Environmental Education in Costa Rica: Building a Framework for Sustainable Development?

Environmental education is commonly claimed to be at the centre of efforts to achieve sustainable development. Since the 1980s, Costa Rica has been one of the acknowledged leaders in efforts to promote environmental learning, and national policy includes a threefold national development strategy which simultaneously promotes education, conservation and ecotourism. As of yet, however, what is happening ‘on the ground’ has not been examined in much detail. This article addresses this gap in the literature by providing an overview of the diverse programmes and actors involved in environmental education in Costa Rica, as well as analysing the politics of its implementation

Environmental Education should go further

Outlines Scottish national policy guidelines on 'education for sustainable development' (environmental education for ages 5-14) and implications for primary schools. Describes a 2-year project in which a research team helped staff at an elementary school to articulate their own understanding of environmental education and develop whole-school strategies to implement the guidelines

Incorporating Environmental Health into Pediatric Medical and Nursing Education

Pediatric medical and nursing education currently lacks the environmental health content necessary to appropriately prepare pediatric health care professionals to prevent, recognize, manage, and treat environmental-exposure–related disease. Leading health institutions have recognized the need for improvements in health professionals’ environmental health education. Parents are seeking answers about the impact of environmental toxicants on their children. Given the biologic, psychological, and social differences between children and adults, there is a need for environmental health education specific to children. The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation, in partnership with the Children’s Environmental Health Network, created two working groups, one with expertise in medical education and one with expertise in nursing education. The working groups reviewed the transition from undergraduate student to professional to assess where in those processes pediatric environmental health could be emphasized. The medical education working group recommended increasing education about children’s environmental health in the medical school curricula, in residency training, and in continuing medical education. The group also recommended the expansion of fellowship training in children’s environmental health. Similarly, the nursing working group recommended increasing children’s environmental health content at the undergraduate, graduate, and continuing nursing education levels. Working groups also identified the key medical and nursing organizations that would be important in leveraging these changes. A concerted effort to prioritize pediatric environmental health by governmental organizations and foundations is essential in providing the resources and expertise to set policy and provide the tools for teaching pediatric environmental health to health care providers

A partnership model of education at Cuyahoga Valley National Park

How an park conservancy leveraged partnerships to build a very successful environmental education program in an urban national park

Environmental Education in the Public Sphere: Comparing Practice with Psychosocial Determinants of Behavior and Societal Change

Environmental education of the general public is widely practiced by a variety of types of organizations. Dedicated environmental groups, nature centers, zoos, parks, and other entities work on issues ranging from local threats to air, water, and habitat to global problems such as climate change and deforestation. A great deal of those efforts focus largely on providing information and raising awareness. Behavioral research and change models, however, suggest other factors are important in order to effect change on an individual, regional, or societal level. An analysis of environmental education in practice, examining methods and materials in use, showed the degree to which there were alignments between the content and psychosocial determinants of change, as well as how actions related to change theories. This mixed-methods study of groups doing environmental education in the public sphere compared their practices with the factors shown to help predict pro-environmental behavior, why people change their actions and habits. Through this survey research and multiple case study, increased knowledge and understanding can help inform future efforts at change on critical local, national, and world environmental problems. It can also lead to further research into environmental education, using behavior and change theories

After the Smoke Clears: Examining Curricular Approaches to Environmental Education in Bhopal, India

This article examines approaches to environmental education in Bhopal, India. It is an attempt to understand how much environmental education as a topic has been incorporated into formal curricula. An analysis of state and national syllabi indicates a focus on conventional, natural sciences approaches to the environment, thus neglecting the social science aspects of education for sustainable development across all grade levels. Environmental disasters are given a very general treatment with no contextual link to incidents like the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984. Social dimensions like environmental citizenship are also minimally mentioned. Finally, the article highlights the large gap between national educational policy frameworks and the actual incorporation of environmental education in state and national textbooks

Pendidikan Lingkungan dan Taman Nasional: Strategi Konservasi Dunia dan Kegiatan Interpretasi Alam

This paper deals with environnlental education aspects of National Parks in ternts of the World Consen~ationS tmtegy (W CS), values, and nahlralist interpretive activities.National Parks can provide the "nanrre" or natural environnlent base for environmental education. Vahies need to be enlphasized when dealing with environmental education in National Park The three inlpol-rant objectives/vahres of the WCS sho~lldb e applied to National Park and associated environntental edrlcationefforts. In addition, some ecological principles can be applied to environmental education activities. "Thinking ecologically" is a vital part of environntental education. As part of environntental education, naturalist interpretive actitities arepresented with challenges to interpret how living resources (particcilar!~ through the WCS), can contribute to public rinderstanding and support for consemation maesuresoutside National Park. Sonre suggestions for nzeeting the challenges are discussed. The paper is also presented sonle of National Parh values

National plan for comprehensive education with environmental emphasis

The need for a new educational paradigm, with emphasis on human values and the environment, is recognized by the vast majority of experts at global and national level (Delors, 1996, Wandemberg, 2015). A paradigm that restricts a paradigm that potencialice innate abilities and acquired in every human being without discrimination to develop a balanced and in harmony with its surroundings, all dimensions of the human being through continuous training of his intellect and humanity in personal and professional (Wandemberg, 2015).Integral Education, with environmental emphasis, ensures that the human faculties such as intuitive, cognitive, emotional and motor develop permanently and harmony during their continuous interaction with their environment (Ibid).The education provided in this century must go beyond humanism to make the student fully develop their potential benefit themselves and society by improving the quality of life and environment (Ibid) more and more

Environmental Education in Guangzhou in the People's Republic of China: global theme, politically determined

This article is concerned with environmental education in southern China and with factors that have determined the nature of environmental curricula in secondary schools. Data are based on interviews with key players within the field of environmental education in the city of Guangzhou. Six interdependent themes became apparent in the primarily utilitarian conception of environmental education, namely, environmental education as (1) a response to environmental degradation and practical needs of society; (2) a knowledge-focused area of scientific learning in the national interest; (3) a field of study with Chinese characteristics; (4) a political tool and an element in national propaganda; (5) an administratively led and centrally controlled innovation; and (6) a field of study in conflict with mainstream education. These themes are conceptualised within a tripartite framework emphasising the political factor, the socio-economic factor and the environmental factor.postprin