CHAPTER 6: ANALYSIS OF DATA FOR RESEARCH QUESTION 2 104
6.2. PSGTs attitude to teaching and learning EE: Teaching EE is important 104
PSTGs adopted a positive attitude towards teaching of EE. This was based on their valuing EE for its potential to enhance learners’ knowledge and skills concerning the environment and knowledge of sustainability and conservation.
6.2.1. EE Gives learners knowledge of the environment, SD, EE and ESD
Pre-service geography teachers valued and stressed the importance of EE by revealing how it gives learners knowledge of the environment and sustainable development, as illustrated in the questionnaire excerpts below.
Teaching EE can help students to gain knowledge of how to interact symbiotically with the environment which cause no harm to the surroundings, they will learn to conserve, protect and use resources wisely so the next generation can also have resources (Q, P3)
Initially learner will learn about ecosystems, the interdependence of biotic and abiotic factor, impact of man’s activities on these factors and this knowledge will help them and their community to protect, preserve and conserve the environment, resources and live sustainably. (Q, P8)
If you do not apply what is learnt in EE we will have nothing, we will have famine, disease, no water, we will destroy the environment and ourselves ,it will be the end, we MUST conserve our resources (Q, P9)
The excerpts from the focus group interviews support the above views.
Including EE in geography lessons is an advantage, pupils would know how to protect the environment, use resources sustainably and wisely find ways of conserving the environment (FGI- 3-P5)
EE provides knowledge on how human beings can coexist with nature e.g living with plants and animals without disturbing the ecosystem, respecting and caring for all forms of life for harmony (FGI-4-P1)
It is important to teach EE because pupils are able to keep the land clean and do reforestation (FGI- 1-P2)
Participants believed that teaching of EE is important because learners are given knowledge on a variety of topics in the environment and SD (will learn about ecosystems, the interdependence of biotic and abiotic factor, impact of man’s activities on these factors). Gaining adequate knowledge on the environment and sustainable development helps people to sustainably manage the environment (use resources sustainably and wisely) by implementing better ways of interacting with nature (respecting and caring for all forms of life). The knowledge gained via these topics arouses awareness (they will learn to conserve, protect and use resources wisely), serves as reminders that bad environmental habits damage the environment (we will have nothing), impact the availability of resources (use resources sustainably and wisely) and threaten our existence (it will be the end). The notion that humans share the Earth with other organisms is explicit in the excerpts above (can coexist with nature), therefore there is a greater urgency (we must conserve our resources) to create conditions that allow other forms of life to grow and thrive (for harmony). This
envisaged action on conservation referred to in the preceding sentence can be achieved through acquiring knowledge that restrains humans from acts of pollution, deforestation, climate change inducing activities, overfishing and causing forest fires, among the many human activities that negatively damage the environment. In a way, PSGTs believe that learning EE ensures learners are empowered with knowledge needed to make decisions that are critical to ensuring the world has the natural resources on which our economy and quality of life depend. As future citizens, learners gain knowledge on the environment and SD in order to address environmental issues, as well as adopt practices that shape the course of future environmental policies. The above finding is consistent with those of Roczen (2013) and Frick, Kaiser and Wilson, (2004) who argue that knowledge on the environment and SD is essential to encourage people to avoid harmful behaviours and activities that endanger resources and other organisms.
6.2.2. EE gives learner’s skills to deal with environmental challenges
EE builds the knowledge and skills needed to address complex environmental issues as well as to take action to keep our natural world healthy, our economies productive, and communities vibrant, as is visible in the teachers’ opinions shown in the excerpts below:
Field based learning on EE allows for observation, investigations, critique, problem solving of existing challenges in one context, to resolve environmental issues, learning about EE gives skills needed to address environmental issues like pollution, soil erosion, deforestation. Learners get to work in group to address issues and work together…(Q, P5)
Exposure to nature activities in social studies allows learners to learn about care and conservation of resources it allows them to reflect on man’s actions towards the environment (Q, P17)
The above expects are supported by data from the focus group interviews.
EE imparts skills to learners on how to deal with contextual issues they encounter daily:
overgrazing, deforestation, pollution, soil erosion It help in creating awareness, problem solving , taking action and reflecting on it (FGI-3-P2)
It equips learners to problem solve day-to-day environmental issues in their communities (FGI-1- P1)
Environmental education provides important opportunities for learners to become engaged in real world issues that transcend the classroom. It affords learners the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge to identify, observe and solve complex environmental issues confronting our planet.
Geography is the description of the Earth. Therefore, all geography topics are related to the physical Earth (Holt-Jensen, 2018; Craglia, Goodchild, Annoni, Câmara, Gould, Kuhn, Mark, Masser, Maguire, Liang,&
Parsons, 2008). As explained in Chapter 3, the interdisciplinary nature of geography includes topics such as biogeography, geomorphology, landforms like mountains: hydrology, water sources and catchment management; thus environmental management, and human impact on the environment are common geography themes. Studying such topics can impart skills in learners, which they can use to deal with problems such as overgrazing, pollution or soil erosion. These skills enable learners to solve day-to-day environmental challenges (Gakuo, 2016). Overall, learners become better informed about the interconnected relationships of actions such as deforestation and erosion, or marine pollution and health of fish (Karatas & Karataş 2016). All these sustainable activities will ensure future generations have continued access to resources in the same way that present generations enjoy them. Such knowledge allows learners and communities to continuously plan measures to mitigate environmental challenges (Shiwaku & Shaw, 2008). Ability to mitigate in this way comes from environmental knowledge, which should be holistic in nature (Gakuo, 2016).The above findings resonates with the views of Palmer (2002), who observed that studying the environment involves education ‘about’, ‘through’ and ‘for’ the environment. Most themes that are covered in geography should be studied in this way to produce an environmentally informed person.
For example when mountains exist in the environment, teaching geomorphology should not rely merely on a model (Butler, 2013; Brown & O’Hara, 2003; Crang, 2013). Geography as subject must involve fieldwork so as to allow learners to observe phenomena first hand and reflect on their observations, as in the application of experiential learning theory (Colin, 2010). As the philosopher Benjamin Franklin said in the mid 18th century: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I will learn”.
Figure 20 Holistic Approach in teaching EE (Source: Palmer, 2002)