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in Secondary Education |
Common ground for all three countries participating the Hermes programme is the lock of a subject on Environmental Education with a special analytical programme and the provision for its integration to the weekly analytical programme as an autonomous subject. The only way out from this pressing demand of our times for the respect of the delicate and often disturbed natural balance is given through Science: physics, chemistry, biology.
The interdisciplinary of the environmental issues makes the integration of a “hidden” analytical programme of Environmental Education possible, in the weekly programmes of these (lessons) subjects. The dependence of Environmental studies on other - although relevant - subjects as well as the inevitable fragmentation, are obvious disadvantages which do not allow the possibility of an autonomous and complete action. The formulation of the aims and targets related to the environment at the margin of the analytical programme of Science does not guarantee the sufficient engagement with the environmental issues.
On the other hand the projection of environmental issues seen through other sciences portrays their importance and the factors which influence them.
According to Robinson there are three basic criteria for the selection of the content of an analytical programme:
- The importance of the subject in science network and its contribution for further learning.
- The contribution of the object in the understanding of the world, that is, how much it helps the subject to find its orientation in a specific civilization and to interpret the phenomena of this civilization.
- The role and usage of the subject in private and public life. This criterion refers to the future of the student, to his/her further student life as well as to his/her professional career and even to the shape society will have in future (at least according the predictions).
The importance of the environmental education is intimately linked to the above criteria since it is obvious that the object of the environment fulfills the above preconditions for creation of an autonomous analytical programme.
Gathering the aims and the individual targets of the analytical programmes of science of the three countries (which are analytically described below) as well as the general methodology of the integration of environmental education in the weekly programme of relevant lessons one could mention:
from the aims of the Austrian analytical programme in Biology
….. the familiarization with the regulations related
to the protection of the environment
from the educational approach of foreign languages (!) in
Germany.
….. which are the opinions of young people from another
country and the protection of nature?
and sociology
….. Technological development and social chances (there
are recent examples from the sections : protection of the environment,
transport planning, new technology and power)
from the targets of the Greek analytical programme of geography
….. students should realize the problems of mankind in our
times are common for everyone and that the solutions will occure only
through the cooperation and mutual support of all countries.
A summative evaluation of the analytical programme of sciences and all the other involved into environmental education would be very interesting in order to cooporeciate to what extent the aims are achieved (taking into account its fragmentation.) If the results of the summative evaluation portray the inability to achieve the aims and targets of environmental education, then a diagnostic evaluation of the formation of an analytical programme of environmental education has to follow which will set the needs the programme can satisfy.
Alternatively speaking the reinforcement of the interdisciplinary of environmental education and of the systematic organization and diffusion of its aims and targets can be selected through subjects such as science, geography, sociology, foreign languages etc.
| Austria | Germany | Greece |
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