The Failure of Environment Education (and how we can fix it) : Some Random Snippets
This post shares random snippets
from a fascinating book I recently read.
The Failure of
Environmental Education (And how we can fix it)
Charles Saylan and
Daniel T Blumstein
University of California Press
ISBN 978 – 0 – 520 – 26539 - 4
Before the snippets : some thoughts on the book I bumped into online ~
“A historical perspective is
essential to informed decision making, particularly when assessing the state of
natural resources, and environmental education must take the lead in providing
it”
“The lifeblood of community is
communication. It is the social glue that holds people together. If communication
falters, differences become more difficult to resolve because common ground is
harder to find. News travels faster around the planet, but it is worth noting
that dissemination of information is not the same as communication. There are
inherent limitations to communication when people are physically isolated from
one another and when the very means of discourse are both abbreviated and instantaneous”
“A flexible and open-minded approach
to curricula is an important component of redesigning education, but we
strongly believe that even the best possible curricula will not translate to
action unless it includes a strong and relevant social component. Students must
experience active involvement in a community where theoretical knowledge is
practically applied and actions and reactions have personal significance and
value to the individual and community alike. This is perhaps one of the most
challenging aspects of environmental education, and there are no easy road maps
to success”
“Money is often selectively
available for things like curricula development without regard for its
implementation ~ There is often little beyond financial accountability built
into the process of funding environmental programs. In program evaluation, much
is focused on assessing the development of pro-environmental attitudes, rather
than on assessing any subsequent behavioural change. Grantors may not really
want to know if a program has been less than successful ~ Programs often
continue not because of measurable success but because they have momentum or
precedent ~ Significant resources are squandered on programs that have little
practical importance or impact”
“There are two complementary
types of educational evaluation:
formative and summative. Formative evaluation much like adaptive management,
is evaluation designed to help improve the study or improve the efficacy of an
intervention. Its main goal is to improve work in progress. Summative
evaluation is typically retrospective and concerned with assessing achievements
~ One important thing about formative evaluation is that, when it is done well,
it involves stakeholders in the process ~ Another attribute of formative
evaluation is that it may involve a variety of evaluation tools ~ Ultimately it
is essential to know what works and what doesn’t. This is a role of summative
evaluation, and this is one thing we think is inadequately done in educational
evaluation”
“For environmental education to
succeed in positively affecting behaviour, our educational systems must be
creative, responsive, and open to honest and unbiased self-critique. Educators
must embrace a new culture of evaluation and measure what works by flexibly
combining evaluative tools. And they must abandon or modify the tools,
programs, and traditions that do not produce results”
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