Climate Change Education: Mapping the Nature of Climate Change, the Content Knowledge and Examination of Enactment in Upper Secondary Victorian Curriculum

Climate change (CC) is widely accepted as the major threat of our time, posing unprecedented challenges to humanity. Yet very little is known regarding the ways in which upper-secondary curricula address the need to educate about this crisis. This study contributes to the field of CC education theoretically and empirically. From the theoretical perspective, the study contributes two CC conceptualisation frameworks: a characterisation of the nature of CC, and a mapping of the scope of CC content knowledge. The empirical contribution consists of examining CC education implementation within upper-secondary curriculum in the state of Victoria, Australia. Specifically we examined the CC conceptualisation and the scope of content present in the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) study designs. A total of 10 out of 94 study designs qualified for examination through referencing CC. The findings suggest that none of the study designs present a complete conceptualisation of the nature of CC. Common conceptualisations within the study designs perceive CC as a cause or an outcome, a problem of management, or of technological efficiency. CC content within the study designs is limited, and presents misconceptions, including the assumption that CC is a natural change caused by astronomical and solar systems. A cross-curriculum integration approach within the study designs is found to be ineffective. We conclude that CC presents a paradigm shift which brings about the new discipline of CC. There is a need for curricula reforms to address and incorporate CC as a coherent body of knowledge

Community-based environmental monitoring goes to school: translations, detours and escapes

Community-school partnerships are an established practice within environmental science education, where a focus on how local phenomena articulate with broader environmental issues and concerns brings potential benefits for schools, community organisations and local communities. This paper contributes to our understanding of such educational practices by tracing of the diverse socio-material flows that constitute a community environmental monitoring project, where Australian school students became investigators of and advocates for particular sites in their neighbourhood. The theoretical resources of Actor-Network Theory are drawn upon to describe how the project—as conceptualised by its initiators—was enacted as both human and non-human actors sought to progress their own agendas thus translating the concept-project into multiple project realities. We conclude by identifying implications for sustaining educational innovations of this kind

‘Chinuch Mashlim’—Losses and Displacements at the Contact Zone between English and Hebrew: Transcending Monolingual Boundaries

This conceptual article investigates the losses and displacements taking place at the contact zone between English and Hebrew. The study focuses on one Hebrew term ‘chinuch mashlim’ [complementary education in Hebrew] and its relationships with its equivalent English term ‘informal education’. By applying a theoretic–linguistic analysis process, the study traces the socio-historical-political meanings of ‘chinuch mashlim’ and relates this theoretical construct to its English counterpart, ‘informal education’. Examination of the relationships between the two terms at their contact zone reveals a strong English dominancy which creates a barrier for researchers in the field to use their full linguistic repertoire. The analysis reveals that the monolingual ‘informal education’ research does not create permeable boundaries that allow valuable knowledge to transcend from Hebrew to English

Characterizing Victorian universities’ informal stem education programs

Background and context In recent years there has been a growing concern that the goal of “science education for all” is not being met. Increasingly, education systems are failing to attract students to science, to the extent that schools are often blamed for deterring students from pursuing secondary and tertiary science education (EU, 2004, 2007; OECD, 2006; Osborne & Dillon, 2008; Royal Society, 2010; DEST, 2003; Tytler, 2007). While students seem disinterested in school science education, a developing avenue of research directs attention to the role of informal science education in particular to the untapped potential of university outreach programs in filling the gap (Eastwell & Renie, 2002; EU, 2005a, b; 2010). To date, most research regarding university outreach programs has been limited to investigating specific programs. There is a critical lack of data regarding the scope, goals, forms of management, modes of administering and, impacts of university Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) outreach programs. The present research aims to develop a data-base of university STEM outreach programs, which can then be used to characterize the programs, evaluate impacts and establish best practices. RESEARCH QUESTIONS This study addresses the following two issues, namely, determining the characteristics of STEM outreach programs administered by the nine universities in the state of Victoria, Australia, and how the outreach programs are positioned within the universities’ businesses in regard to policies and management practices. METHODS Data were collected from scientists and program coordinators in the nine universities in the State of Victoria. A total of 3688 online questionnaires were distributed. The data included 190 questionnaire respondents and 17 interviewees. The data were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The nine Victorian universities apply predominantly an intra-curriculum model, designed to support the school curriculum. The majority of the programs are one-off exposures, developed for preparing students in years 11-12 for the Victorian Certificate of Education [VCE]. Most of the universities do not have a policy that specifically directs the implementation of science education outreach programs. The programs are conceptualized by university management as a marketing enterprise with an aim of increasing student recruitment. Typically, there is no central organization or coordination, resulting in sporadic programs, over reliant on ‘soft’ money, with frequent changes in the management schemes. The majority of the programs are initiated by motivated staff, based on their areas of interest, so the programs typically cease when the initiator leaves the university. The study’s recommendations include moving beyond the existing model of intra-curricular support; integrating outreach STEM programs into the universities’ core businesses; and, abandoning the marketing approach in favour of ethical and community service approaches aimed at enhancing citizens’ scientific literacy

Perception of Space among Children Studying Their Local Grasslands: Examining Attitudes and Behavioural Intentions

The study examined children's perception of space in the context of place-based education. It investigates: the cognitive attitudinal dispositions involved in perceiving space as 'empty'; and, how students' attitudes toward one grassland site inform their attitudes and behavioural intentions when applied to similar spaces which are spatially and temporally remote. A group of urban primary students participated in a four-month environmental education program in which the students were immersed in a local grassland reserve through repeated visits and learning about grasslands. Data collection included surveys and a focus group activity concerning future neighbourhood planning. The results indicate that the children perceived as 'empty' spaces which were un-built, lacked human activities, or were un-identified on a map of the area. Students presented negative attitudes toward 'empty spaces' and were inclined to 'fill' them. In regard to future planning of their neighbourhood, high consistency was found between the students' positive attitudes and their intentions to preserve the studied grassland site. This alignment between attitudes and behavioural intentions became disentangled when applied to remote sites at future times. While attitudes remained positive, behavioural intentions were willing to forsake grassland sites. The implications of the findings to environmental education are discussed

רחב לשינוי: יצירת בתי גידולים משוקמים במרחב הבית ספרי [Translation: By "change space": the creation of habitats restored in school]

התכנית "מרחב לשינוי" מציעה למנהלי בתי ספר גישה אחרת להתייחסות לחצר בית הספר, גישה המתבססת על עקרונות פיתוח בר-קיימא. במסגרת התכנית "מרחב לשינוי", חצרות בתי הספר עוברות תהליך של שיקום אקולוגי, תוך שיתוף מלא של כל צוות בית הספר, התלמידים והקהילה. שיקום אקולוגי של חצרות בתי ספר מתקיים בארצות רבות ברחבי העולם, ובכלל זה ארה"ב, קנדה, אוסטרליה, אנגליה, נורבגיה, שבדיה ועוד. יש כמה מאפיינים, המשותפים לכל התכניות לשיקום אקולוגי הפועלות בעולם: שיחזור מערכות אקולוגיות טבעיות שהיו קיימות בעבר במתחם שבו נמצא כיום בית הספר, ונהרסו כתוצאה מתהליכי בנייה ופיתוח; בחצר אקולוגית משוקמת בעלי החיים מוזמנים לחצר ואינם נכלאים בה; האסתטיקה בחצר אקולוגית נובעת מהמגוון הביולוגי ומהעדר אחידות בצורה ובמבנה; שיקום החצר מתרכז בתהליך ולא בתוצר; שיקום החצר דורש מעורבות של כל צוות בית הספר, התלמידים והקהילה, החל משלבי התכנון וההקמה; הלמידה בחצר היא המשכית ומשלימה ללמידה בכיתה; השימוש בחצר צריך להיות משולב בכל מקצועות הלימוד. במאמר הנוכחי מפורטים שלבי התכנון של חצר אקולוגית, הצעות למגוון פעילויות לימודיות בחצר אקולוגית משוקמת, הפניה למקורות מידע והצעות להתקשרות עם בתי ספר בעולם הפועלים בתחום זה