Environmental Education in Serbian Primary Schools: Challenges and Changes in Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Teacher Training

The protection of human health and the preservation of the environment are topics that form anintegral part of the primary school curriculum in Serbia. However, research studies have shown thatstudents do not have enough knowledge to contribute to the development of a healthy lifestyle andenvironmental awareness. The latest changes in school policy and curricula confirm that the relevanceof environmental education has been recognized, but changes in school practice are yet to come. Thisarticle discusses the challenges encountered in the implementation of the intended curriculum andoffers suggestions for changes to the curriculum, pedagogy, and teacher training in order to enhanceenvironmental educationThis is the peer-reviewd version of the artivle: Stanišić, Jelena, и Slavica Maksić. 2014. „Environmental Education in Serbian Primary Schools: Challenges and Changes in Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Teacher Training“. Journal of Environmental Education 45(2):118–31. doi: 10.1080/00958964.2013.829019.Related to published version: [ http://ipir.ipisr.org.rs/handle/123456789/240

Vars, Gordon F., Another Look at Tomorrow\u27s High School, Part Two: Lessons from the Eight-Year Study for High School Methods, Guidance Assessment, and the Change Process, Voices from the Field (Journal of the National High School Association), 2(Spring/Summer, 2000), 4-11.

Presents lessons 6-10 (1-5 appear in previous issue of the journal, 2, Fall, 1999) of the Eight-Year Study for the high school curriculum

Vars, Gordon F., Another Look at Tomorrow\u27s High School, Part One: Implication s for High School Curriculum from the Eight-Year Study, Voices from the Field (Journal of the National High School Association), 2(Fall, 1999), 27-34.*

Presents five lessons of the Eight-Year Study for the high school curriculum; five more lessons appear in part two of the article appearing in the next issue of the journal, 2, Spring/Summer, 2000

Vars, Gordon F., Common Learnings: A 50-Year Quest, Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 16(Fall, 2000), 70-89.*

Traces the scholarly history of common learnings and the core or integrated design for organizing curriculum content; includes summaries of Vars\u27 work related to these topics

A curriculum for the middle school years

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Vars, Gordon F., and William T. Lowe, Societal Forces Influencing Curriculum Decisions, Review of Educational Research, 33(June, 1963), 254-267.

Examines research on social realities and social problems that relate to selection of curricular subject matter and learning experiences

Relevant, challenging, integrative and exploratory curriculum design: perspectives from theory and practice for middle schooling in Australia

Integrative curriculum design, or student-centred curriculum integration, promises much for middle grades teachers wishing to develop classroom programmes that will encourage early adolescents to actively engage in their learning (Beane 1990, 1997). Integrative designs are highly responsive to the educational and developmental needs of young people. In contrast, student-centred multidisciplinary curriculum designs (Jacobs 1989) may result in significant but largely unrecognised drawbacks when they are applied to the middle grades. This paper critically examines the integrative and the multidisciplinary models of curriculum integration with respect to the educational and developmental needs of students in the middle grades. It draws its data from a doctoral study that traced a century of development of curriculum integration in the USA: from John Dewey's Laboratory School a century ago through to contemporary middle schools

Lipka, Richard P., John H. Lounsbury, Conrad F. Toepfer, Jr., Gordon F. Vars, Samuel P. Allessi, Jr., and Craig Kridel, The Eight-Year Study Revisited: Lessons from the Past for the Present. Columbus, OH: National Middle School Association, 1998.

Provides excerpts from and commentary on the 5-volume Report of the Eight-Year Study published in 1942; draws lessons for today\u27s schools with special attention to implications for middle school education