environmental awarenessshould be given a muchhigher profile at the secondministerial conference, in theautumn, which wouldconsider the responses to thedocument.

On behalf of the committee,the CEE Youth Unit re-sponded by writing to the

principal youth officers of alllocal education authorities inEngland, Wales and NorthernIreland and the heads ofnational voluntary youthorganisations. In the eightpage commentary the casewas effectively argued forenvironmental youth work inrelation to all the sections(target groups, priority issues,outcomes etc) of the nationalconsultative document. Theaccompanying letter madereference to 'establishingenvironmental education as afundamental aspect of thepersonal and social develop-ment of young people' andensuring their 'understanding(of) the implications of theiractions at local, national andglobal level'.

Having done our lobbyingwe then had to wait, throughthe summer of 1990, to see theresults. Certainly, there wasevery evidence that the youthservice recognised the seminalimportance of the whole DESconsultation process withspecially, if hastily, arrangedmeeting taking place through-out the country.

The second ministerialconference had been plannedfor early November. Theconference papers, whencirculated, contained ananalysis of 155 detailedresponses to the consultationdocument. What had thelobbying achieved? Well,quite a lot. We had not,admittedly, hit the bullseye ofgetting environmental


22

Aspects and case studies

awareness mentioned in thebasic 'mission statement' forthe youth service, but this initself was subject to significantredrafting with many respon-dents having commented thatit was too long, user-un-friendly, or simply muddled.Many respondents had,however, highlighted envi-ronmental awareness as anarea which the missionstatement had overlooked(along with internationalawareness and the commu-nity dimension of youthwork). In a list of 39 priority

issues environmental educa-tion was ranked sixth, toppedonly by various facets of thoseitems, such as equal opportu-nities and political education,which have pre-occupiedyouth workers for the lastdecade.

The discussion and redraft-ing which took place at thesecond ministerial conferenceredressed this oversight, andthe recommended Statementof Purpose (mission state-ment) for the youth servicenow includes:

'Youth work offers young

people opportunities whichare: ...participative - through avoluntary relationship withyoung people in which youngpeople are partners in thelearning process and decision-making structures whicheffect their own and otheryoung people's lives, andtheir environment.'

The task now facing theyouth service is the identifica-tion of nationally agreedlearning outcomes, as regardsskills, knowledge and atti-tudes, a process in which CEEis already involved on behalf

of its members.Did the CEE lobby make all

the difference to the promi-nence of environmentaleducation in the consultationresponses or was it simply anidea whose time had alreadycome? We may never knowbut, certainly, the environ-ment is now firmly estab-lished on the youth workagenda - just in time for thepublication of Earthworks, theresource materials resultingfrom CEE's 3-year Youth andEnvironment Training Projects

Scotland's REEFSAn innovative scheme of regional networking is promotingenvironmental education in Scotland.

The REEF project is net aplan to entice tropical fishesto herring-depleted Scottishwaters but a locally basedScottish Environmental Edu-cation Council (SEEC)initiative to provide anetwork for environmentaleducation providers andusers.

Regional EnvironmentalEducation Forums (REEFs)were piloted from 1988 inCentral Region and LanarkDivision of Strathclyde,helped by a grant from theCarnegie UK Trust. Thesuccess in these areas led tofurther funding to take theproject forward for threeyears, with financial supportfrom BP (Scotland), Country-side Commission for Scot-land, NCC (Partnership inPractice) and WWF (UK).

So far six local forums havebeen established - in Borders,Central and Fife Region,Edinburgh Green Belt, andAyr and Lanark Divisions ofStrathclyde. Typically, theforums are composed of 30 to40 people - teachers, advisors

William BlazekSEEC Development Officer

and representatives fromvoluntary and statutoryenvironmental organisations,community groups, rangerand museum servi -es.Members of these localforums have found benefitfrom working on collabora-tive projects, informationexchange, and joint training-initiatives.

To date, five of the forumshave produced resourcedirectories and these publica-tions are made available toschools, libraries, resourceand community centres. Theyalso provide a useful tool forpeople working in environ-mental education, promotingbetter communication be-tween environmental organi-sations, local authorities, andeducation centres. Each newdirectory benefits form thelessons of previous work. Themost recently constitutedgroup, in Ayrshire, is design-


fTr--.7f

1.

ing a directory which willcontain matrix sheets indicat-ing how individual providersof environmental educationcan meet Scottish curriculumrequirements in varioussubjects. One benefit shouldbe to promote co-ordinated,interdisciplinary studiesamong schools within thearea. Another should be toimprove the quality of yisitsto environmental sites.Ayrshire EnvironmentalEducation Forum receivedadvice and sample materialsfrom the Lanark Environ-mental Education Forum, andis now sharing informationwhich can be used for thenext annual directory up-datein Lanark and elsewhere.

Important though they arein providing information andgiving the REEF's a strongfocus, the directories repre-sent a starting point forseveral other local projects.

Among them are regionalnewsletters, environmentalaward schemes, school-linkprogrammes, in-service work-shops for teachers andcommunity groups, andcontinued development of theGlobal Rivers EnvironmentalNetwork (GREEN).

Recently, some forums havebeen responding to environ-mental charters adopted bylocal authorities, and there isvalue in having existing net-works which can build fromthis more challenging level ofco-ordination and co-operaltion, and address the needs ofboth the formal and informalsectors.

The enhanced exchange ofideas an informationbetween REEF's is onepriority for the coming year.The publication of the firstissue of the newsi:,tter REEFNEWS in September 1990 wasamong the important steps in

.FP1,23


the inter-REEF design.Ultimately, the net worth of

any network depends on theamount of benefit it gives toindividuals in the goals theyare trying to achieve, and thework they are trying to ac-complish. To keep the halo ofenthusiasm from fading, self-interests must be served andself-satisfaction must derivefrom tangible accomplish-ments. The REEF project hasgathered strength from suchachievements, and localenvironmental educationnetworks are evolving to meetcurrent circumstances and torealise future prospects. Liketheir ecosystem counterparts,REEFs exist on a solid founda-tion of the past but thrive onlyby individuals functioningtogether in symbiotic relation-ship. Not quite an eponym,then, but a metaphor to liveand work by..

rgIWZ,I1

MILT ®N KEYNESYEAR OF THEENVIRONMENT

A unique year - Milton KeynesYear of the Environment

Mark Yoxon explains how a whole year event which successfullytranslated European Year of the Environment ideas to the local level

and involved all sections of the community was mounted.

In Milton Keynes, a widerange of organisations workto bring local people intocontact with their environ-ment in ways which will beof long term benefit. Mostare represented on a co-ordinating group, the MiltonKeynes EnvironmentalEducation Liaison Group(MKEELG). The groupusually meets seasonally toexchange information, workco-operatively, avoid dupli-cation of effort and work ona 'common ground' ap-proach. The group haddeveloped broad expertise inrunning events and projectssuch as teacher days and theproduction of local resourceguides before its ambitiousplan for an environment yearfor Milton Keynes.

Inspired by the EuropeanYear of the Environment(EYE) and the work carriedout by the group during EYE,a decision was taken in 1988to translate EYE ideas andthinking to the local level andso the concept of MiltonKeynes Year of the Environ-ment (MKYE) was born.

Getting startedA group was formed fromMKEELG to develop theconcept and a programme ofevents and projects whichthey felt would translate thegood practice implicit in EYEinto a unique local initiative.This group became themanagement committee forthe project. From the outset itwas clear that the projectwould need to be self-financing with full time co-ordination and management.The strength of convictionshown by the managementcommittee was translated intofinancial support fromBuckinghamshire County

Mark YoxonLiaison Officer, Environmental Edu-cation, Open University and formerco-ordinator for MKYE

Council, the Borough andDevelopment Corporations ofMilton Keynes and UK2000.The County Council alsoprovided office space in alocal education centre. Withthis core funding, a co-ordinator for MKYE wasappointed in April 1989,giving a lead-in period of fivemonths before the plannedlaunch in September 1989.This time was vital in thepreparation of the project. Itwas used to develop afunding strategy for the Year,begin work on projects andbegin establishing a profile forMKYE in the local commu-nity. More time for prepara-tion would have provedvaluable, especially on fun-draising which in fact contin-ued through the yeardiverting some time awayfrom management of thecomponent projects.

The Year had three straight-forward educational goals:

to inspire people;- to let them know what theycould actually do to help theirenvironment;

to get them involved in thedoing.

The practice of translatingthese goals into a local realityinvolved working with allsections of the community.The lead-in time allowedsome basic market research,to match the offerings ofMKYE to the needs of thelocale. For example, consulta-tions took place with theeducation system at manylevels - and the work ofMKYE complemented

schools' activities most nota-bly by securing £10 000 for anenvironmental award scheme.

Gaining support andfundingCommunication with thebusiness sector was ofparamount importance to thesuccess of MKYE. Involvingthe sector of society whichproduces the wealth has oftenbeen overlooked when theenvironment is the issue. Incrude terms, MKYE waslooking for financial supportfrom the business communityto make the 40 draft projectsfor the Year come to life. Thelong-term benefits for theenvironment which devel-oped from establishingworking relationships with arange of local organisationsmay very well outweigh themonetary gains made.

From the outset, MKYEattempted to find sponsorshipfor projects rather than simplytry to create a pool of dona-tions. We were guided by thework of Gillies' in adoptingthis strategy. MKYE became amember of the local chamberof commerce and used theservice of the chamber toapproach a wide range oflocal companies. Targetedmailshots were produced toset out the business plan forthe Year alongside costedopportunities for involve-ment. Other national andregional organisationsincluding those representingthe public sector and chari-table trusts were approachedin a similar way. Themailshots were followed upby telephone calls anddiscussion with potentialsponsors when appropriate.Careful preparation andnegotiation was needed toensure mutual benefit to both

A REE FOURTH ISSUE 21

24


MKYE and the fundingorganisation.

This strategy had twoimportant advantages. Itundoubtedly meant that thelevel of broad support gener-ated was much greater thanunrelated donations wouldhave produced, and that localorganisations who supportedthe Year were activelyinvolved in it - some degree ofownership was transferred inthe process.

As a result of this activity, agrowing network of help andsupport from the businesscommunity was establishedwhich also provided impor-tant feedback. In retrospect,th° Year would have benefit-ted g :aatly from directinvolvement and advice fromthe business community at amuch earlier stage in theinception of MKYE.

The funding breakdown isinteresting. Of the £111000raised, either in cash or by theprovision of costed services,public sector organisationsprovided 54%; NetworkSouth East provided servicesand funding totalling 23%;local and regional businessprovided 14% and charitabledonations from trusts madeup the balance of 9%. As canbe seen, the backbone offinancial support was pro-vided by the public sector.MKYE's analysis fits closelywith the national picture forsupport revealed by SusanForrester (pers.comm.) whileresearching for her bookBusiness and EnvironmentalGroups=.

A key part of the communi-cation process was to set thescene locally. Well-establishedstructures existed in MiltonKeynes in all sectors of thecommunity and these wereutilised to good effect duringthe five month pre-launchmulti-media campaign. Acalculated risk was taken toborrow against salary fundingand over £3000 was investedon a range of materialsincluding the artwork andproduction of full colour A2and A4 posters, businessstationery, essential officeequipment and consumables.The investment was returned

with interest. The co-ordina-tor's work was complementedby an ever enthusiasticmanagement committee andseveral active local patronsincluding the local MP andthe Mayor of Milton Keynes.It was a measure of its successthat enquiries were receivedfrom as far afield as Hamp-shire and the Scottish High-lands. Local queries resultedin several new projects. Fromthis stage onwards the mainlimiting factor on growth wasthe lack of full time secretarialassistance for MKYE. The co-ordinator had to share thecentre secretary with six otherLEA staff.

Into actionMKYE was fortunate tosecure the services of Profes-sor David Bellamy to helplaunch the Year in September1989. His profile and infec-tious enthusiasm coupledwith a diverse programme ofevents which includedschools, the business commu-nity and the general public

'Perhaps one of itsmost important roleswas to identify andinvolve sections of thecommunity who arenot normally associ-ated with environ-mental activity.'

gave MKYE regional profile ata stroke with coverage onthree television channels aswell as national, regional andlocal media. Following thelaunch, work started on im-plementing the twentyprojects for which supporthad been gained. Only aflavour of the projects that theYear actually developed canbe given in this short article.£34 000 was made available tocommunity groups andschools to support their ideasfor practical projects andthese can now be seen in thefabric of the landscape. Aconsiderable volume ofrecycled paperwork wasproduced, making up nearlytwenty separate publications

which included 50 Ways toHelp the Environment, an airquality study pack, It's Yoursa seasonal childrens' newslet-ter containing ideas andcomment, and 45 Ways to Helpfor local businesses. Manylocal groups have carried outspecial projects as theircontribution to MKYE,including a new naturalhistory guide for the area, amajor regional photographiccompetition and a localpoetry competition. Fournational theatre groupsappeared, including one witha specially commissionedwork for MKYE which endedup on national tour. A pro-gramme entitled ' Earthtalks'helped link the local with thenational and global andincluded such guest speakersas Rod Hackney and JonathonPorritt. The full picture isdocumented by Yoxon 3 in thefinal report for MKYE.

Evaluating the YearThe Year met its original aimwell and inspired positiveaction from many sections ofthe local community. Throughproduction of relevant educa-tional materials and creativeuse of the media, mostnotably a good workingrelationship with o.ie localnewspaper, it suce4ded inletting people know whatthey could actually dothemselves and involved over15 000 people in environ-mental activity of varioussorts, or over 24 000 if twomajor exhibitions are includedin the calculations.

The Year proper ended inSeptember as did the co-ordinator's post. In an idealsituation, the co-ordinatorwould have been employedfor a further period of three tofour months in order to bringthe project to a completeclose. This was proposed inthe original business plan. Inpractice, much of the conclud-ing work was carried out bythe co-ordinator while theYear was still underway, aless than satisfactory situ-ation. Work did not actuallystop on the 31 August andwork needed to be taken onby the management commit-

tee. This was expected tocontinue until early 1991.

Apart from promotionalactivity, it was felt that workstarted during MKYE shouldhave a future in the Borough.Perhaps one of its most usefulroles has been to identify andpull together many threads,often involving sections of thecommunity not normallyassociated with environ-mental activity, and leavingsome constructively tiedknots. Over 60% of the workbegun by MKYE has a securefuture, either by the fact that itis published material such astrails and leaflets or becausefeatures have been created inthe landscape. Much of theeducational activity will havean impact beyond the con-fines of a calendar year.Several initiativeP, have nowbeen taken on board by theMKEELG. The 'Earthtalks'series is to continue, nowseasonally. The beginnings ofa networking approach sosuccessful in other parts of theUK has been taken on boardby MKEELG and at the timeof writing a working group isengaged in meetings topropose a structure for a localenvironment network andwill report back in early 1991.Discussions are also takingplace to establish a 'GreenAward' scheme for localbusiness.

In the same way thatEuropean Year of the Envi-ronment was designed to be acontinental beginning, MiltonKeynes Year of the Environ-ment was designed to be alocal beginning to focus andextend good environmentalpractice. The signs are that itwas.

ReferencesI Gil lies C, Finding Sponsorship forCommunity Pri..ects,Friends of the L.;.th Publications,1988.2 Forrester S, Business and Er:tut-mi.mental Groups A Natural Partner-ship?, Directory of Social Change,1990.3 Yoxon M. Milton Keynes Year ofthe Environment The ConcludingReport, MKYE, 1990. (Availablefrom City Discovery Centre, 11ThTanners Drive, Blake lands. MiltonKeynes, MK14 5BP1.


25.".


Environmental education informationtechnology and I.T. CERES - raising

environmental awareness through educationAn innovative international project is researching and developing the

potential of I.T. for environmental education.

Worldwide increase inpublic awareness in environ-mental matters is likely tolead to worldwide increasein the demand for environ-mental education during the1990s. Such a massiveexpansion of deinand cannotbe provided using the leadtimes normally associatedwith the development ofnew courses - ie. from idea,through curriculum develop-ment into classroom practicein schools and universities,leading to eventual assimila-tion in society as a whole.Nor does the related urgen.of raising enviromentalawareness in the communityat large permit such a delay.The problem is further com-pounded by the need topresent environmentalsubject matter in a holisticway so that the essentialinterconnections betweenissues can be preserved, andthe insights and understand-ings so necessary for effec-tive solutions can be gained.

This article describes thework of InternationalI.T.CERES, an EnvironmentalEducation DevelopmentCentre based at SouthamptonUniversity. I.T.CERES uses itsexpertise both in the uses ofInformation Technology foreducation and in the environ-mental sciences to research,develop, evaluate and delivermaterials, courses andstrategies for industry and theformal education systems.The article shows how theuses of Information Technol-ogy as flexible tools forlearning can help to satisfythe needs for environmentaleducation in innovative waysand how the use of networks,databases and interactiveeducational software can

enhance the quality oflearning about the environ-ment.

International I.T.CERES -Using Information Tech-nology for environmentaleducationThe ultimate goal ofI.T.CERES (InformationTechnology Centres forEducation and Research in theEnvironmental Sciences) is toestablish and link Environ-mental Education Centres ona global scale to identify andmeet regional needs collabo-ratively. Already universitiesin eight EC member states areworking together and withindustry to produce materialsand courses in the Environ-mental Sciences at a Europeanlevel under the aegis of theEuropean Commission'sCOMETT II Programme. Thisproject - I.T.CERES Europe -is co-ordinated from theUniversity of Southampt..n.

A 50% European Comn..s-sion COMETT II Programmegrant has been made toadminister the I.T.CERESEurope network. It has alsoapproved a grant to establisha technical infrastructure

'such is the urgency ofthe present environ-mental situation, amass audience will benecessary in order tobring home the issuesand the need forchange.'

which enables global environ-mental data to be distributedfrom sources such as theUNEP-GRID Centre in

Professor NormanLongworth and Alan JPritchardInternational LT.CERES Centre,University of Southampton. UnitedKingdom

Geneva, the MARC databasein London, the CORINEdatabase in Brussels toEducation in Europe (TheCERESdata Programme). Thenetwork is about to beextended into Eastern Europethrough the TEMPUS Pro-gramme and will includeCentres from Poland andHungary. Expansion of thenetwork to the developingworld, witere issues are mostacute, and to other areas ofthe developed world will bemade as resources becomeavailable.

International I.T.CERES hasfour major target audiencesfor its environmental andeducation work:

Industry and commerceSchools and teacher trainingUniversities and higher

educationThe community and the

publi: at largeand if is developing projectpartn et-ships to satisfy thesepopu :ations. One feature ofall of these is the use ofInformation Technology (I.T.)as an enabling and deliverytool so that more appropriatelearning can be provided formore people more quickly,more interactively and moreeffectively.

The following are shortexamples of how I.T. can beused to enhance environ-mental education.

1 - NetworkingNetworks are nothing new,

and are the essence of co-operative action in manyfields. But the addition of anelectronic component throughwhich messages, concepts,responses, information anddebate can be traded quicklyand inexpensively betweenpeople, represents a hugeincrease of capability. Suchelectronic networks haveexisted for some time andinclude electronic mail andComputer ConferencingSystems.

Intemation I.T.CERES isexploring the capabilities ofnetworks for environmentaleducation in the followingareas:a) Networks of scientistsworking on environmentalprogrammes. Many of theseare a..eady in touch with eachother through their own sci-entific networks. Suchnetworks could become avery valuable resource forteaching, learning andmaterials development.b) Networks of education andcurriculum developersworldwide - operatingthrough I.T.CERES Centreswhich assess environmentaleducation needs for the regionin which they operate. Thecollaborative developmentand testing of courses andmaterials through such a net-work would be a great boon.The electronic facilities wouldbe used for distribution ofcourse modules, ideas fornew courses, assessment ofneeds and much else.

c) Networks of teachertraining institutions in univer-sities and colleges - for pre-service and in-service trainingof teachers in schools, for thedevelopment and testing ofenvironmental educationmaterials locally, for accessing

ARFE FOURTH ISSUE 23

26


the information needed tocreate new courses and for theexploration of cultural differ-ences. There is a great value inbeing able to perform thiswork over days rather thanmonths.d) Networks of schools,universities and industrialtraining establishmentseither together or separately,the sharing of access to envi-ronmental data and research,the ability to combine inpractical participation projectson environmental subjectslocally, nationally and/orinternationally.e) Delivery and feedbacknetworks for environmentaleducation and trainingcourses at distance - in whichthe use of conferencing sys-tems would enable student-leacher and student-studentinteraction to compensate forthe physical absence of theteacher, and in which thecomponents of the coursewould be a combination ofdatabase access, textualmaterials, graphics and voice- plus the use of the networksto contact 'experts' as well asthe teacher.

2 - DatabasesAs environmental data isalways changing, it is impor-tant to have up-to-dateinformation available to envi-ronmental courses andmaterials. I.T.CERES, throughthe CERESdata project, isworking on the infrastructureto bring relevant databases toeducation through networksand by other means.

Environmental databasesabound in many places. Theyrange from Global MonitoringSystems at MARC and UNEP-GRID, through the nationaldata from CORINE andNASA, to local databases es-tablished for local use inregions by local governmentauthorities. Further, in purelyeducational terms, they repre-sent one of the frontier postsin the de,,clopment of respon-sive learning techniques (I doand I understand). There areperhaps three main ways inwhich databases are valuablein environmental education:a) As accessible resources to

underpin teaching andlearning, from which thelez.rner makes scientificinference. This is a skill whichis often neglected in bothschools and universities andso there is a need to incorpo-rate data analysis techniquesinto environmental courseswhich use databases.b) As teaching and learningstrategies in which theenvironmental database itbuilt up by the learner, orgroups of learners, either byoriginal observation orthrough the secondary use ofexisting data. This willinclude information handlingskills right om the collectionstage through storage,analysis and dissemination, aswell as the opportunity forhigh order skills such as prob-lem-solving, d3cision-making,thinking etc.c) The technique of using thedatabase as a teaching tool inits own right. This not onlymeans mastering the access tosoftware but also of incorpo-rating additional learningsoftware, usually based onhypermedia techniques (see 4below), into the database,which helps to give insight aswell as information. Researchis being undertaken at theSouthampton UniversitySchool of EducationI.T.CERES Centre into thesetechniques.

In isolation, databases havelimited teaching and learningvalue. When they are usedtogether with textual materi-als or other powerful I.T. toolsand techniques they can beused to great effect. Recentdevelopments in quality meanthat educational software nowhas potential to become themedium through which envi-ronmental education can bedelivered.

3 - Educational softwareusing the PCIn the past, educationalsoftware (computer assistedlearning - CAL) has not beentaken up by the vast majorityof teachers. Fear, lack oftraining and of good hard-ware and software have allcontributed to this state.

For environmental educa-tion, technology developmentin both hardware and soft-ware offers the possibility offuture growth in three areas.a) Hypermedia - a relativelynew development in com-puter software. The possibil-ity of incorporating newpresentation techniques intoeducational software and ofhaving far more learner

'educational softwarenow has potential tobecome the mediumthrough which envi-ronmental educationcan be delivered.'

control over both the subjectmatter and the methodologyof learning is an exciting newdevelopment. Hypermediadiffers from CAL in that itpresents new information andconcepts as hierarchies to beaccessed as required; it givesthe facility to flip in and outof the mainstream programand, probably most impor-tantly, the ability to presentgraphic material, digitisedpictures or maps and dia-grams, on the screen.

An example is the 'waterprogram', developed at theSouthampton UniversityI.T.CERES Cen,re. In thisinnovative program, acombination of diagrams,digitised and labelled pic-tures, multi-choice prompts,text, maps and graphics give athorough and stimulatingoverview of how water passesfrom river to tap. Suchversatility has not existedbefore outside a large main-frame machine and even thenextensive training would havebeen needed.

Nor have the limitations ofhypermedia tools beenreached - there is obviousscope for expanding the useof the medium to explore re-lationships between issues,systems and ideas - forexample to build up a pictureof the connectivities betweenthe build-up of greenhousegases, ozone depletion,

pollution control measures etcwith pictorial, diagrammaticand textual back-up in a waythat is understandable andmanipulable by ordinarypeople. I.T.CERES is workingto produce a prototype alongthese lines as an initialmodule for industry.b) Using models and simula-tions to test 'what-if'? Simula-tions which allow the learnerto explore 'what if' situationsare becoming increasinglyfashionable and the use ofexpert systems shells whichincorporate the use of Artifi-cial Intelligence techniquesare making it easier forprogrammers to devise suchprograms.c) Audio-visual software - In-creasingly the major com-puter manufacturers areproducing software specifi-cally aimed at course designfor the industrial trainingmarket. Much of this is highlysophisticated, combining thebest ease-of-use features ofauthoring systems withvisually stimulating televisiontechniques involving split-screening, voice-overs,motion, textual presentation,access to external networksand databases, graphics, mapsinteractivity, colour codingetc. An example of this is theIBM Audio-Visual Connectionand it opens up an entirelynew dimension in the presen-tation of environmentalcourseware. I.T.CERES isexperimenting with this newinnovative medium and willbe producing new environ-mental materials based uponit.

4 - Open and distancelearning, a panacea formass education?Whereas the development ofenvironmental educationalsoftware might be describedas working at the 'Micro' levelbecause its potential audienceat any time is fixed and static,the development of networksand databases in EE becomesa much more 'Macro' activity,because the targets are muchmore diffuse and potentiallylarger. However, such is theurgency of the present

24 AREE FOURTH fSSUE

27


environmental situation, amass audience will be neces-sary in order to bring homethe issues and the need forchange. Thus, open anddistance learning techniques,and strategies for more cost-effective delivery of educationbecome imperative.

Distance learning is a subjectwhich fills many books and itwould be impossible to precisthese here. The essentials,however, are well-known:

the choice of a suitablemeans of delivery is impor-tant. This can be text-basedvia books and assignments,video-based through satellite,direct broadcasting throughTV or the distribution oftapes, or education technol-ogy based through PCscreens, Videodisk, CD-ROM,CDT or DVI etc - or anycombination of these.

the means of feeding backcomments, questions anddiscussion between thestudents and the lecturers andbetween student and st adentis also important. Because thelecturer and students are notphysically in the same place,information Technologyrepresents the most effectiveway of stimulating this inter-action.

There are few precedents inenvironmental education atdistance, except perhaps formass market TV programmes,some of which are excellent inidentifying and exploring is-sues but most of which areunable to go into sufficientdetail for educational pur-poses. One of the advantagesof having a university base forInternational I.T.CERES is thatit also gives a research basefor its educational andenvironmental activities. AtSouthampton, the focus ofsuch research in distance andopen learning.

The ECOMASTERSProject - A mid-careerpost-graduate degreecourse in environmentalsciences.International I.T.CERES is de-veloping the ECOMASTERScourse in collaboration withits sister centres abroad. This

course is unusual in that itwelcomes students from in-dustry, education and govern-ment into the same course. It

is a Masters Degree course, orits equivalent in other Euro-pean Countries, which hasother interesting features. Forexample the course is modu-lar, interfaculty, is tailored tothe needs of each individualstudent, and involves a periodof study at an IT CERESCentre in Europe.

The ECOMASTERS coursewill be useful for managers inindustry, teachers in schoolsand teacher training colleges,environmental officers innational and local govern-ment, and voluntary workersin community projects, and

the first pilot course starts inOctober 1991 at SouthamptonUniversity.

Summary - InternationalI.T.CERES and environ-mental educationInformation Technology isalready highly active inmonitoring, managing,digitising, recording, analys-ing, communicating andsynthesising environmentalaffairs. By the same token, I.T.has also long been establishedas a potential tool for the de-velopment and disseminationof education in several ways.I.T.CERES exploits its knowl-edge in both these areas tocreate much-needed environ-mental education and training

for people and organisations.Lastly, although I.T.CERES

operates at an internationallevel, it also operates nation-ally in the UK and locally inthe Wessex region. Thinkingglobally and acting locally is apractise to be encouraged andI.T.CERES uses its interna-tit). .:ontacts and network toma,,, that happen. It iscurrently putting together amembership programme.Interested companies andother organisations shouldcontact the authors at Interna-tional I.T.CERES, School ofEducation, University ofSouthampton, Southampton,Hants, S09 5NH. tel: 0703593213.

The Environment, Community,Arts Network - partnership

through quality trainingHave you been to GrizedaleForest and seen the sculp-tures? Have you ever won-dered how they got there?Who decided that the RedIndian sitting on top of therock was the most appropri-ate way of interpreting the`,rest? I am quite sure itwasn't the users of the forest,the local residents or thevisitors. The same could beasked of the many examplesof art found in our towns,cities and rural areas putunder the heading of PublicArt. Did the community havea say in their design andconstruction?

And what about the mes-sage? Ask any artist why theydo what they do and youcould be in for a long treatiseon how their work displaysthe quintessential linksbetween the powerful forcesof nature, human relation-ships and existence! Theworst cases of this mustsurely be when artists areallowed to impose their workon a community without al-

Pete HawkinsLecturer. Losehill Hall. the PeakNational Park Centre. and memberof the Steering Group of the ECANetwork.

lowing the recipients to havetheir own say. This is wherethe Environment, Commu-nity, Arts Network comes in.The ECA Network wasestablished following ameeting of environmentalists,community workers and artsworkers which was heldduring February 1990, atLosehill Park, the PeakNational Park Centre. Its aimis to organise a series of highquality training coursesaround the country whichwill bring together these threepotentially disparate groupsto promote the creativeexploration of environmentalissues within communitygroups.

The network is still in itsinfancy and being asked tocomment on it at this stage is

a little like being asked to passjudgement on a meal beforeyou've eaten it. The ECAnetwork currently is at asimilar stage. The ideas lookfine and the blending ofenvironmentalist, communityworkers and artists has anappealing aroma about it, butas we are still in the kitchenperfecting the recipe nobodycan sample it yet!

From the initial meetingwhich raised many questionsand answered none, a groupof approximately fifteenvolunteers came forwardwilling to devote theirprecious time to furtheringthe project. Since that time wehave refined our thinking andproduced a 'manifesto',which is reproduced below.Manifesto

The loss of natural resourcesand world-wide pollution areissues at the top of the agenda ingovernment, business andindustry, in the media and forthe individual. Protection of theenvironment must come first,and it's up to everyone to dosomething about it.


28


Existing educational provisiontries hard, but lacks the freedomto use the impact of cross-disciplinary work.

ECA Network advocates com-munity involvement usingcreative, imaginative arts basedtechniques to enable groups andindividuals to tackle local andglobal issues effectively. Partici-pation builds real understandingwhich enables communities totake more pleasure in, andresponsibility for, their world.

ECA Network aims to developenvironmental understandingthrough creative community in-volvement, and believes thatquality training is the primarytool.The training programme will

involve environmentalists,educationalists, arts workers,community development workersand local activists. The trainingwill be national in profile butwill be regional in character andcontent.

These courses will be targetedat existing group organisers andwill help participants to:I Acquire practical and ena-bling skills2 Instill a sense of magic andfun into their work3 Gain the confidence to worktogether4 Use the arts with communitygroups to address environmentalproblems.

ECA Network Trainingprogrammes will include 5 dayresidential courses and longweekend packages at centresaround the country.

With so many bold claims inthe manifesto the network hasa tough job to do. But...

What do we mean bycommunity?Everybody, whether they beminorities or majorities,housebound or active,children or adults, urban andrural. We are seeking toencourage everybody whowishes to take action abouttheir environment to becomeinvolved because through in-volvement will come concern,and through concern, action.

What kind of art?Art is a widely used andmuch-abused term. It can

range from grand orchestralconcerts to graffiti walls. Tothe ECA Network,the me-dium is not important. Themethod of using that mediumis vital though. If we are tofulfil our aims we need toemploy techniques in whichthe community canparticipate fully. By partici-

'People can do any-thing if they are em-powered to do so.'

pate we do not mean standingand watching, we meangetting in there, doing andinfluencing and merely usingthe 'expert' as a facilitator andenabler. People can doanything if they are empow-ered to do so.

Why training?Training is the key to change.Without giving people theskill and the confidence to usearts skills with a community,then things will not happen.Training allows things to hap-pen and puts people in touchwith like-minded individualswho can give support andencouragement. The trainingwill be, we believe, unique bydrawing together the differentinterest groups. By workingwith the other disciplines,common issues can beexplored and differentstrengths can be utilised.

Why a network?At the moment we areconcentrating on setting upthe training programme,obtaining funding and findinga suitable umbrella organisa-tion to provide us with a legalframework. How we developbeyond this will largelydepend upon the desires,wishes and skills of networkmembers and the availabilityof volunteers to develop theproject further. The word'network' gives us the flexibil-ity to develop!

What have we done sofar?The steering group has metregularly, as have the sub-groups who have beenpursuing such areas astraining, funding, coordina-tors job description and otherkey tasks. From these havecome the promise of fundingfrom a number of statutorybodies, including a possiblegrant from the Local Govern-ment Training Board, toproduce a major report whichwill be sent to all local au-thorities advising on goodpractice and future directions.

We hope to appoint acoordinator when fundsallow, and are running a pilotcourse planned for May '91 inTyneside, based on a courseformat which the group hasdevised.

So what can I do?Get in touch! We are lookingfor quality people withquality ideas. We want peoplewith skills in anything fromfundraising to marketing,newsletter writing to commu-nity action work. We are alsolooking for those who merelythink it is a good idea andwould contribute if they hadthe time! As the projectdevelops we can then call onindividuals to take us throughthe next stage.

So that is what the ECANetwork is all about. Hope-fully you agree that what weare trying to do is right andcan help us achieve our aims.If we can get communitiesinvolved in thinking about theenvironment and actingpositively to secure its future,then we will have madesignificant steps forward. TheECA Network knows it has atough job in front of it but isconvinced that the basic ingre-dients are right. But, as theysay, the proof of the puddingis in the eating. Bon Appetit!

If you would like to putyour name on The ECANetwork mailing list or moreinformation, please contact;Pete Hawkins, The ECANetwork, c/o Peak NationalPark Centre, Losehill Hall,Castleton, Derbyshire, S302WB. Tel 0433 20373. Thesame address can be used ifyou can help fund the Net-work.


29

Research

While important initiativeshave been taken at interna-tional and national levels topromote the introduction t.:fenvironmental education inthe school curriculum, therehave been problems ofimplementation at primarylevel - partly due to a lack ofagreement concerning thenature and role of sucheducation at this level. Inpractice, it can take variousforms, including the use ofthe environment as a re-source for curricular sub-jects, consideration of the en-vironment as a classroomtopic and use of first-handexperience to encourageenvironmental awarenessand a sense of participation.

This study was conducted aspart of a research project,carried out over a period ofthree years from January 1987at the University of Readingand had the followingobjectives. To determine:1 Teachers' understanding ofthe nature and aims ofenvironmental education andthe extent to which theyacknowledge the affective andmoral dimension involved;2 Their understanding of thescope of such education andthe extent to which theyacknowledge its holisticapproach;3 The strategies favoured forits inclusion in the schoolcurriculum;4 The nature of the workundertaken and majorproblems encountered;5 The nature of in-servicetraining courses undertaken;6 The teachers' views on

Environmental education andprimary school teachers

A report on a study on the understanding of the nature of environmentaleducation among primary school teachers and the effect of this on practice.

possible action to improveschool practice.

Review of literatureTwo major studies haveprovided evidence of howprimary teachers in the UKinterpret environmental edu-cation. In the WWF project ',it was found that teacherstended to emphasize cognitiveaspects and that teachingstrategies involving the affec-tive domain were infrequentlyused. The political andcontroversial aspects involvedwere perceived as a constraintby a great number of respon-dents. Gaylord's findings=suggested that emphasis inschool programmes was onthe acquisition of knowledgeand the development ofsimple skills such as observa-tion, description and identifi-cation. Activities involvinghigher order skills, such asdata analysis and problem-solving, were less oftenundertaken. The respondents

Christiane Dorion and ChrisGayfordChris Gaylord is Head of Depart-ment of Science and TechnologyEducation, University of Reading,Christiane Dorion is a formerpostgraduate student. University ofReading.

also made little use of meth-ods which directly confrontthe child's attitudes andvalues. The most significantfindings of both studies wereutilized in the development ofthe research instruments forthe present study.

The methodologyThe study was limited to threelocal authorities: Hertford-shire, Berkshire and Avon.The main instrument was aquestionaire used amongstteachers already aware of theimportance of environmentaleducation and who haddeveloped some expertise inthis area.

Table 1Teachers' understanding of the concept environment

Yes (%) No(%)1. Local area 95 5

2. World we live in 72 28

3. Interdependence between local 37 63

and global issues

4. Wildlife/plants/animals 92 8

5. Countrvwise 77 23

6. Towns/cities 45 55

7. Built environment 59 41

8. Community /people 39

9. Economic aspects of society 10 90

10. Political aspects of society 7 93

11. Historical houses and heritage 35 65

The investigation alsoinvolved interviews with keypeople within these authori-ties and analysis of docu-ments produced by schools,field studies centres and localauthorities. A network of'key' people involved in themanagement and implemen-tation of environmentaleducation in each authorityhelped identify names ofteachers known for theirconcern and previous work inthis area.

The questionnaire was basedon findings from previousstudies and discussion withteachers and advisers. Ques-tions of both 'open' and'closed' types were used, andrelated systematically to theresearch objectives.

Overall, 172 questionnaireswere distributed and 112returned. At a time whenmajor changes were affectingschools, the high proportionof completed questionnaires(65%) indicated the stronginterest amongst the teachersselected. The responses weretabulated using SPSS (acomputer analysis softwarepackage) and then analysed.Analysis of the 'open-type'questions and comments ofthe respondents helped toenrich the results obtainedfrom the statistical work.

The findingsNearly all teachers (98%)agreed that environmentaleducation should be anintegral part of the curriculumrather than a separate schoolsubject. Additionally, 33% ofthese considered that itshould also be a subject in its

.4REE FOURTH ISSUE 27

Research

own right. Over 90% thoughtthat enviornmental educationcan enhance the child'slearning in other curricularareas such as geography,science, moral education, art,history, English and mathe-matics.

In contrast with previousresearch findings 1.2, the viewsexpressed by the teachers inthis study revealed a ratherbroad interpretation of envi-ronmental education, involv-ing both the cognitive andaffective domains. The needfor developing in childrenknowledge and skills throughfirst-hand experience wasemphasized by the majority.

Most teachers also stressedthe need for encouragingenvironmental awareness,concern and action. Over 90%stressed the importance ofinvolving children in the con-servation and improvement oftheir local surroundings. Over75% regarded the develop-ment of an awareness of theenvironment, appreciation ofthe natural environment andconcern for wildlife andendangered species as veryimportant.

The majority interpreted thescope of environmentaleducation as the investigationof the 'natural' environmentin the local area (see Table 1,items I, 4). Ninety-two percent understood the environ-ment as 'Wildlife and 77%defined it as the countryside.Fewer mentioned in theirdefinition of 'environment',the built environment (59%),towns and cities (45%) andheritage (35%). The politicaland economic processes in theenvironment were alsoregarded as less important(see Table 1, items 9, 10).

The majority acknowledgedthe importance of includingcontroversial issues related tothe environment in primaryeducation. About 25%,however, indicated variousconstraints which made itdifficult to introduce suchissues in current practice.Although 86% agreed aboutinvolving children in issuessuch as energy, acid rain andpopulation, only 42% cur-

rently dealt with acid rain,24% with nuclear power and19% with population. The re-spondents considered thepupils' background and thenature of the subject itself asparticular limitations. Issuescurrently dealt with in theclassroom related mainly tothe protection of the naturalworld such as conservation(88%), pollution (85%),

'Evidence showed acertain mismatch be-tween the teachers'stated views andwhat was actuallytaking place in theirschools.'

natural disasters (78%) andendangered species (73%).Further, the focus seemed tobe on scientific aspects ofthese issues to the exclusionof ethical dimensions. Prob-lems involving controversyarising from political, eco-nomic and social factors wereregarded as less appropriateat the primary level.

Most teachers often, or fairlyfrequently, involved theirclasses in activities directedtowards the acquisition ofknowledge and skills throughinteraction with the surround-ings: identification of plantsand animals (90%), explora-tion of the surroundingsthrough perceptual work(78%), walks in the local area(73%) and tending plants andanimals in the classroom(64%). Emphasis was onlearning about nature.Projects focusing on the man-made world such as appraisalof the built environment,town trails and organizationof cultural events seemed tobe less popular. Less than 20%frequently undertook projectsbased on controversial issues.Nevertheless, examples ofwork based on local issueswere provided by some teach-ers: pollution of the localriver, the problem of rubbishin the locality, the impact ofhousing development on thenatural surroundings and the

effect of acid rain on wildlife.The majority (68%) seemed

to undertake action-basedprojects with their classes.Children's participationconsisted generally in the es-tablishment and maintenanceof conservation areas in theschool grounds. In only a fewprojects did participationinvolve decision-making skillsin relation to real-life issuessuch as anti-litter campaigns,recycling materials, cam-paigns against the gassing ofbadgers, o: construction of aplay house for infant children.

The results show that 86% ofteachers had participated inin-service training in EE in thelast five years. This highpercentage is possibly anindicator of their personalinterest and the rather specialnature of the three localauthorities chosen. Most ofthose who never attended anycourses were eitherheadteachers or teachersinvolved in the developmentof such courses. On thewhole, teachers expressedpositive opinions about thebenefits of the training (58%thought it to be very usefuland 42% fairly helpful).

In relation to the majorconstraints limiting theintroduction of environmentaleducation in the curriculum,96% of teachers emphasizedthe need for in-servicetraining dealing with ways ofincorporating such educationin current practice. Also, 66%identified as an obstacle theirlack of expertise whenapproaching controversialissues. Less than 50% drewattention to other difficultiesrelated to the nature of thesubject, the children's back-ground or external con-straints. When teachers wereasked to identify problemsrelated to the school itself, themajority stated that lack oftime (71%) and transportation(65%) were the most impor-tant.

In terms of possible action tobe taken, teachers tended toagree on the need for design-ing school policies for envi-ronmental education and forincreasing collaboration

amongst staff. As regardsimportant steps for theimprovement of currentpractice, about 75% men-tioned the development of theNational Curriculum theproduction of overall policiesat the local authority level, theproduction of materials andthe training of specialists.

Discussion andimplicationsThe views stated by theteachers in this study appearto corroborate the ideas putforward elsewhere .14 concern-ing the need to encourage en-vironmental awareness,concern and action at theprimary school level. Theresults suggest that a wk.. arunderstanding of environ-mental education is slowlyfinding its way amongstteachers who are particularlycommitted to this area of thecurriculum.

The evidence concerningideals and ideas in relation topractice show, however, acertain mismatch between theteachers' stated views andwhat was actually takingplace in their schools. Al-though the importance of theaffective and moral aims ofenvironmental education wasacknowledged by mostteachers, emphasis wasplaced on acquisition ofknowledge and skills. Few ac-tivities seemed to directlyconfront children's values andattitudes towards the environ-ment. This may be related to anumber of contributingfactors.

Firstly, the implementationof the affective and moralaims may challenge theteaching methods currentlyused in primary schools. Mostrespondents identifiedparticipation in the environ-ment as a valuable feature ofenvironmental educationprogrammes. However, inpractice, children's involve-ment seemed to he limitedgenerally to understandingand experience of the naturalworld only. In addition, fewactivities were directedtowards enabling children todevelop decision-making


31

Issues and reflections

skills in relation to real-lifeissues in their surroundings.

A second factor lay in thecomplexity of raising contro-versial issues in primaryclassrooms. The results sug-gest that teachers' perceptionsof their role in the educationalprocess could restrict their useof approaches which confrontchildren's values, attitudesand behaviour. Many teacherstended to regard their role asbeing one of an expert andhaving to provide childrenwith all the 'answers'. Theyexpressed the difficulty oftransmitting information oncontroversial issues andproviding all sides of theargument in an unbiased way.

Thirdly, the findings pointto the difficulty for teachers inimplementing a holisticapproach to environmentaleducation within existingclassroom practice. Althoughthe idea of a global perspec-tive is slowly finding its wayinto the curriculum of someschools, most activitiessuggested a rather fragmentedapproach to the investigationof the environment andrelated issues. Work inschools centred on the studyof specific elements of theenvironment without seekinga more global understandingof the processes and struc-tures which regulate theinteractions of these elements.Further, although mostteachers identified the scopeof environmental education asthe 'world we live in' (seeTable 1, :tem 2), classroompractice seemed limited to thechild's immediate surround-ings and local area. Fey:teachers included an interna-tional dimension.

The findings of this studyprovide evidence for the needfor further professional train-ing, particularly in these areasof practice. Strategies forfostering in children respon-sible attitudes and behaviourtowards the environment andwhich can be implementedwithin the prevailing realitiesin schools should be included.Examples of good practicealready exist and were identi-fied as part of this research.

These can form an importantresource for other teachers.Primary teachers are oftenconcerned about the major de-mands made by the NationalCurriculum in terms of theirown knowledge and under-standing of the content. It istherefore essential for envi-ronmental education that ap-propriate methodologies are

given a high priority in post-experience training.

ReferencesGreig, S, 'Global Impact. A

Progress Report', World StudiesJournal 7, no. 1: 21-24, 1988.2 Gaylord, C G, EnvironmentalEducation. Experiences and Atti-tudes. Reading: Council for Envi-ronmental Education, 1987.3 Hicks, D and Fisher, S, World

Studies 8/13. A Teacher's-Handbook,Oliver & Boyd, 1985.4 Williams, R, The Global Envi-ronmental Education Project(GEEP) - 1984-1986'. REED 13, no.3: 13-15, 1986.5 Dorton, C, Environmental Educa-tion in the Primary School Curricu-lum. An Investigation into Teachers'Perceptions and Practice in Hertford-shire, Berkshire and Avon. Unpub-lished Ph D. thesis, University ofReading, 1990.

Lessons from the Bergenexperience

Tim O'Riordan assesses ihe implications for environmental education ofthe major NGO/Ministerial conference 'Action for a Common Future'

held in Bergen, in May 1990.

Bergen is to Brundtland asECO 92 is to Stockholm. Itall sounds like a bizarrecrossword clue. Stockholmrefers to the UN conferenceon environment and devel-opment held in Stockholm inJune 1972. Brundtland is, ofcourse, the report of theWorld Commission onEnvironment and Develop-ment chaired by the Norwe-gian Prime Minister Mrs GroHarlem Brundtland.

This Commission asked allthe UN regional groupings tocomment on the manychallenging issues raised bythe notion of sustainable de-velopment, and what theycollectively were going to doabout them. Bergen was theregional Conference for theEconomic Commission forEurope (ECE) meeting heldbetween 8 and 16 May 1990.ECE includes not only the 32European states, but also theUS and Canada. So Bergenwas the first opportunity fornewly democratic, but, envi-ronmentally ravaged, easternEurope and crisis-torn USSRto debate the role of the

Timothy O'RiordanProfessor of EnvironmentalSciences, University of East Anglia

environment in development.ECO 92 is the follow up UNconference, 20 years afterStockholm, the logicalconclusion of the global post-Brundtland process. This willbe held in Rio de Janeiro inBrazil and will seek toestablish permanent globalcommitment to sustainabledevelopment.

The Bergen experience wasmore than a tetchy ministerialmeeting. It brought togetherfive major non-governmentalorganisation (NGO) group-ings to influence the ministe-rial declaration and subse-quent action. In its own way,this was mega environmentaleducation.

The five NGO inputs camefrom industry, science, thetrades unions, environmentalcause groups and youth -those who would actuallyhave to live with the conse-quences. Each of these five

impressive coalitions involvedexhaustive preliminarynegotiations to establishpreliminary bargainingpositions, but the youth stolethe show. They were organ-ised, active, serious yethumorous, and dedicated.They were also media dar-lings. One cannot help butregard their role as environ-mental education in action,for so sophisticated were theircampaign tactics and mediarepresentations. This is not tosay the others did not performadmirably and influenceeffectively. The key ministe-rial negotiating and draftingteams had to respond to all ofthem, although the reactionwas too late to changeanything of substance. It wasthe very act of NGO access toministerial preparation thatmade Bergen such an unusualexperience, and establishedcrucial precedent for evenmore participation prior toECO 92. It is of interest thatthe Britishdelegation ispushing for even greaterNGO input for ECO '92 thanis presently wished by othergovernments.

0,4 g g 11 Pikr 32A REE FOURTH ISSUE 29


In educational terms, theBergen experience wasrewarding. It created a formof environmental educationthrough mobilisation andintellectual struggle that wasgenuinely exhilarating.Initially the ministerialdelegations were set to look atfour themes:1 Industry, environmentalprotection, recycling, and au-diting.2 Energy, and sustainablemanagement of atmospheresand oceans, and fuel re-sources.3 The economics of sustain-able development, notably theappropriate valuation of envi-ronmental functions such ascleansing, absorbing andshielding, and pricing ofenvironmental services suchas extraction and discharge.4 Information, participation,education and involvement inthe process of transition tosustainable economies.

For those interested in envi-ronmental education, thecoupling of the ministerialtheme of participation and thetwo science conferencereports (on integrated scienceand science policy relation-ships) provide the mostinteresting outcomes, thoughthe whole Bergen experiencewas pretty lively and stimu-lating.

Environmentalinformation

In particular, there are im-plications in terms of the ac-cessibility and quality of envi-ronmental information. Whatis beginning to emerge is anew push towards compre-hensive reporting on environ-mental change, to be madeavailable via reports, digests,computer printouts and visualdisplays. The right to knowabout environmental condi-tions is becoming accepted asa matter of social justice. Theemergence, from two genera-tions of despair, of new liber-ated eastern European coun-tries who have been deniedany information on the stateof the environment that iskilling their children and oldpeople has transformed the

political atmosphere aboutinternational data collection,scientific exchange, and thereal need to make scientificmonitoring and prognosesintelligible to everyone.

The British have announcedthat they will publish muchmore comprehensible andreadable environmentalstatistics in the forseeablefuture. The EnvironmentalProtection Act of 1990 estab-lishes a statutory duty ondischargers and regulators tomake information public re-garding levels of actualemissions and their statutorylimits. True, there will bemuch argument aboutsampling integrity, aboutinterpretation of data, andabout the levels of staffingand support cash available tothe principal regulatoryagencies. This will be a messyand inconclusive process,muddled further by thepromise of an election and thesparring of green credentialsby all the contending parties.But the disputes should behealthy in that more quantityand improved quality ofenvironmental informationwill be made available to thepublic as the years pass by.That will give much morescope for environmentaleducators to develop casework on trends in environ-mental quality, on the politi-cal issues involved in settingair, water and land qualitystandards, and on the rela-tionship between environ-mental deterioration (orimprovements) and thenation's health.

Precautionary principleSecond, Bergen grappled

with the issue of the precau-tionary principle. This isjargon for the old adage'better safe than sorry'. In anutshell, the major globalenvironmental problems allinvolve prognoses of futureoutcomes where scientific evi-dence is still preliminary. Inthe case of climate warmingstudies, for example, even thebest modelling will onlyprovide reasonable answers ina decade, possibly much

longer, such are the enormouscomplexities of the systemsbeing analysed. Precaution isthe political act of courage - tocommit governments andindustry to investments,possibly involving manybillions of pounds, in advanceof scientific certainty.

The application of the pre-cautionary principle willprovide an interesting chal-lenge for environmentaleducation. For it to work, theBergen Ministerial Declarationin favour of a well educatedpublic mobilising itself toeffect political change com-patible with sustainabledevelopment, will have to besupported by a firm commit-ment in the National Curricu-lum and in teacher trainingand back up resources, for aneducational process that isgenuinely proactive.

One way to approach this isto ensure that curriculainclude basic principles of en-vironmental valuation ofvarious possibilities foraction, including the conse-quences of delay in the face ofuncertainty. This will meanintegrating the sciences more,so that pupils can combine the

'Right now, most ofenvironmental educa-tion is not ripe for thisradical thinking.'

best of scientific prognoseswith economic valuationtechniques and the applica-tion of environmental ethicsto the choices before them.Ethics come in because alloptions involve trade-offsbetween human and nonhuman well being, and therights of future generationscompared to the rights ofthose living today.

The Germans and Dutch areall for acting now in the spiritof best practice and technol-ogy. The British and Ameri-cans adopt a more wait andsee attitude, favouring betterscience and prolongedsoftening up of publicopinion, before the really hardchoices have to be made,

often too late and possibly un-necessarily expensively. Yet italso has to be said thatprecipitous internationalactions taken without dueregard for the economicconsequences of hurriedanalysis, could turn out to beeven more costly.

This leads to a proposal tofuse the four ideas of informa-tion, uncertain science, par-ticipation and policy-orientedscience into a practical whole.

Visualising the futureA number of researchers arelooking at ways of visualisingthe future via computerisedimages of possible outcomes,based on the best scienceavailable, into which theparticipating public canprogramme their own prefer-ences for policy. Say, for ex-ample, a video screen de-picted a portion of easternEngland, or coastal Bangla-desh, on which propertyvalue and population densi-ties were depicted. Futurestates of sea level rise could beimagined according to differ-ent proposals for carbon tax,energy regulation, energy effi-ciency standards and invest-ment in floodwalls andhazard warning schemes. Theparticipating public couldthus cost in policy options, bemade aware of the implica-tions for household expendi-tures, national taxation andinternational aid, and see justwhat combination would bemorally, or economically, orpolitically be most acceptable.

This is not space age dream-ing. Interactive videos arealready well established. Theconcept of visualising futureshas a long history in anthro-pology as well as environ-mental science. It is possibleto imagine such programmesbecoming commonplace inschools, and beyond theclassroom. Of course com-puter assisted approaches tothe evaluation of possible en-vironmental futures is not theonly way. In the poorercountries, as well as in therich, much can be done viaart, mime, dance and storytel-ling. Human imagination is


31'


vivid and wealthy. Variationsof the imaging-participatoryschemes can be adapted toany educational budget andinnovative teaching skills.

Right now most of environ-mental education is not ripefor this radical thinking.Indeed, science generally isill-suited to meet the chal-lenge of more integratedanalytical approaches set in adisciplinary context. This willrequire the use of good casestudies, imaginative teachingand learning skills, and a lotof experimentation. Theresources are not there toallow this to happen at thepace required. If the Govern-ment is as serious aboutglobal environmental changeas it indicates in its recentWhite Paper, then the re-sources and the trainingfacilities will need to beprovided post haste.

Government will have tolisten to youngsters over suchmatters, for it is their futurethat is at stake. The Bergenexperience may well have setan important educationaltrend in motion.

ReferencesVVCED, Our Common Future,Oxford University Press, 1987.Norwegian Research Council forScience and the HumanitiesSustainable Development, Science and

Policy, NAVF, Oslo, 1990.HM Government, This CommonInheritance, cmd 1200, HMSO,London, 1990.Action fora Common Future,Conference Report, Minstry ofEnvironment, Norway, 1990.

The evangelical approach toenvironmental education

Where does environmental education end and environmental'evangelism' begin? Michael Storm sounds some concerns.

For as long as schools haveexisted, they have providedplatforms for moral exhorta-tion, as well as arenas for in-struction. The early chap-books and penny historieswere preoccupied with thechild's personal salvation,painting horrific retributionsfor juvenile idleness, deceitor misbehaviour. The mostcommon pedagogical devicewas the fable which re-counted the dismal progressof the sinner, inexorablyproceeding from carefree self-indulgence to inevitablemisery. Hogarth's sequence'The Rake's Progress' mightstand as the definitive adultstatement of this narrative.During the somewhat morecomplacent Victorian period,the guilt was transferred tothe an outer, darker world ofsavage heathens awaiting theenlightenment brought byChristian missionaries. In thelast quarter century 'develop-ment education' strategieshave commonly sought toinculcate a sense of guilt forworld hunger and poverty -albeit collective, and histori-cal (Western collonisationand capitalism) rather thanindividual. The guilt, it wassuggested, would be expiatedby .:.ore and, fairer tradingterms, and a change inWestern life-styles.

It would be surprising if en-vironmental education wasunaffected by this well-established pedagogicaltradition - ie. establish guilt,portray awful retribution,demonstrate how salvationmay be attained. Indeed, muchcurrent literature and practiceexemplifies this model. Thepedagogy, though powerful, isproblematic. Emotional com-mitment may not be entirelycompatible with cognitivegrasp: 'Are you Saved?' may

Michael StormFormer staff inspector. Geographyand Environmental Studies. ILEA

come to dominate 'Do youunderstand?'.

An early indication that it iseasier to acquire approvedsentiments than to build thenecessary intellectual infra-structure appeared in the 1977ERIC/Ohio study' whichsurveyed the environmentalattitudes of 11 000 Englishteenagers. Near-unanimousassent was given to suchnotions as 'safe waste dis-posal is important if the well-being of man and the environ-ment is to be preserved' and'increasing human popula-tions and demands for greaterindustrial and agriculturalproductivity have resulted inincreasing levels of environ-

'Where do we drawthe line betweenalarming children andenlightening them?'

mental pollution.' Yet factualknowledge questions oftenrevealed a shaky grasp ofenvironmental actualities.Thus, most pupils thoughtthat only 40% or less of theUK land was used for farm-ing, and more than half exag-gerated both the size and in-crease rate of the UK popula-tion. The research showedevidence of 'distancing'; envi-ronmental issues were seen asnational or global in nature,rarely acknowledged asevident in the pupil's ownexperience. Thus, one hazardfor environmental educationis the fragility of attitudeswhich rest upon an inade-quate knowledge base. If

views about the UK environ-ment are based upon miscln-cevtions, they are likely to betenuously held and readilydiscarded.

A second hazard of evan-gelical environmental educa-tion has attracted a good dealof attention recently. There isaccumulating evidence of arevival in the ancient tech-nique of frightening pupilstowards salvation. A hand-some new series 'Last Fron-tiers for Mankind' providessome instances of this. In onebook, which includes asection on the effects of globalwarming on sea level, youngreaders are warned that '15million homes might be lost'through flooding in the UK inthe next 50 years. 2 They areregularly alerted against'greedy and stupid' people,and urged to disassociatethemselves from the forces ofdarkness. The exhortatoryelement climaxes in capitals atthe end of a sister book onConserving the Jungles 'DOYOU WANT TO TAKEYOUR HAND OFF THECHAIN SAW?', followed bythe addresses of agencieswhich 'rely heavily on ourdonations'. The sequence,guilt - retribution - salvationis strongly in evidence.

The appearance of the Geog-raphy Working Group's Na-tional Curriculum proposals(June 1990), prompted acurious article in The Sunday

Times' which seemed toimply that the Group hadbeen hi-jacked by rabidGreens. But the article re-ported conversations withprimary children which didshow evidence of the effectsof evangelical environmental-ism - 'car pollution couldcause the sun to go red anddestroy everything'; 'pollu-tion is making a hole in the


34


ozone layer and the earthcould go bang'; 'floodingcaused by the greenhouse ef-fect will put much of Britainunder water'; 'the choppingdown of trees will leave hu-mans with no air to breathe.'The article generated corre-spondence. A worried motherwrote of her small son askingif the destruction of green-houses would help to avertdisaster, whilst his older sisterdid not expect to reachadulthood, being confidentthat some massive ecologicalcataclysm would occur in thenear future. Further evidencewas presented, in a more self-congratulatory framework, inan article 'Underage thinking'in the February '90 issue ofGreen Magazine. Primarychildren in Hackney andManchester contributedapproximately apocalypticreflections - 'there's airpollution from factories. Itmakes the air very bad for usand we're all dying'; 'we'reall going to shrivel up intoburnt sausages 'cause thesun's too hot'. These andsimilar thoughts are, disturb-ingly, set out as illustratingthe achievement of environ-mental education. Anotherflavour which comes throughis a sort of martyred self-righteousness, always acharacteristic of the 'Saved'.MPs, presidents, rich people,and consumerist mums anddads are all targetted; 'justbecause we're kids, the MPsand the people in the Govern-ment they don't take no noticeof us'.

It would be naive to assumethat these sentiments werenecessarily related to theactivities of schools andteachers. The 1977 ERIC studyshowed that less than 40% ofyoung people identifiededucation as their mainsource of environmentalknowledge and this findingwas echoed by more recentresearch which found thatonly 8% cited schools as themain source.' This wasacknowledged in a reflectivearticle by Rosalind Coward,which charted the persuasivegreen tinge of juvenile

popular culture. 5 She ob-serves that 'guilt is certainlycentral' but also argues that'the absence of conflict isprobably another reason whythere has been far moreapproval for spreading theenvironmentalist messagethan there ever was forspreading the anti-racist andanti-sexist message. Teachingtolerance for different domes-tic arrangements (Sally liveswith Bob and Arthur, etc) isobviously considered farmore dangerous than pressur-ising schools into creatingwildlife gardens or introduc-ing recycling schemes.' TheGreen Magazine anthologydemonstrates Coward'scontention that, 'almost allthese products, books andprogrammes encourage chil-dren to 'shame' adults, topressurise adults about theirconsumerist lifestyle'.

I think that there are signalshere that should cause someconcern for environmentaleducation. Can frightenedchildren learn effectively?

How do we cope with the factthat the swelling ranks of'green' teachers evidentlyappear to contain more'committed' teachers than'committed/qualified' ones?The most common intrigue ofenvironmental educationrelates to issues - how canpupils be made aware of thecomplexity of issues, of areasof debate? Given that noteacher, even if aimingcommendably for balance, isomniscient, this is alwaysgoing to be an intractableproblem. But it should not beconfused with a much morebasic worry about the amountof straightforward misinfor-mation being disseminatedunder the environmentaleducation banner.

In its cruder forms, theevangelical approach substi-tutes slogans for analysis, andexhortations replace explora-tions. It has more to do withenvironmentalism thanenvironmental education.And it doesn't work. Youngchildren are alarmed and

confused; teenagers as alwaysare adept at spotting the ap-proved sentiment, but remaindeeply resistant to the self-in-dulgent teacher who istempted to harangue ratherthan to explore. As RosalindCoward concludes, 'It re-mains to be seen whetheradults will be able to resistusing children as a moraldumping ground and equipthem with the broaderknowledge that the situation'requires'.

References1 Richmond, J M and Morgan R A,A national survey of the environ-mental knowledge and attitudes offifth year pupils in England, ERIC,Ohio, 1977.2 Williams, L, Working with theOceans, Evans, 1990. p40.3 'Apocalypse now turns us greenwith worry', The Sunday Times, 10tune, 1990.4 News release on survey ofchildren's attitudes on the envi-ronment. Survey commissioned bythe Coop. CWS, February 1990.5 Coward, R, 'Greening the child',New Statesman and Society, 25May, 1990.

Teaching about the greenhouseeffectWhat problems are involved in tackling the 'big issues'? We asked DavidWright to explain how the WWF/Hodder 'Greenhouse Effect' pack wasproduced. In his words, he 'raises as many questions as he answers'

How did you get involvedwith this topic?There I was, thinking aboutsomething quite different,when the telephone rang:'WWF here: could you dosome teachers' notes for avideo on the greenhouseeffect - and a few pupilactivities?'. Answer: 'Yes'. It'sso easy to say yes. It was aninteresting topic, and WWF isa good organisation. Fromthen on, the project grew andgrew. The notes became ateachers' book, and the pupilactivities became anotherbook, all written when spare

David WrightLecturer, School of EducationUniversity of East Anglia

moments permitted. Andtherein lies the key problem:my day to day involvementwith schools and student-teachers provides the vitalelement of 'classroom-friendliness' but it also takesaway the time to do the job.Does anyone have the answerto that problem?

Is the main problem how toget a controversial topic likethis into the curriculum?Not really: it's there. The chal-lenge is to reassure teachersthat they are positively invitedto 'take the plunge'. So, in theTeachers' Book, I quote fromlots of sources to justify thetopic: GCSE syallabuses andNational Curriculum docu-ments in both science andgeography clearly indicatethat we are welcome toinclude the greenhouse effectin our teaching. Equally im-portant are quotations fromHMI/HMG publications


3,5


which indicate that openexploration of a controversialissue such as this one is awelcome and desirablefeature of education. Suchpublications are very familiarto readers of this journal, butnot easy to track down if youare at the chalkface, where itis all too easy to believe themrnours that controversialtopics are no longer permit-ted. We need more thoughton getting these messagesthrough to the schools anyideas?

How do you reach the 80% ofschools which are not at theforefront of curriculum inno-vation?This is the main challenge,and these are the schoolswhich are my main interest -the other schools can lookafter themselves! I feel that fartoo much of the writing andcurriculum development inenvironmental education isdirected to 20% (or is it 10%)of schools which haveeverything in their favour,and this seems all wrong.

I therefore emphasise howthe greenhouse effect canenrich and revitalise theteaching of familiar topics,such as the carbon cycle inscience, or coastlines ingeography. These familiartopics become much more dy-namic and interesting to teachwhen they are linked withpossible changes in theenvironment. Even if thepedagogic style does notchange, at least the contenthas changed for the better.

Another challenge is tomake the huge politicalimplications of global warm-ing more visible. I suspectthat some activists will findthe pack very disappointingon this score, but this softlysoftly approach is deliberate.If the pack seems overtly'political', it might be rejectedby many teachers. Thepolitical issues are present,but the focus is scientific andgeographical. Is it sometimesbetter to start from the currentposition of schools, ratherthan wait in hope for majorchanges in structures?

How do the resources getcreated?In some cases I extracted datafrom scientific papers pro-vided by the Climate ResearchUnit at UEA, and made thempupil-friendly. Equallyimportant are the flashes ofinspiration at unlikelymoments. The ideas get ontothe backs of envelopes, andeventually roughed out into apupil activity sheet. There isno secretarial or research as-sistance available for work ofthis type.

For some topics, I involvedPGCE student-teachers, andwe tried the ideas out withsome pupils. They weremostly deprived pupils in aclosing school - definitely an'80%' school.

It is rare to hear howresources for EE are created.If we knew more about theprocesses, perhaps we couldunderstand more about betterways forward?

How do you handle contro-versial topics?Most things about the green-house effect are controversial.

Controversies over policyoffer lots of interesting oppor-tunities for pupil activities: Iprovide the data, and I invitepupils to draw conclusions.Some of the data are statistics:I enjoyed developing theactivity where the top tenpolluting countries arecompared with the top tencountries by population. Inother cases, the opinions ofpeople are the key resource -the family, the neighbours,the people of Canvey Islandand Wells-next-the-Sea.

A more difficult problemwas the lack of controversy.For example, how should Ihave responded to the editor'sletter to me: ' the contro-versy of course lies more inthe implications (of the GE)than in its reality'? It is the ofcourse' that worries me most.Has the greenhouse effectbecome an article of faithamong practitioners ofenvironmental education? If Iadmit that I am not as sure ashe is, might he regard me as atraitor or a heretic?

Do you feel that there is a lotof nonsense talked about thegreenhouse effect? How doyou handle it?Full frontal! 'Beware of falseprophets' is a headline in thebook. Originally I planned toreprint a Sunday Times news-paper article, and ask the pu-pils to spot the nonsense, butthey refused permission. So Ihad to summarise the mainpoints instead, then pupils arei wited to replace 'will' andv ould' with 'may' and'could'. It makes quite adifference. After that, theyhave to think of argument-against the more ridiculot .predictions ('Hotter climatemeans fewer babies', etc).

It is not only the newspaperswhich make possibilities intocertainties: some experts do sotoo - and that includes envi-ronmental education experts.It is not only better science tokeep question-marks present;it is better pedagogy too. Alesson with a question ismuch more likely to getpupils thinking actively than alesson which states what isgoing to happen. I keepemphasising that nothing iscertain, but there is noquestion mark in the title; aremy question-marks boldenough?

Does doom and gloom demb-Ovate pupils?It can do - and that worriesme a lot. My starting point isthat motivation is vital.Motivated pupils are a joy toteach, and are willing tounderstand much more andto think more deeply. Toomuch doom and gloom canindeed be a demotivator. Sothe poster in the pack includesa cheerful photograph ofvines flourishing beside amedieval church in Norfolk,at 53 degrees north: themessage is that the green-house effect can be goodnews, if it brings us hot drysummers.

I now feel guilty about thisphotograph. In the pupils'book, there is a study of thethreat of flooding to thecrowded deltas of the world:'this is a real horror story,

which could make mosthorror films look like chil-dren's television'. It is we, therich people, who cause mostof the air pollution, and oneresult could be that millionsof people lose their homesand livelihood, or even theirlives. In such a context,rejoicing over better grapes inNorfolk is almost obscene. Ihave failed to resolve thisdilemma: can anyone helpme?

How do you deal with thedifficult bits?I miss them out, and I don'teven feel guilty about it. If thepupils won't understand, it'snot worth trying. If theymight understand, but wouldfind the topic boring anddifficult, it is still much betterto omit that topic.

Nevertheless, I felt it wasvital to try and explain andclarify the different causesand types of air pollution.Environmental education ismore effective if it has asound scientific base - other-wise it can become just a loadof hot air. I still wonder if Ishould also have discussedthe role of the oceans in possi-bly absorbing excess carbondioxide. There are a lot ofdecisions like that which ulti-mately come down to per-sonal hunches. Am I being toohonest? I'd better stop

There is an interestingproblem here. The more anadult author works on a topic,the easier it seems to him.Hence he perceives less andless need to explain the topicclearly and simply. Is thiswhy experts so often fail tocommunicate? Have I falleninto that trap?

What is the role of the video?Probably - as with every othervideo? - it provides a peaceful30 minutes for the pupils tosnooze through. But I provideten suggestions for 'Using thevideo creatively in class', andlots of background notes andsuggestions for the follow-up.You cannot see the manyhours of wofk involved inrejecting miles of unsuitablefilm, but if you saw the


6


original TV programme (Canpolar bears tread water?) youwill notice that the schoolsvideo is very different. I hadto argue strongly that most ofthe footage with expertsholding forth needed drasticcutting, and the result is a bitmore pupil-friendly.

I hope that the existence ofthe pack will help to get thegreenhouse effect on to theagenda of schools, and, viathe pupils to their parents'agenda too. I also hope thatany environmental educationpeople involved in INSETwork will pinch any ideas

they like, and use them. Betterstill, they could improve onthem

David R Wright is author of TheGreenhouse Effect: Causes and Con-sequences, published by WWFUK & Hodder, 1990. 111

The National Youth Agency andenvironmental educationDavid Stead reviews far-reaching changes in the voluntary youth sectorwhich may affect the course of environmental education in the youthservice.

Unheralded and withoutconsultation, in April of thisyear, the then Secretary ofState for Education an-nounced the establishmentof a National Youth Agency(NYA) to be in operationfrom 1 April 1991. It wouldbe a 'high profile', clearly fo-cussed, national agencycharged with providingextensive support to workwith and for young people.

For organisations concernedabout the environment andenvironmental education thisnew development requiressome close attention. Therecould be gains - perhaps anopportunity to give environ-ment a higher profile in theyouth world. However, therecould be losses. Environ-mental concern has gainedonly a tenuous foothold inyouth work. The experientialapproach to environmentaleducation has made inroadsand is being valued inpersonal and social develop-ment terms, but the successesneed consolidating. Changein national support machineryat a time when many otherchanges are affecting youthwork represents a volatilesituation. The environmentinterest needs to be 'in there'arguing its case, illustratingthe practice and pointing theway whilst, at all times,emphasising partnership andavoiding division. Environ-

David SteadDeputy Director. National Councilfor Voluntary Youth Services(NCVYS)

mental concern should be a:,ervasive influence in youthwork, and not seen as thepreserve of the specialistagency and lobby.

But what is the new NYAbeing set up to offer and whatis it replacing? Briefly, thestated range of education-related functions includes:The development of curricu-

lar content and methods.The development, endorse-

ment, accreditation and provi-sion of training.The collection, dissemination

and publication of informa-tion.

Support for managers ofyouth service organisationsand operations, particularly inthe voluntary sector.

Response to internationalinterests and programmes.

Direct support for Govern-ment initiatives and pro-grammes.

At present the DES fundingof such functions goes to theNational Youth Bureau, theCouncil for Education andTraining in Youth andCommunity Work, theNational Council for Volun-tary Youth Services and theNational Association forYoung Peoples' Counselling

and Advisory Services. Thefirst two of these agenciesdisappear into the NYA.NCVYS loses its DES fundingand has decided to seek thebest deal for the voluntarysector from the new agencywhilst retaining the option ofa continued existence basedon its membership subscrip-tions. NAYPCAS has decidedto remain independent andseek DES funding althoughMuch of its current workwould appear to be within theNYA's brief. A fifth agency,the British Youth Council, therepresentative voice of youngpeople, was also referred towhen the NYA was an-nounced, but it has chosen toremain independent and hasrecently secured DES funding.

These agencies all have atrack record on the environ-ment and it must be hopedthat as each fights for theinclusion of its work pro-gramme in that of the NYA,environmental educationsupport will not be lost.

NCVYS, whose highly re-garded style and delivery ofsupport wcrk and extensivemembership are most at riskby the NYA development, hasheld a particularly notablehistory of helping to makemeaningful links betwen theenvironment and youngpeople. Its short Briefingpublication on this topic isstill a seminal read for youth

service managers and work-ers. NCVYS has linkedclosely with CEE in trying totake the environment messageinto the youth service in apractical way.

The NYA cannot be consid-ered in isolation from anumber of other develop-ments affecting youth work.First and foremost, has beenthe DES led effort to establisha core curriculum for theyouth service. There are fearsof a narrow nationallyimposed curriculum, in asimilar vein to that imposedon schools, which in turnwould be used as fundingcriteria. These fears havebeen refuted by the Govern-ment and at a recent nationalconference, Alan Howarth,the relevant DES Minister,underlined the concept of acore rather than any nation-ally prescribed strait jacket.

The NYA will be playing themajor role in supporting cur-riculum development, itswork guided by these corecurriculum deliberations. It isessential that the spirit andoutcomes of the extensiveconsultation process that hasgone on regarding thecurriculum finds open andtrue expression in the NYA'swork.

Environment has had anout/in, out/in existence in thecore curriculum debate -which underlines the need tomonitor developmentsclosely.

Another arena to consider isthat of local authorities. Quitea number of authorities arereviewing the place andfunction of the youth service.Nationally led developmentslike the core curriculum andnational voluntary youthorganisation grants are havinga significant influence whichin turn, bearing in mind theNYA's functions, will place itin an influential position.Furthermore the DES hascommissioned consultants tolook at the local managementof the youth service and theirfar-reaching report is due outshortly and will cause moresoul searching by the service.

So we have a contused and


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International

confusing period of change -major developments withmany connections, and somenot appreciated as much asthey should be. The NYA iscentral to all this and is beingput in the position where it

could be a driving force formuch good. For this tohappen, a real partnershipbetween government and thefield must exist which is notnarrowly defined and has amajor influence. Environ-

ment is hanging in there by itsfingertips and must, throughcoordination from specialistand non specialist agencies,be part of this influence.

Recent developments in environmentaleducation in the Netherlands

After the famous NatureConservation Year in 1970and the Tbilisi conference in1977, environmental educa-tion in the Netherlands wasdeveloped along lines thatnow pay off in terms ofpolitical attention. And it canbe said that the publicationof the World ConservationStrategy opened manypeople's eyes after 1980. Itmade clear to the educationalcommunity that the environ-ment - in its broadest sense -should be dealt with in thelight of the lifestyle andculture our society haschosen to adopt. Conse-quently, there has been abroadening of the subjectmatter of environmentaleducation, an increase in thediversity of interested target-groups, and strengthening oforganisational support struc-tures from local to nationalscales.

However, environmentaleducation has not yet beenaccepted by every politician oreven every environmentalisthere as an indispensable toolor strategy that is needed tomanage our environmentwisely. There is a tendencystill to solve environmentalproblems with technical,economic and legal means.But the position of EE is

Environmental education is becoming increasingly well-establishedin the Netherlands.

improving. Increasingly,Parliament and other similarinstitutions on a loweradministrative level (like theprovincial and local level)discuss the need for environ-mental education. Motionshave been introduced, andpolicy documents have beenwritten.

A plan for environmentaleducationAfter so many years of prom-ising a government policyplan on environmentaleducation, in 1988 the planwas finally published. Whilesome ministries like Agricul-ture, Nature Mangement andFisheries; and Housing,Planning and the Environ-ment had been active in thefield for a long time, otherministries had been involvedto a lesser extent. But nowtheir policy plans could bediscussed at length. The plantakes responsibility for twokinds of activities:- advance and maintain a sys-tem of connected activities onthe national level, directedtowards the support of (or-ganisations in) environmentaleducation;- develop activities, directedtowards policy developmentin environmental education.

However vogue these state-

7.frgpfl Ani r

Chris Maas GeesteranusSecretary of the Commission onEnvironmental Education

ments may be, they haveproved their importance as abasis for policy development.In ordinary language theymean that government willsubsidise activities of non-governmental organisationsand that it will support andstimulate developments withan innovative character, allwithin the field of environ-mental education. The paperconcludes with a number ofspecific items, divided intothree main policy strategies:- a general ecological basisforgeneral target-groups

a further, specific basis forselected target-groups- support for environmentaleducation organisations.

One may criticize the still in-complete policy intentions.(For example the paper doesnot speak of the need for aninfrastructure of environ-mental education facilities'around the streetcorner' inorder to enable everyone tolearn about the environmentand it does not say that everyschoolchild should leavesecondary school with aminimum knowledge and

skill basis in relation to theenvironment). But the factremains that now bothnational, provincial (12provinces) and many localgovernments (hundreds outof 750) are now working onthis new field. And that is theyield of many years of'pulling and pushing'.

Support structuresIn Dutch we always speak ofthe 'field of environmentaleducation', meaning the di-versity of organisations andinstitutions on all possiblelevels which are involved inthis matter. They are countlessin number, in approach, ingoals and in target-groupsthey reaJi. What is so specialabout that? In many of ourWestern European countrieswe see the same pattern: lotsof unstructured local activitiesand sometimes a nationalgovernment that shows someinterest. But in the Nether-lands, we are lucky to haveco-ordination and co-opera-tion structures on all levels. Ido not claim that everythingworks out fine - by no means

but the basis for an efficientand effective operation isthere.

As an example, a greatmany environmental organi-sations have joined the

38AREE FOURTH ISSUE 35

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National Advisory Centre forEnvironmental Education(like CEE and SEEC) whichwas sa up with a view toensuring better harmonisationof activities on the nationaland regional level. It has animportant role in furtheringco-ordination, informationand documentation, counsel-ling, training of environ-mental education workers,promotion of teachingmaterials and research in thisspecific field. On the provin-cial level there exists a net-work of consultants (exceptone province) who are all col-laborators of the samenational organisation but -and this is the secret of theirsuccess - who work foreveryone (and every organisa-tion) in their province in needof help with respect to anyenvironmental educationprogramme. Voluntcngroups, visitor centres,museums, zoos and botanicalgardens, school teachers andcommunity workers will allbe helped by these consult-ants.

On the local level, we find agreat variety of volunteergroups, professional centresand institutions which takecare of the local public, ofindividual schools, of localcommunities, of out-of-school-youth, of farmers andof industrial managers. All inall, there is no reason to bedissatisfied with the organisa-tional development of envi-ronmental education.

Some recentdevelopmentsBut what is actually happen-ing? In some cases, there areinteresting results being ob-tained. The most clear devel-opment can be seen in theformal school system. Theminister of Education andScience is to decide, within afew months, about thecurricular goals of all subjectsin primary and (a part of)secondary school. It is clearthat environmental education,now definitely seen as part ofthe subjects and not as aseparate subject, will beincluded in those goals. As a

whole, primary school is still -in the present proposals -underdeveloped in thisrespect whereas subjects insecondary school seem to paya lot of attention to environ-mental aspects. But, sympto-matic of the thinking in oursociety, one of the most vitalsubjects - economics - nearlyexcludes or at best continuesto consider 'nature' as anexploitable production factor.

Apart from this interest inenvironmental education ofthe minister, the Institute forCurriculum Development andsome other non-governmentalinstitutions have now pro-duced a development plan forenvironmental education inall primary and secondaryschools. It is expected that theactual implementation ofperiod will last some 10 years.Political approval by Parlia-ment has been given recentlybut, it must be said, govern-ment is not yet very compli-

ant in accepting the financialconsequences.

The second example relatesto the fact that environmentaleducation organisations havequite suddenly discoveredthat many target-groups,apart from the ones they wereused to servicing, are inter-ested. It is now generallyexperienced that sectors ofsociety like agriculture,transportation and industrysuch as energy productionand distribution, refineries,and some others, are eager tobe approached with environ-mental messages. This is to bewelcomed because they dohave an enormous impact onthe environment. Why notinclude them in the educa-tional work?

This 'expansion operation' isnow underway and themarket seems endlessly big.But the environmentaleducation field should not, inmy view, try to educate these

specialised groups directly.We do not have the specificknowledge or skills and theydo have their own educationalcircuits (trade unions,women's organisations,inservice training etc).Environmental education hereshould try to make clear thefundamentals of the sector'sinvolvement with the environ-ment and should go as far asto suggest how in an educa-tional way these can beincorporated into the existingprogrammes. The .i shouldbe left to the groups them-selves. They are, finally,themselves responsible forworking towards a sustain-able society.

The Commission on Environ-mental Education producesadvice on the development ofenvironmental education policyfor the minister of Agriculture,Nature Management andFisheries.

Our Common Future and the caseof the missing chapterTersions exist within the concept of eaucation for sustainabledevelopment suggests John Fien, reporting on an internationalconference held in Australia.

Three hundred delegates at-tended Australia's first inter-national environmental edu-cation conference in Septem-ber 1990 on the theme of'Our Common Future:Pathways for EnvironmentalEducation'. Most, of course,came from Australia butothers came from Bangla-desh, Canada, England,Finland, India, Kenya,Malaysia, Mauitius, NewZealand, Pakistan, Scotland,Thailand, the USA andWales.

Mostly, we all knew the soletwo references to environ-mental e iucation in OurCommon Future (OCF) - onpages xiv and 113 and wereaware that the World Corn-

John FienPresident, Australian Associationfor Environmental Education

mission on Environment andDevelopment believed that'the worlds' teachers .... havea crucial role to play' intrarOating the message ofsustainable development 'intoa language that can reach theminds and hearts of peopleyoung and old'. And weappreciated the Commission'schallenge for environmentaleducation to play its role inhelping bring about 'theextensive social changesneeded to correct the courseof development' by fostering

'a sense of responsibility forthe state of the environmentand teach(ing) students howto monitor, protect, andimprove it' through 'theinvolvement of students in themovement for a betterenvironment'.

How environmental educa-tion could meet this challengewas not explored in OurCommon Future and, hence,the goal of the conference wasto produce 'the missingchapter'. How can industry,the conservationists andeducators work together?What does it mean to educatefor sustainable development?Who should be involved?What strategies could beused? What goals should be

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short, medium and long termpriorities? These were thepractical questions theconference organizers askeddelegates to address in orderto help produce 'the missingchapter'.

However, some delegatescame to the conference to askcritical rather than practicalquestions. For example, theywanted to know if OCF hadgot it all wrong, especially inits focus on continued eco-nomic growth and populationcontrol? They also wanted toexplore whether these tenetsof OCF were at all compatiblewith the counter-hegemonicor oppositional orientation ofenvironmental education, atleast as it has been conceivedin the rhetoric of the Belgrade,Tbilisi and Moscow interna-tional UNEP-Unesco confer-ences.

One wit has said that Ishould have called this report'Our Common Future and thecase of the missing missingChapter' because the debatethat resulted between practi-cal and critical orientationsmeant that the week of theconference was a time of deepreflection - rather than activewriting - for many delegates.Maybe it was a little tooambitious to think we couldwrite, let alone agree, on asuccinct four to five thousandword chapter in one week -with 300 people participating!

However the conference didgo a long way towardsdeveloping the foundation forthe chapter. The conferencestructure of 'pathways' and'pavers' helped a lot with this.The 'pavers' were the 'people-sized' conference experiencesthat helped make up thepathways, and these includedworkshops, seminars, postersessions, graphic displays andfield trips during whichdelegates explored and sharedtheir experiences in educatingfor sustainability.

The directions for the 'path-ways' for environmentaleducation were explored inthe conference themes byseveral international keynotepresenters. Here is a selectionof the key messages for

environmental educators fromthese speakers - and a flavourof the ideas that must besynthesised for the missingchapter to be written.

1 Sustainable Futures -Global DimensionsWarren Lidner, Centre for OurCommon Future, Switzerland.'The challenge before u', ... istwofold: to change the qualityof our growth, ensuring that itrests upon a solid foundationof sustainabh utilization ofnatural and human assetsand, secondly, to ensure thatthat growth is equitablyshared by us all - to ensurethat it is not destined solelyfor the developed world.

The commitment of educa-tion systems to this process ofchange is perhaps the mostfundamental condition of allfor assuring that the conceptof sustainable developm °nttakes root and subsequently,as it must, permeates thethinking of the societies of thefuture. Teachers and theinstitutions they serve are thebuilders, if not the architects,of the social conciousness ofthe next and future genera-tions. Their personal influenceon the thinking of youngpeople is profound, and withthe rest of society they sharethe imperative obligation tobuild in young minds anenlightened comprehension ofthe realities their futuresociety will face. Becausethose realities will mostcertainly be very differentfrom our own, it is essentialthat teaching today draws onthe emerging trends anddynamics which are inevita-bly shaping our immediateand long-term future.'

2 Pathways and PaversMichael Atchia, UNEP,Nairobi. 'Environmentaleducation is showing signs ofbecoming distinctly morescientific andtechnical thanbefore with the strongestpossible accent on directapplication. Its main charac-teristics can at the onset beboldly defined through twointimately linked goals:

Education towards protec-

tion and enhancement of theenvironment;- Education as an instrumentof development for improvingthe quality of life of humancommunities.

Hence environmental educa-tion for the 1990's mustbecome Sustainable Develop-ment Education or 'SDE'. Thefour major components ofSDE as advocated here .. are:the teaching and learning ofthe theory and practice of...a Environmental monitoring,b Environmental protection,c Environmental resourcesdevelopment and management,d Environmental enhance-ment.

Referring to the Brundtlanddefinition of sustainability weeducators have one remark-able advantage over everyoneelse, politicians, scientists,technologists, plannersincluded - the future genera-tions, at least those of theimmediate future, are'in ourhands'. Consider for examplean imaginary girl of 6 years ofage whom we shall callVictoria who in the year 2040at the age of 56 will becomethe Prime Minister (orPresident) of Australia. Howgrateful would those of thenext century be if we took allsix year old Australians oftoday by the hand and taughtthem these elements ofpositive environmental actionbased on a respect for natureand a devotion to humanwell-being. And what is truefor the future President ofAustralia is true for all othercitizens of this and all othercountries.'John Huckle, UK 'The contra-dictions surrounding sustain-able development wouldsuggest that education for theenvironment should be ashared speculation with pu-pils on those forms of technol-ogy and social organisationwhich can enable people tolive in harmony with oneanother and with the naturalworld. It should be a form ofsocial education cast in ... theemancipatory mould. Thisseeks to empower pupils sothat they can democraticallytransform society. It does this

by encouraging them toreflect on their experience inthe light of critical theory andto act on the insights gained.It is a form of praxis which byallowing pupils and teachersto reflectively deconstruct andreconstruct their social world,develops the critical andactive citizens who arecapable of bringing about thetransition to sustainabledevelopment. Shor, Freire &Shor, and Giroux all provideextended accounts of emanci-patory or socially criticalpedagogy which has thefollowing characteristics:learning is active and experi-

ential;classroom dialogue intro-

duces elements of criticaltheory and encourages pupilsto think critically;pupils begin to see them-

selves, their histories and fu-tures, in new ways. They de-velop a sense of their ownpower r;Isape their lives;

values education developscomprehension of the sourcesof beliefs and values, howthey are transmitted, and theinterests they support;

pupils reflect on the struc-tural and ideological forcesthat influence and restricttheir lives and on democraticalternatives;

pupils are taught how to actdemocratically with others tobuild a new social order.'

3 Industry, Economics,Ecology and EducationHerbert Thier, University ofCalifornia 'The approach,termed issue oriented science, isto teach the science, content,processes, and problemsolving skills necessary for in-dividuals to make informed,personal, evidence-based de-cisions... The implementationof issue-oriented science canchange teaching practices andhave lasting impact onstudent science learning andperformance.

Issue-oriented science is notan add-on that exploressocietal concerns on Friday,nor does it aim to fosterstudent activism for a particu-lar environmental cause. Ithas as its goal the develop-

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ment of an understanding ofthe science and the problemsolving processes related tosocial issues without takingan advocacy position. Theseissues might be quite personalto students, such as whetherto buy organic fruit in thesupermarket, or based in thecommunity, such as decidingon where to site a newlandfill, or even global, suchAS deciding on policiesregarding the use of freon.

Students in issue-orientedclassrooms learn to under-stand scientific evidence andits If itations, to assess risksand I enefits, to ask quesi:ons,

to make evidence-basedrather than emotional deci-sions. Teachers in issue-oriented cias:moorns createsituations wh, re understand-ing can grow, v. here issuescan be explore? and whereudents can iziteract...

Although it does not belong,'e science program,

students should also learnabout the importance ofadvocacy of a point of viewand how to effectively decideto take a stand on an issue asa member of our democraticsociety.'

The contrasts between thepractical and critical orienta-tions of the keynote addresseswere quite marked, as youhave just read. The ideas fromthese speakers were discussedand refined in panel discus-sions and a series of dailyreaction groups.

The aim of the last day ofthe conference was to bringeverything together - not justas public ideas, but in ourindividual plans and resolvesfor environmental educationalso - for us to make personalas well as internationalpathways of our individualpavers.

However, to be honest, Idon't think I acheived thisaim, although many otherdelegates may have. I am vetto build my pathway forenvironmental educationbecause much of the contesta-tion between the practical andcritical approachs to environ-

mental education aired at theconference is still unresolved,at least for me. Maybe, I needthat elusive missing chapter...

Fortunately, the conferenceproceedings are now in pro-duction and will provide avaluable compilation fromwhich a chapter on educatingfor sustainable development

can be written - too late to gointo Our Common Future, butmaybe a contribution towardsthe environmental educationsection of the report of the1992 UN conference onEnvironment and Develop-ment to be held in Brazil in1992.

Copies of the conference pro-ceedings are available. Pleaserequest order forms fromAAEE Inc., c/o Mr BrianForeman, Arbury ParkOutdoor School, Arbury ParkRoad, Bridgewter, Australia,5155 (Facsimile: 61 -8-3393313).

Caretakers of the EnvironmentA report on the 4th International Caretakers of the Environmentconference for secondary school teachers and studentsheld 25-29th June 1990.

The conference was attendedby nearly 200 delegates from37 countries from all parts ofthe globe, Anguilla, Brazil,Canada, Czechoslovakia,Denmark, Eire, Ethiopia,England, France, Greece,Guatamala, Hungary, India,Indonesia, Kenya, Nether-lands, Nigeria, Panama,Peru, Phillipines, Poland,Portugal, Scotland, Spain,Tanzania, Turkey, USSR,United States of America,Vietnam, West Germany,Yugoslavia, and Zambia.Each delegation consisted ofa minimum of one studentaged 16-18 and one teacher.

To ensure that the confer-ence was open to all potentialdelegates, sufficient moneywas raised to not only keepthe cost down to £35, butensure that up to 100% grantstowards travel and other costsfor delegates from economi-cally less well-off nationscould be made.

The theme chosen for theconference was 'Environment:Conflict or Cooperation'. Ef-forts were made to ensurethat the delegates couldexperience the techniques ofenvironmental education aspractised in this country and ateam of 20 Avon teachersfrom a variety of differentsubject areas helped developthe programme.

The conference involved avariety of different activitiesand lectures:

Richard ParishChurchill School. Bristol and Co-ordinator of the '90 conference

- active study of environ-mental issues in south-westEngland such as coastalquality and nuclear power,acid rain and food manufac-turing and processing,government agriculturalpolicies and urban trafficproblems.- visits to sites of environ-mental interest such as theWetland and Wildfowl TrustCentre at Slimbridge, Ched-dar Gorge and the SomersetLevels.

A

ENVRONMENfINTIONATIONL- lectures by David Heathcoat-Amory, Under Secretary ofState for the Environment andAlan Howarth, SchoolsMinister at the Department ofEducation and Science; andleading environmentalists inthe UK: Jonathon Porritt,Chris Baines, David Shepherdand Pete Wilkinson (formerlywith Creenpeace).- British Gas launched theirnew environmental education

slide pack during the confer-ence and the Wildfowl andWetlands Trust at Slimbridgeasked delegates to form apilot group to create anInternational Wetlands WatchEducational campaign.- a variety of social eventsranging from 4 fish and chipsupper to a banquet withcabaret by the English Speak-ing Theatre; from Morris Menand a folk group to discos.The organisers considered thesocial events to be of greatimportance since that is wherethe relationships which willhelp establish internationallinks developed.

A major success of the con-ference was the contributionmade by the delegatesthemselves. The exhibition ofenvironmental work carriedout in their own countries byschool children was amongstthe most vibrant and positiveever seen in this country.Cultural and language barri-ers were broken down as thestudents and their teachersdiscussed ways of improvingenvironmental education,international links andgenerally how to create abetter world to live in.

Initial reports back fromdelegates seem to be verypositive both in their enjoy-ment and experience of theconference and regardingactivities stimuiated by theconference. Indonesia,Vietnam, India, Zambia,


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Kenya, Hungary, Eire andScotland have already re-ported back regardingprojects which will take placeto consolidate the contactsmade at the conference.

Caretakers of the Environ-ment is a non-profit making,independent organisationwhich organises these annualconferences, publishes a

journal and sets up interna-tional links between schools.The conference in the UK wassponsored by nearly 100organisations including localand national government,UNEP and many companies,organisations and individualswho gave time, goods andmoney.

The 5th Caretakers of theEnvironment Conference willbe held between 26th Augustand 1st September 1991 inCusco, Peru. Further detailscan be obtained from RichardParish, Caretakers of theEnvironment International, 3High Street, Banwell, Avon,BS24 6AA.

'Touch '90: Breaking throughbarriers' - an East-West initiative

on environmental educationThis conference could nothave been more timely.Over the past year, thepolitical divide betweenEastern and Western Europehas crumbled. Dramaticchanges in Eastern Europehave given a tremendous op-portunity in some countriesfor new ideas and ap-proaches to be implemented.But 'barriers' still remain.The conference focussed onEast-West perceptions andunderstanding and consid-ered how education through-out Europe might be directedtowards sustainable environ-mental management.The Spirit of Sec The confer-ence was held over nine daysin October at Low BankGround, MetropolitanWigan's outdoor centre atConiston in the Lake Districtand was a follow-up to the'Touch '89' conference held inSec, Czechoslavakia. It wasjointly organised by theCentre for Global Education,Metropolitan Wigan andWWF UK who were keen tomaintain the style andatmosphere of the originalgathering in Sec. The confer-ence was deliberately keptsmall, with an equal numberof male and female delegateswho were each encouraged topresent a talk or workshop.The aim was to create arelaxed but stimulatingenvironment where partici-pants were given the confi-

Geoff CooperLow Bank Ground OEC (Metropoli-tan Wigan), Co-organiser of Touch'90

dence to share ideas quickly.:-e spirit of participation and

conviviality engendered at Secwas a vital ingredient inencouraging the personal andsocial awareness whichunderpins all environmentaleducation.

Delegates from over 20countries including Poland,Czechoslavakia, Romania,Hungary, Latvia and USSR at-tended the conference. Theywere drawn from bothinformal education (themedia, pressure groups, con-servation organisations) andthe formal education sector(schools, colleges and univer-sities). There were education-ists, teacher-trainers, scien-tists, journalists, sociologists,artists and community andyouth action workers.H "listic approach It soonbecame clear that within theconference there were differ-ent perceptions of environ-mental education. In many ofthe former East-Europeancountries a scientific approachprevails. 'Ecological educa-tion' is a term commonly usedto encompass both naturaland cultural aspects of the en-vironment. Through work-shops in art, drama andglobal education the confer-

ence organisers promoted anholistic approach to theenvironment.

Many delegates felt that apersonal response to the envi-ronment was fundamental ingaining awareness and corn-mitrnent. The emotional andaesthetic areas of educationwere discouraged under statesocialist regimes and it islikely that the new democra-cies of Eastern Europe willexperience a re-awakening ofthe arts. These could make an

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UMW itApicSrtneAMBIENTEimportant contribution to en-vironmental education.A new environmental ethicA strong message from theconference was that neitherWestern capitalism nor statesocialism have provided asuitable framework for sus-tainability. A third way, in-corporating a new environ-mental ethic is needed. The

old East European countrieshave as much to offer ineducating for a new society asthe West. Their advantageslie in the strength of theircommunity and spiritual life,and the fact that as yet, theirsocieties are less materialisticand less wasteful.Education for action The con-ference discussed the role ofeducation in changing society.Many delegates questionedwhether there is time for theprocess of formal education.We need to educate decision-makers such as industrialists,trade-unionists, communityleaders and politicians. It isimportant that we continue todevelop models of environ-mental education for schoolsbut at the same time we needto campaign to change adultbehaviour. Greater co-operation is needed betweeneducationists and environ-mental and community actiongroups. The importance ofunderstanding and using themedia for effective communi-cation was stressed through-out the conference.Childrens' Hearing One suc-cessful model of environ-mental education and actionwas presented by Kristin Es-keland, of the NorwegianCampaign for Environmentand Development. It wasdesigned to help childrendevelop attitudes to theenvironment and have an op-portunity to express theirviews to leading politicians.From a simple invitation theresponse was tremendous;thousands of home-madecards containing pictures,poems, questions and ideaswere received from school-children. From this material,a 'Childrens' Appeal to WorldLeaders' was drawn up. Achildrens' Public Hearing washeld at the major conferenceon Environment and Develop-ment in Bergen, Norway inMay 1990. Norwegian leaderswere challenged by a selected10 children from various partsof Norway to a debate aboutthe state of the world. It wz..,a great success; the childrenpresented their argumentsclearly and there was wide

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media coverage. There was afeeling that young people canmake a valuable contributionto the political process.

As a result of this presenta-tion, plans are already inprogress in Hungary andBritain to encourage politi-cians to take greater notice ofthe views of young people. Itis hoped that the Bergenmodel will also be used as thebasis for a Global Children'sHearing at the UN Confer-ence on Environment andDevelopment in Brazil in1992.Beyond Touch '90 Onedelegate from Eastern Europeremarked, 'I am not accus-tomed to show my emotions,to laugh so much and to cryopenly. I lost my shield ofself-defence during the confer-ence and my confidence grew.In our society, everyone is de-fensive; we need to use meth-ods like these to rebuild confi-dence and self-esteem. With-out this how can you expectpeople to love and fight fornature?'

The conference generatedvery positive feelings. Theenthusiasm and commitmentof delegates has already led toother European and regionalinitiatives, for example:a Plans are being made for in-ternational summer camps in-volving young people fromEstonia, Czechoslovakia andHungary.b A book of ideas and goodpractice arising out of theTouch conferences is due tobe published in late spring'91.c Metropolitan Wigan is ex-ploring the possibility of linkswith a similar sized authorityin Czechoslavakia or Hungarywith a view to running work-shops in arts and environ-mental education and ex-changing ideas and staff.d The further growth of thisEuropean environmentaleducation network is beingconsidered.And finally, a Touch '91 con-ference is being planned tokeep alive the spirit offriendship and cooperationthat was initiated at Sec.

Global education1990 has been an importantyear for global education, notleast becauSe the WorldConference on Education forAll, jointly organised byUNICEF, UNDP, Unesco andthe World Bank and held atJomtien, Thailand, from 5-9March, endorsed a reconcep-tualisation of basic learningneeds of potentially far-reaching significance.

A narrow focus conceptionof basic learning needs (asencompassing literacy,numeracy, and a limitedrange of coping and survivalskills) was superseded by a'new vision'; a bolder, broadfocus conception embracingthe knowledge, skills, atti-tudes and values necessaryfor the empowerment of theindividual within a complex,interdependent and fastchanging world. That processof empowerment, the WorldDeclaration on Education forAll (the conference finaldocument) made clear, shouldbe directed at enablingindividuals to, inter alia,'further the cause of socialjustice, achieve environmentalprotection, be tolerant to-wards social, political andreligious systems which differfrom their own, ensuring thatcommonly accepted humanis-tic values and human rightsare upheld, and work forinternational peace and

Dr David SelbyDirector, Centre for GlobalEducation. University of York

solidarity in an interdepend-ent world' (Article 1.2).Global education - andenvironmental education -were thus identified as crucialaspects of basic learning in adocument representing 'aworldwide consensus on anexpanded vision of basiceducation''.

The Jomtien Declaration willgive further encouragement tothose who have been callingfor a North-South dialoguearound global education. Thefirst stirrings of such adialogue have been evidentover the last 18 months,initiated principally byUNICEF, and it is likely that,following the recent appoint-ment of a Senior EducationOfficer for DevelopmentEducation to the UNICEFSecretariat in New York', oneor more North-South encoun-ters on global education willsoon take place.

1990 has also witnessed thebeginnings of an East-Westdialogue around globaleducation. Following the'velvet revolutions' in EasternEurope, the need to consoli-date the new democraciesthrough programmes of

democratic and human rightseducation has been widely ac-knowledged. At the sametime, the need for environ-mental education pro-grammes as component partsof a wider environmentalprotection/recovery strategyhas been accepted. globaleducation, bringing togetherhuman rights, environmental,development and peaceissues, has thus proved anattractive proposition for anumber of Eastern Europeaneducators. The centre forGlobal Education at theUniversity of York is now inactive discourse with environ-mental and human rightseducators in Czechoslovakia,Latvia and Poland. Jointprojects are likely to follow.

References1 World Declaration on Educa-tion for All /Framework forAction to Meet Basic LearningNeeds, WCEPA Inter-AgencyCommission, New York,April 1990, Preface.2 Nora Goodwin, Develop-ment Education Unit,UNICEF House, Three UnitedNations Plaza, New York10017, USA.


4

Updates and News

Briefing day on the White Paper on theEnvironment and CG7 'Environmental

Education'

On 26 October 1990, CEEheld a Briefing Meeting onthe Government's WhitePaper on the Environmentand NCC's CurriculumGuidance 7 EnvironmentalEducation. The meeting wasaddressed by David Heath-cote-Atnery, Under Secretaryof State for the Environmentwho commended CEE's sub-r? -.ion to the White PaperEnvironmental Education andEnvironmental Policy - a nec-essary alliance as 'timely andthoughtful...I can assure youthat it has been both well

read and influential'.He went on to point out that

'the White Paper's contribu-tion to environmental educa-tion is not limited to thoseparts of chapter 17 clearlyheaded 'education'. Thewhole document could be re-garded as educational since itprovides people with signifi-cant information aboutenvironmental issues andchoices'.

He emphasised that theWhite Paper was not intendedto be the last word on theenvironment, but a spring-

board for future action.Taking up this point, thesecond speaker, StephenSterling who had worked onthe White Paper for CEE,welcomed the document as amajor endorsement of envi-ronmental education. How-ever the White Paper did notyet amount to a comprehen-sive and coherent policy forenvironmental education. Itwas up to the 'environmentaleducation movement' to makethe most of the unprecedentedopportunity that publicationof the White Paper repre-

sented.In the afternoon, Tony

Thomas spoke on CG7Environmental Education,putting it in the context ofother NCC documents, ,.nddrawing attention to the ques-tions and issues that CG7ra ed.

CEE is now consideringfuture strategic action in thelight of these key documents.Briefing papers on bothdocuments are available fromCEE (price 50p each plusSAE).

Within the last fifteenmonths, the Centre forGlobal Education in Yorkhas been working on fournew curriculum develop-ment projects.

Its WWF-funded three-yearGlobal Perspectives in theNational Curriculum projectbegan in September 1989.Working in conjunction withLEA-based cross-phaseteacher groups representingall the core and other founda-tion subjects (plus, addition-ally, and RE Group and twoprimary specific groups),Centre staff are endeavouringto produce work programmesacross key stages 1-4 thatmeet National Curriculum re-quirements but are imbuedwith a global perspective. Theoutcomes are expected to bepublished in 1993. A two-yearTheatre in Development andGlobal Education project(September 1989-August

1991) funded by CAFOD,Christian Aid and Oxfam,involves the production of ahandbook for upper primaryand secondary teachers onusing drama and role playtechniques to explore globalissues. Just completed is aone-year NCC-funded GlobalPerspectives on EconomicAwareness project, theoutcome of which is a file ofsome thirty primary andsecondary activities exploringthe environmental, ethical andvalues implications of eco-nomic practices and policiesand counterbalancing main-stream perspectives withother, including green,perspectives.

The Centre's most recentproject - still in its preliminaryphase - is the North EastEnvironmental EducationInitiative (NEEDI). Fundedprincipally by IBM, the aim ofthe project in its first phase

$

BEST tlitrin PIAILABLE

Global educationDr David SelbyDirector. Centre for GlobalEducation

(fifteen months from January1991) is to develop and fieldtest teaching/learningmaterials designed to explorethe interrelationship betweenthe local (North-Eastern) andglobal environment. A cross-curricular teaching resourceand a computer softwarepackage will be developed forboth primary and secondarylevels. Throughout the firstphase, CGE staff will work inconjunction with a core groupof twenty primary andsecondary teachers fromDurham and South TynesideLEAs. The teachers willcontribute to the design of theteaching resources andsoftware packs and will beresponsible for undertaking

field tests. By March 1992 thematerials will be ready forcommercial publication. Inthe second phase (April 1992to at least March 1993), Centrestaff and the core group ofteachers will be involved indisseminating the materialsthrough staff developmentevents in the North East.Following a September 1992launch of the publishedmaterials at a nationalconference, Centre staff willalso conduct workshops foragencies in the UK andabroad wishing to replicatethe project model in their ownregion. An in-service educa-tion pack giving guidance onschool-based staff develop-ment will also be prepared,field tested and published.

(See also David Selby'sreport under the 'Interna-tional' section of this issue.)

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Updates and News

Curriculum audit, monitoring and profilingenvironmental education in the NationalCurriculumCEE and WWF-UK areinitiating a two-year researchand development projectrelated to curriculum audit,monitoring and profilingexperiences and attainmentin environmental education.

The project arose out of

concern that unless monitor-ing and profiling models aredeveloped, the full implemen-tation of environmentaleducation could remain littlemore than a statement ofintention in the NationalCurriculum. The research and

development phase will befollowed by disseminationand training using materialsdeveloped by the project.These may include computersoftware.

The model adopted ordeveloped will apply to the

entire cross-curricular educa-tion of pupils, and will takeaccount of progression andcoherence. More details fromCEE.

The CEE/CEGB In-service Teacher TrainingProjectAfter two years of develop-ment under Dr Chris Gay-ford as Project Director ...ndtrials within several localeducation authority schools,the first phase of the projectis coming to a conclusionwith the publication of threemodules. Each module willbe published as a 70-pagebooklet by Longman andwill cost around £20.00. Thetitles of the modules are:Introducing EnvironmentalEducation (November 1990)Science and Environmental Edu-cation (Spring 1991)English and EnvironmentalEducation (Summer 1991) ,

John BainesProject Development Consultant

The activities are designedprimarily for use at in-school,in-service training days. Theyvary in length from half anhour to two hours. They arestraightforward and requireonly a little preparation byone of the teachers whoshould act as tutor for thesession. Each module has anintroductory section describ-ing how to handle the trainingsessions and some of theissues that might arise. This is

followed by up to 9 separateactivities. Each one is laid outto a standard format andcontains instructions that areeasy to understand andfollow. Some of the pages aredesigned to be used by theparticipants, and these arereprinted on separate sheetsand placed in a folder so thatthey can be photocopiedeasily.

Everyone, including thesuccessor companies to theCEGB are keen for furthermodules to be developed.Geography is considered tohave the highest priority andshould be started as soon as

the National Curriculumdocument for Geography ispublished. Other titlesplanned include Environ-mental Education for Parentsand Governors, Art andDesign and EnvironmentalEducation, Mathematics andEnvironmental Education.

The time seems ideal for thepublication of such materials.The Government White Paperon the Environment pub-lished in October 1990 identi-fies the training of teachers inenvironmental education as ahigh priority.

Ken BrooksbankMr Ken Brooksbank DSC, MA, MEd, Chairman of the Council for Environmental Education from1978-85. Died Februrary 1990. John Baines, former Director of CEE remembers him.

When Ken Brookshank, asChairman of CEE, KeithWheeler as Chairman of theExecutive and myself asDirector met for the firsttime in 1978, we felt dauntedby the task of making theorganisation an effectivefocus for the environmentaleducation movement.

There were a lot of questionsto be asked and answersfound before we could pre-pare the plans that would

enable CEE to fulfill itsoriginal purpose. But evenharder, we had to find themoney to survive beyond thetwo Years of the grant thatwas made available by theDepartment of the Environ-ment. They were difficulttimes and I often wonder itwe would have succeededwithout Ken and his profes-sional know how. He knewwho to approach, and howand when to approach them.

He negotiated for CEE withthe government, LEAs andthe University of Reading.Without his contribution it isunlikely that CEE would havesurvived. Without CEE it isunlikely that environmentaleducation would have madethe progress it has. We have alot to thank him tor.

Ken was genuinely con-cerned that staff should besecure in their jobs, receiveadequate salaries and not he

overworked. Even atter hehad handed over the Chair-manship to Tom Hadley. hestill maintained his interestand attend( ; CEE annualmeetings where he wouldseek out the staff to find outhow they were. Our liveswere enriched by workingclosely with Ken and we willnot forget him nor what hedid for CEE.


Updates and News

The European Resolution - recent developmentsIt appeared that new life wasbeing breathed into the 1988European Resolution onenvironmental educationwhen, in September 1990,government representativeswere invited by the Euro-pean Commission to attend ameeting of experts in Brus-sels on 'Education andtraining on matters of theenvironment'.

Through the mediation ofthe Nature ConservancyCouncil, CEE combined withother national voluntarybodies from Wales (WelshCentre for EnvironmentalEducation) and Scotland(Scottish EnvironmentalEducation Council), toorganise a briefing meetingwith the DES prior to themeeting.

Dr Ewan McLeishDirector. CEE

It was understood that theagenda for the Brusselsmeeting would cover currentdevelopments at MemberState and Community leveland then concentrate on fourareas identified in the originalResolution:- Information exchange;

Better documentation forteachers and pupils;- Incorporation of educationon the environment in currentCommunity activities;

Co-operation with non -gov-'?rnmental bodies.

The briefing meetingconcentrated on these areas,while attempting to broaden

the educational focus of someof the original statements inthe Resolution.

The Brussels meeting itselfon September 20 was at-tended by representatives often member states, largelyfrom the respective educationdepartments, including ourown DES and HMI. It isunderstood that the discus-sions were very much at apreliminary level and that themeeting was largely anexchange of information.Regrettably, there was nocommitment to a specific pro-gramme following themeeting, although MemberStates are being required tosubmit reports on theiractivities. One concreteoutcome was the possibledevelopment of a European

'directory' of higher andfurther education opportuni-ties for environmentaleducation.

At th:: briefing meeting withthe DES prior to the Brusselsmeeting, it was emphasisedby the organisations presentthat it was essential thereshould be significant NGOinput into any subsequentdevelopments. In the absenceof any such developments forthe time being, CEE will bemonitoring the situationclosely, and looking forfurther opportunities toinfluence and stimulate thedebate on the Resolution, thewording of which held out somuch hope for many in thefield two years ago.

September '90 saw thenational launch of a newbody which will influencethe way school and collegegrounds will be enhancedand designed for learning.

Sponsors for the first twoyears, BE', invited organisa-tions concerned to BritannicHouse, London, where theTrust's chairman LordRemnant, thanked the spon-sors, including WWF, Coun-tryside Commission andHampshire County Councilfor their tremendous supportin the formative years.Hampshire's Chief LandscapeArchitect, Merrick Denton-Thompson, pulled nopunches in a critical appraisalof the condition of much ofthe existing 120 000 acres ofeducation land on 24 000 sitesrepresenting a value of about£25 billion and an annualmaintenance bill of E1(10million.

Thus, some 25 000 acres arethe potential asset for theTrust's work in improving

Learning Through Landscapes Trust

Phil TurnerAssistant County Planning Officer.Hants011=Mbr

quality. Schools are alreadytaking steps to improve landwhich has been environmen-tally impoverished, sterile andexposed to climate. Suchlandscapes have failed togenerate a sense of pride andbelonging. The bleak schoolplayground generates aimlessactivity which results inserious head injuries andupper limb fractures.

So far, the nation has failedto produce a performancespecification for schoolgrounds in terms of socialinter-action, micro-climate,scale or even a policy foroutdoor seating. Play, as thefoundation for the learningprocess, is poorly providedfor around most schools. Innew schools the externalworks budget is often reducedto fund the buildings.

Eileen Adams, Director of

the first phase of the work,has produced a major studyof the current situationpointing to the great potentialfor learning which schoolgrounds can offer, demon-strating good practice indesign, management andteaching related to childdevelopment. Bill Lucas,newly appointed Director ofthe LTL Trust inspired all atthe launch with his cleargrasp of the task ahead. It wasa difficult time for teachers,he said: 'I know schools areunder pressure, but so is theenvironment'. The enhance-ment of environments oflearning was 'not an addedextra, but essential to thework of schools in theNational Curriculum'.

Michael Fallon, Parliamen-tary Under-Secretary of Statefor Education gave credit tothe Coombes Infant School,Arborfield, Berkshire andHead Teacher Susan Humph-ries for pioneering the modelof a school environment for

all seasons.Mr Fallon underlined the

surroundings of the school asbeing complementary toglobal concerns. They linkedwith teaching environmentaleducation in the NationalCurriculum. The Technologyand Geography NCC reportshad already identified schoolgrounds in attainment targetsand programmes of study.

Eleven local authorities,mainly in the south of Eng-land, had already 'signed up'to support the Trust, andMichael Fallon was pleasedthat those in urban andindustrial areas of the northwere poised to join in. Delega-tion of management toschools meant taking controlof school life as a whole, withfreedom to target resources tolocal needs and priorities. Toemphasise the importance ofschool landscapes in thescheme of things he waspleased to announce that theDepartment of Education andScience had published the

.4 REE FOURTH ISSUE 43

Reviews

same day the BuildingBulletin (71) - The OutdoorClassroom which has drawnfrom the Learning ThroughLandscapes research projectfor much of its material.

The Learning ThroughLandscapes Trust has pinpo-inted 'concern for the best

possible use of valuable andscarce resources to bringcolour back into the educa-tional landscape and to theminds of young people', saidthe Minister.1. Final Report £28 (£18 tomembers) plus £2 postageand packing from Learning

Through Landscapes, ThirdFloor, Technology House,Victoria Road, Winchester,Hants S023 7DU. Telephone(0962) 846258, FAX, (0962)869099.

The legacy of Sir Patrick Geddes

'Patrick Geddes: social evolutionist and city planner'Helen Metter, Routledge, 1990, ISBN 0-415-00938-3

I first visited the OutlookTower in 1968 - that signifi-cant year in the history ofBritish environmentaleducation when CEE wasestablished and the Societyfor Environmental Educa-tion, (the first of its kind forteachers), was founded.' Itwas an extraordinary experi-ence to enter the disusedbuilding on the Royal Mile,then owned by the Univer-sity of Edinburgh, and tofind scattered about thedusty rooms Geddes' originalpublications and remnants offormer Civic and RegionalSurvey displays. I realised,as I stood on the Tower'sparapet overlooking thewonderful view of the city,that here, where Geddescreated the 'world's firstsociological laboratory', wasa major starting point for theenvironmental educationmovement struggling in thelate sixties to establish itsprinciples and practice? In-deed, it was encouraging inthose contentious days todiscover environmental edu-cation had a history goingback to 1892 when Geddesbegan his educational workat the Outlook Tower.'

By any reckoning Geddes isone of the world's outstand-ing environmentalists, butunlike many of his contempo-raries working in similar

Review article by

Keith WheelerVice President CEE

fields of endeavour, his ideascontinue to be highly relevantto today's environmentalconcerns' His passionateadvocacy of socio-culturalevolution, based on develop-ing a creative relationshipbetween man and his environ-ment, still maintains for manya charismatic attraction.Hence Dr Meller, in herwelcome new book, admitsthat her, 'quest for Geddeshas been like the Holy Grail,and I have had to go throughfire and water in pursuit ofhim'. The result is a scholarlyaccount of Geddes' careershedding new light on theorigin and application of hisideas, his curious system of'thinking-machines'. and hismethods of working. Impor-tantly, she places Geddes'environmental philosophy inthe context of 19th centuryenvironmental concepts -notably, Darwinian evolution;Ruskin's economics; Comp-tian positivism, and FredriqueLe Play's sociology. Of specialinterest is her account ofGeddes' interaction with theemerging 'New Geography'then being promoted by H JMackinder, and by A J

44 AREE FOURTH ISSUE ':31) J r

Herbertson who had beentaught by Geddes. The geogra-phers took the 'regional idea'as an organising concept fortheir discipline. Characteristi-cally, however, Geddes usedthe concept pragmatically toplan the city-region, and wasnot concerned with theacademic necessity to definethe region which lead eventu-ally to a dead-end for geogra-phy. Geddes saw the weaknessof the geographer's descriptiveapproach and urged, 'Makeyour geography into geotech-nics!' by which he meant thescience of making the earthhabitable. Surely, it this'science' which environmentaleducation seeks to teach?

The range, internationalspread, and practical :tcomeof Geddes' almost single-handed pioneering of townplanning, innovatory muse-ums, architectural conserva-tion, and the social sciences;and his efforts to raise funds toget his projects implemented,his successes and failures, aredetailed in Dr Meller's fasci-nating book. But even so, shedoes not succeed in dealingwith the whole of Geddes! Forexample, she does not considerthe influence of Goethe,Alexander von Humboldt, andErnst Haeckel, the originatorof ecology, on the develop-ment of Geddes' ideas.'

The book does contain,

c"1 WILE

somewhat scattered through-out its pages, a valuablesurvey of Geddes' unconven-tional educational ideas andmethods. These remain as in-spirational today as when heformulated them. At theOutlook Tower he experi-mented with an approachquite contrary to traditionalacademic learning with itsreliance on chalk, talk, andbook study. Instead, Geddesdemonstrated the vitalimportance of 'learning bydoing' which required inter-disciplinary investigation inthe laboratory and byfieldwork; and he was op-posed to examinations be-cause he believed they dulledthe student's curiosity. In-deed, Geddes argued, 'hewas pioneering a movementtowards sympathetic studieswhich had educational andsocial bearings for the future.Such an education woulddevelop a new generationmore in tune with the idealsof creating the eugenic agedevoted to the nurture ofpeople....'.

In the last chapter, oddlyentitled, 'Regional Survey inthe International Context: thelegacy of Geddes', Dr Mellerdiscusses that legacy as if itonly had mievance abroad,and appears unaware ofGeddes' legacy to Britisheducation and to environ-

47

Reviews

mental education in particu-lar. The fact is Geddes was thefirst to discern the relation-ship between the quality ofthe environment and thequality of education. Further-more, as explained by DrMe ller, he devised a method-ology, Civic and RegionalSurveying, to promote thatrelationship. However, sheomits to point out that, as aconsequence, many of Geddesfollowers, practicing thismethod, contributed much tosuch developments as educa-tional fieldwork in theenvironmental disciplines,notably geography; theintroduction of interdiscipli-nary environmental studies inteacher training; and thesetting up of what is now theField Studies Council throughthe work of G E Hutchingsand °eters.° The OutlookTower is also the prototype ofthe many urban studiescentres active in our cities.7Thus in these, and many otherways, a case can be made forclaiming Geddes to be the'father of environmentaleducation? Indeed, the firstknown use of the term'environmental education'was made in 1947 by theAmericans, Paul and PercivalGoodman, who were familiarwith Geddes' ideas.' Simi-larly, the term 'environmentalgeography , now used todescribe a geography Attain-ment Target in the NationalCurriculum, stems fromGeddesian ideas. 1". Further-more, the birth of the progres-sive school movement owesmuch to Geddes, and severalforward-looking educational-ists, like John Dewey, cameunder his spell. The dissemi-nation of the Geddesianapproach did much toprepare the ground foractivity -based teaching in ourschools. In short, an accountof Geddes' legacy to educa-tion remains to be written.

Meanwhile, Dr Meller'sbook, with its comprehensivebibliography, is for those whowant a stimulating study ofGeddes the social evolutionistand planner; but for thosedrawn to reading about

Geddes for the first time, thenPaddy Kitchen's biography isrecommended." Moreover,the Geddes legacy can be seenat work today where, oppo-site the Outlook Tower, (nowa Landmark Trust TouristCentre, but also housing thePatrick Geddes Centre forPlanning Studies), there is theexemplary Castlehill UrbanStudies Centre practising thekind of environmentallearning advocated by Geddesa hundred years ago!

References1 Wheeler K, 'The Genesis ofEnvironmental Education', Insightsinto Environmental Education, (Eds.Martin G and Wheeler K), Oliverand Boyd, 1975.2 Goodson 1, School Subjects andCurriculum Chang.. Case Studies inCurriculum History, Croom Helm,1983.3 S Sterling, 'A short history ofenvironmental eduation', Sterling5, and Hawkins G, (eds) Environ-mental Education, OUP (in press).4 For rumple, King G, Themeaning of Patrick Geddes', ThePlanner: Journal of the Royal TownPlanning Instiute, Vol 76 No.9,1990.5 Wheeler K, 'From Goethe toGeddes and the Search forEnvironmental Understanding ,Fourth C C Fagg MemorialLecture, Proceedings of the CroydonNatural History and Scientific Soci-ety, XIV(12), 1972.6 Wheeler K, 'Geoffrey E Hutch-ings 1900-1964', Geographers: Bio-bibliographical Studies, (EdsFreeman T W and Pinchmel P1,International Geographical Union,1976.7 Ward C, The Outlook Tower,Edinburgh: Prototype for an UrbanStudies Centre', Bulletin ofEnvironmental Education, 33, 1973.8 Wheeler K, The Outlook Tower:Birthplace of Envire mentalEducation', SEE: thi ulletin of theSociety for EnvironmentalEducation, Vol 2 No 2, 1970.9 Wheeler K, 'InternationalEnvironmental Education: aHistorical Perspective', journal ofEnvironmental Education andInformation, Vol 4 No 2, TheEnvironmental Institute of theUniversity of Salford, 1985.10 Wheeler K, 'Traditions,Systems Theory, and Environ-mental Geography', EnvironmentalGeography: a Handbook for Teachers,(Eds Wheeler K and Waites B),Oliver and Boyd, 1975.11 Kitchen P, A Most UnsettlingPerson: an introduction to the Ideasand Life of Patrick Geddes, Gollancz,1975.

.10

Le3sons from the '80's for the 90's

Australian Journal of Environmental Education' Vol 6,August 1990.ISSN 0814-0626. Australian Association of

Environmental Education, School of Education, DeakinUniversity, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.

Subscription $A20.

Ian Robottom starts his edi-torial to this edition of AJEEby reminding us that the1990's could be a significantdecade for environmentaleducation. The world orderis in a state of flux and theenvironment appears to bemoving i: he internationalpolitical agenda. A globalcoalition for sustainabledevelopment is emergingwhich could displace thecurrently dominant coalitionseeking sustainable growth.There would appear to bemuch to play for includingthe establishment of envi-ronmental education as a sig-nificant part of the politicalfabric of our culture in a waywhich has not been seenbefore.

To celebrate ten years ofpromoting environmentaleducation in Australia and itsfirst international conference(see John Fien's in this issue),AAEE's editorial board hasput together a collection ofinternational perspectivesfocussed on the theme'Environmental Education inRetrospect and Prospect:Lessons from the 80's for the90's'. Contributors fromNorth and South America.Western Europe and Australiadescribe key developments ofthe 80s and set challenges forthe coming decade.

While the lack of voicesfrom the South and Eastprevents a truly internationalperspective, there is muchhere of interest and value.Augusto Medina, who workswith the World Wildlife Fundin Washington, describes pro-grammes in the DominicanRepublic, Peru, and Argen-tina, designed to encourageappropriate curriculum devel-opment in EE amongst localteachers. He describes theunderdevelopment of thesesocieties which constrains all

Review article by

John HuckleHead of Geography. BedfordCollege of Higher Education

elements of teachers' workand then explains how NGO'sand other institutions, work-ing outside the formal sector,have used training workshopsand local support networks toempower teachers and freethem from the demands ofinappropriate curricula basedon ideas and materials fromthe North. By workingalongside teachers in difficultcircumstances to meet localneeds, he and his fellowworkers have ensured thatthey feel that the programme ispermanent, that the trainers willbe back and that they are part ofa larger effort.

In North America, thesetting and principal actorsare somewhat different. JohnDisinger and Donald Floyddescribe the waning of EE inthe Reagan years and itsgradual re-appearance. Somestates like Wisconsin andPennsylvania sustained EE toa greater extent than othersbut the public agencies whichpromoted it were generallythose concerned with environ-mental management andprotection rather than educa-tion. They were joined byvarious environmental groupsand business interests and it issignificant that the bestknown, most widely usedelementary and secondaryschool EE teaching material inthe United States during theI 980s were developed underthe sponsorship of groupsoutside the formal educationsector, in some cases with gov-ernment funding. Three suchprojects aimed at schools arereviewed before Disinger andFloyd turn their attention tothe non-formal sector, higher

48AREE FOURTH ISSUE 45

Reviews

education, and a growingprofessional alliance topromote EE. This alliance isobviously proving successfulas legislation before Congressseeks to establish an Office ofEnvironmental Educationwithin the EnvironmentalProtection Agency withconsiderable influence andresources. While demand forand participation in EE seemslikely to grow, the authorsremind us that much EE inthe USA remains essentiallynature study, outdoor educa-tion, and conservationeducation. Unless it adoptsperspectives which subsumeeconomic and politicalrealities, as do the projectsthey review, the link betweenmore EE and a more healthyenvironment remains at besttenuous.

Over the border in Canada,Paul Hart picks up and ampli-fies the note of caution inDisinger and Floyd's sum-mary. In outlining the diffi-culties of identifying and es-tablishing a genuinely Cana-dian approach to EE, helaments the uncritical adop-tion of dominant NorthAmerican forms of EE andRDDA (research - develop-ment - diffusion - adoption)models of curriculum change.These have been further legiti-mated by developments in thewake of the BrundtlandReport with a range of 'triedand true' local, provincial,national, and internationalprogrammes being imposedon teachers. Hart reviewssuch initiatives in Alberta andSaskatchewan before drawingon Robottom's work tohighlight their contradictions.While the rhetoric of EE isthat of critical reflec:ion andaction to bring about socialchange, such programmes robteachers and students ofpower and seek social control.Genuine alternatives shouldemerge from our growingunderstanding of the politicsof environmentalism andeducation, and are likely todraw on an action researchapproach to curriculumd. velopment underlain bycritical theory. By recognising

EE as a political activity,engaging in ideology critique,and testing their own curricu-lum in action, teachers inCanada, like those in SouthAmerica, can gradually closethe theory-practice gap.

Peter Fensham's article onEE in Australia is largelyconcerned with recent re-forms by the Victorian Cur-riculum and AssessmentBoard, and is likely to remindEnglish readers of Ivor Good-son's study of the battle toestablish EnvironmentalStudies as an 'A' level subject.Fensham describes howEnvironmental Science grewout of Agricultural Science tobecome a popular HSC sub-ject and how in a period ofcurriculum rationalisationand reform, it has onlysurvived by changing itsname to EnvironmentalStudies and leaving thescience field of study to jointhe geography field. Scien-tists were unable to accommo-date the epistemologicalperspectives adopted by theproponents of EnvironmentalScience and these did not findsympathy with the bureau-crats within the Board. Eachof the 44 reformed studies,grouped in 17 Fields, now hasa Study Guide which, likeNational Curriculum docu-ments, sets work require-ments and Common Assess-ment Tasks (CATS). Bycarrying out a content analy-sis for EE in 12 of the studies,Fensham shows that thereforms have reduced thestatus of EE and that it hasfailed to penetrate such highstatus studies as Economicsand Mathematics. As withsome National Curriculumdocuments, there is morepotential for EE within somestudies than most teacherswill realize and in-serviceeducation will be crucial inadvancing EE as a cross-curricular theme. The workrequirements and CATS dorequire a considerable amountof education for the environ-ment, but there is alreadypressure from some univer-sity quarters and the tradi-tional teachers to modifythese.

As we might expect, morethan half of Monica Hale'sarticle on recent develop-ments in Britain is concernedwith the National Curricu-lum. In her introduction shesuggests that in the twentyyears since European Conser-vation Year, there has been amassive re-education andshift in the public's perceptionand appreciation of theirenvironment. She may becorrect, but some of us sus-pect that the shift is less thanmassive and that the failure toadvance critical understand-ing of our environmentalpredicament is part cause andeffect of relatively limitedprogress in EE. This isrevealed in the recent advicefrom the NCC (CurriculumGuidance 7, EnvironmentalEducation) which could havebeen written in 1970.

Hale touches on the work ofNGO's such as WWF and theactivities surrounding Euro-pean Year of the Environ-ment, before outlininginitiatives to improve schoolgrounds and the work of theMSC's Community Pro-gramme. She then gives adescriptive rather than inter-pretive account of the Na-tional Curriculum; welcomingthe establishment of EE as across-curricular theme butgiving little attention to theideological flavour of theattainment targets in scienceand geography which seemlikely to be its main vehiclesof delivery.

Peter Posch, from Austria,describes the internationalOECD/CERI Project: 'Envi-ronment and School Initia-tives'. This involves elevenEuropean countries, includingBritain, in developing schoolprogrammes which promoteenvironmental awarenessalongside such 'dynamicqualities' as initiative, inde-pendence, commitment andthe readiness to acceptresponsibility. Participants areexpected to gain from sharingpolicies, innovation strategiesand research findings and itwould seem a pity that thisProject appears little knownamongst UK environmental

educators. The article de-scribes a project whichcombines teaching throughparticipatory environmentalenquiry with professionaldevelopment via actionresearch. John Elliott hasurged its participants toreflect about their personalagency in the environmentand to holistically understandthe value complexity ofenvironmental problems.Such outcomes may not bequite what the OECD orderedbut then again, the projectmay not be quite the criticaland empowering experiencewhich Medina and Hartrecommend. The correspon-dence between educational,economic and social change iscomplex and Posch left thisreader unsure as to whetherthe 'Environment and SchoolsInitiatives' project was servingtruly emancipatory interests.

An article by Sandro Sutti ona Water Analysis Project inItaly and two reviews com-plete this volume of AJEE.Noel Gough's review of AREE1989 urges UK environmentaleducators not to conspire inthe political neutralisation ofcritical forms of their ownpractice and in the light of thisreview, his message wouldseem relevant elsewhere inthe world. If EE is to becomea central element of theemerging internationalmovement for sustainabledevelopment, there is anurgent need for us to engagein critical dialogue acrossfrontiers. AJEE's editorialboard are to be congratulatedon assembling so much ofvalue. Nif


4.9

Reviews

When the bough breaks... Our children,our environment

Lloyd Timberlake and Laura Thomas. EarthscanPublications 1990, £6.95, 1 85383 082 8

Hush-a-bye babyOn the tree top,When the wind blowsThe cradle will rock,When the bough breaksThe cradle will fall,And down will come baby,And cradle and all.

When the bough breaks... is abook about children - yoursand mine to an extent, butparticularly in the developingnations. It was written toaccompany a TV documen-tary produced by CentralTelevision in association withthe Observer newspaper andthe Television Trust for theEnvironment. That particulardocumentary, one of manywhich Central has commis-sioned on environmentalissues, was itself broadcast toreflect the 1990 UN report onChildren and the Environment.

The book covers muchground in its 262 pagesfeaturing such diverse issuesas Britain's lamentable recordon the take-up of post-16 edu-cation and our endemic skillshortages, air pollution incities, pesticides in the food-chain, the history of the poliovaccine, global warming andclimatic change, the threats tothe forests and the seas, andthe lethal effect of so much ofthe developing world's watersupply. The recurrent themerunning through all theseissues, and many more toonumerous to list here, is thelot of children. The bookcloses with a cheerful pictureof children in Niger 'facingthe future boldly', and with aweary realization that govern-ments alone cannot be reliedupon to bring about necessarysocial, political and economicchange - either nationally orinternationally. There followsa call to action for us all.

The book is packed with in-formation on a wide range ofdiverse subjects, and in apublication such as this,

Review by

Dr W A H ScottSchool of Education. University ofBath

which covers so many issues,it is inevitable that topicscannot be treated in a compre-hensive, well-rounded way,and that risks are run ofsomewhat incomplete presen-tations. You will find the bookstimulating, but perhaps notwholly satisfying.

I need to end on some disap-pointments: the book wouldhave benefitted from an index- the absence of which in sucha wide-ranging text is inexpli-cable. The poor reader whojust wants to dip in, or readabout a particular issue, isbadly served. A glossary ofterms - especially acronymswould also have been of use.The book would have benefit-ted from decent qualityreproduction of its photo-graphs. The soft-grey, diffuse,obscure images found in mycopy might be wonderful on astudio wall, but are out ofplace in a publication such asthis.

It's also a pity about thepoem which begins the bookand which was especiallywritten for it. The wordplay ison the use of baby - meaninghere both children and adults- and on cradle which repre-sents both society and civiliza-tion. The problem is that theverse, beyond these simpleassociations is not convincingenough. This review beganwith one verse - with whichyou will be familiar. It'sperhaps appropriate to endwith the seventh and last:flush-a-live babies

Sleeping tonight,When the earth turnsYour cradles will rock,When the earth stopsYour cradles will fall.And down will come babiesAnd cradles and all.

First Steps to Sustainability - the SchoolCurriculum and the Environment

Peter Martin, WWF/BBC Education, 1990,free with SAE from WWF

'If you are thinking a yearahead, sow seed.If you are thinking ten yearsahead, plant a tree.If you are thinking ahundred years ahead,educate the people.'

These words by Kuan Tzu,an ancient Chinese poet, onthe back cover of the docu-ment summarise its message.It is not primarily intended asa practical guide to the deliv-ery of an environmentaleducation, rather it is a philo-sophical overview of the needat global, national, local andpersonal levels to effectchange, and includes regularswoops into whole curricu-lum planning. On the lastpage comes a real piece ofwisdom which should bememorised by all those in-volved in such planning:'Environmental education ismore than a sum of the parts'.

A particularly useful distinc-tion is made between educa-tion about the 'ecological orgeophysical aspects of the en-vironment', which the authorcorrectly argues is insufficientin itself, and that about 'theones that cause the problems... people'. There then followsan argument for the need tounderstand human behaviouras regards the environment interms of values, politics,culture, history and econom-ics.

The importance of this dis-

Re new by

Julian AgyemanEnvironmental Education Co-ordinator London Borough ofIslington

tinction cannot be overem-phasised, as the author notes,because without the latter,environmental education isreduced to a study of proc-esses and phenomena.'Active involvement' must beencouraged by comprehen-sive programmes whichcombine the human and theecological aspects of environ-mental education.

Punctuating the philosophi-cal thread of the first fewpages are a series of boxes offactual information, which areperhaps superfluous in thatthe likely readership willalready be well informed onkey environmental issues. Ifelt that the space could havebeen better used developingsome of the later arguments.

In some ways, this docu-ment is a philosophical 'WWFCurriculum Guidance 7'. Myonly criticism of an otherwisethoughtful treatment is thatthe notion of human equality,which is intimately related toenvironment quality, is tacitly('improve the quality of theenvironment and of humanlife') rather than explicitlyacknowledged. tio

Greening the Staffroom

Graham Pike and David Selby, WWF UK/BBC Education,1990, £25.99, 0 947613 234

This pack, written by the twomost prominent figures fromthe Global Education Centrein York, is intended for facili-tators of staff developmentcourses in environmentaleducation at primary andsecondary levels. The packcomes complete with a video

Review by

John HowsonEducation Officer. Friends of theEarth

a BBC programme Greeningthe Classroom from 1989. Thevideo makes a good starting


50

point for a training day, andalthough now perhaps a littledated it relates environmentalissues to education very well.

Perhaps the best measure ofthe worth of such a pack iswhether one would use itoneself. This pack has myendorsement, despite a fewcriticisms.

The first section consists of aselection of newspaper sto-ries, advertisements and clip-pings on environmental edu-cation. Although interestingthey did not, in my view, inany way extend the pack -rather they provided a dis-traction. Nor did I think thatthe models for environmentaleducation that followed wereuseful to teachers. I can visu-alise the average teachercrying to work out where toactually start reading.

I read to page 40 before Ifound any really useful infor-mation for a school thinkingof running a staff develop-ment course in environmentaleducation. Even then, a betterway of teachers becominginformed on the NCC's viewof environmental educationwould be to read CG3 (TheWhole Curriculum) and CG7(Environmental Education).

Sections 4 (Running a staffdevelopment course) and 3(Staff development pro-grammes in environmentaleducation) provided the mainintroduction for the courseitself. These sections are wellwritten and to the point. Thegreen charter for the school insection 6 should provide most

schools with a useful check-list.

The second part of the packis divided into four sectionseach of which contains ideasfor activities. These are di-vided between 'seed sowers',group discussion, experientialactivities and feedback andevaluation. They can be puttogether in a number ofdifferent ways and somecourse outlines are given onpages 53 to 55. Many of theactivities are very imaginativeand some quite wacky - forexample selling your motherfor a redundant East Euro-pean currency (in this casemother eventually represents'mother earth'). Anotheractivity involves auctioningsuch unauctionable things as'beauty is in the eye of thebeholder'. In my experience,some activities of this type,although having fun potentialdo not go down well with allteachers and this point shouldbe made in the facilitatorsnotes. However - I am suremost mums will be pleased tofind out there are manymore conventional activitiestoo.

All of the activities are setout in a very clear andreadable way and all in allmake up an excellent course. Ithink that it is a pity that thepack itself is produced onhigh gloss non-recycled paper- not making the same link be-tween awareness and actionas the pack hopes to engenderin teachers.

Table 1

'Why joke about the ozone layer? It'sserious ...' (Dallas, aged 15)

A review of young people's green books led by JillEdbrooke, former CEE Youth and Environment ProjectsOfficer

Most young people I knowcomplain that there is littleinformation available forthem to learn about environ-mental issues outside school.So when asked to review theapparent 'plethora of greenbooks', I was a bit surprised.However, off I went off tothe largest bookshop in Bir-mingham. I left with TheYoung Green ConsumersGuide, The Blue Peter GreenBook and Wildlife in theNews - (not about broad en-vironmental issues, butrelated at least). So much forthe plethora I had been ledto expect! Further searchingin other bookshops revealedseven titles in all. It mayhave been simpler to go toCEE's library, but it didhighlight that some bookswill only be reaching well-motivated customers.

Being in my dotage, I thentook the books to a morerepresentative customergroup - a class of 14-15 yearold environmental studiesstudents. None of them hadset foot in a bookshop forover six months! For simplic-ity we tabulated the responses(see Table 1).

The views are subjective,taken from a narrow agerange, and so on, but I wouldthink that they could makeinteresting reading for pub-lishers wanting commercialreturns or campaigninggroups concerned about in-

Readability Attractiveness Setting out Interest Useful infor-mation

Popularity

Blue Peter Green Book 55 63 59 60 62 1st

Saving the Planet 47 22 31 39 56 7th

Caring for Planet Earth 52 64 56 57 56 3rd

50 Simple things to 42 29 36 41 60 6th

Save the PlanetYoung Green Con-sumers Guide

47 42 48 40 51 5th

Friends of the Earth 55 63 57 55 57 2nd

YearbookWildlife in the News 56 61 55 53 57 4th

(Scores out of possible 70 points - 7 groups allotted marks out of ten to each book. on eachcriterion)

creased ethical awareness/interest:

are books really a good wayof communicating environ-mental concerns to the lesscommitted, aware or literate?The group felt 50 Simple Waysto Save the Planet explaineddifficult words well and theygot a great sense of satisfac-tion from learning these.- if they are to be successful,design, layout and languageare more important than theactual content. Artwork inthe Young Green ConsumersGuide annoyed many of thegroup as they found it 'imma-ture and it makes jokes of se-rious issues'.

marketing is crucial andoverrides most other aspects.

I would imagine that sales ofthe Young Green ConsumersGuide are enormous becauseits linked to the adult versionand to a national competitionthat schools can enter. Thetwo books that the groupchose to keep for their librarywere both BBC publicationswith familiar TV personalitiessmiling from their pages.

General interest in the booksrelates to layout and design,not content! The gi oupstruggled to get through someof the books, but when theyhad, they acknowledged thattheir contents were useful - itis unlikely they would havegot that far if the reviewwasn't going towards theirGCSEs!

This is a very superficialreview - we didn't look atsome of the social messagesthat the books were puttingacross, or the inaccuracies andconflicting information thatsome contain. However, youdo have to get a horse towater before vou can evenstart to think about getting itto drink.

With thanks to pupils andstaff from Parkview UpperSchool, Birmingham for theirenthusiasm and time.


5'

AnnualReviewofEnvironmentalEducation 1990/91

2.1\ `; 717"N

-5 I-

52

BEST COPY AVAILA2LE

The Annual Review of Environmental Education1990 / 91

Overviews from England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Analysis of local authority policies on environmental education

Assessment of progress in the National Curriculum The

skills debate Pre-service and in-service teacher education

Developments in the youth service Environmental education

in the light of the Bergen conference Dangers of evangelical

environmental education The challenge of teaching the green-

house effect Networking in Scotland An environment year in

Milton Keynes Information technology and environmental

education Environmental education amongst primary school

teachers International section News Book reviews.

The purpose of the Annual Review is to report, evaluate.

ncourage and help guide progress in environmental education in

the UK. It is aimed at all those with an interest in environmental

education, and particularly at those who influence programme

development and policy making, whether in schools, elsewhere in

local authorities, in the youth service, tertiary education, the

media or industry.

The Annual Review costs £4.00 (plus 80p postage). There is

a special offer to members of CEE Member Organisations

and subscribing local authorities of £3.00 per copy. This

offer can be taken up by returning the order form to CEE.

53

ORDER FORM

ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION 1990/91

Please send me copies of the Annual Review of EnvironmentalEducation 1990/91 @ £4.00 /£3.00* each.

I am a member of (CEE Member

Organisation/Local Education Authority subscribing to CEE*) and claim

the discounted price of £3.00 per copy.

*Delete as appropriate

Add postage at the following rates: I copy 80p: add a further 20p for each

additional copy.

I enclose payment of £ plus postage = total £

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Address

Send to:Council for Environmental EducationFaculty of Eaucation and Community StudiesUniversity of ReadingLondon RoadReadingRG1 5AQ

54

"Environmental education will need to permeate all levels andaspects of education, beginning with the National Curriculum in

schools, continuing in colleges and universities and extendinginto professional and vocational training. For education, the

challenge will never be bigger."

Chris Patten, former Secretary of State for the Environment.

in the Annual Review of Environmental Education 1990/91.

recycled paper

EDUCATINGFOR THEENVIRONMENT

55

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