Environmental education

Environmental education

• 1.
  NEED OF INCOPERATING ENVIRONMENTALEDUCATION AT VARIOUS LEVELS: PRIMARY, SECONDARY AND TERTIARY Presented by Sheeba Nelson
• 2.
  Environmental Education (EE)is a process that allows individuals to explore environmental issues, engage in problem solving and take action to improve the environment. Aims and objectives of EE 1) To increase public awareness about environmental issues. 2) Explore possible solutions. 3) Participation of individual in the protection of environment. 4) Prudent and rational use of national resources .
• 3.
  Environmental education canbe thought of as comprising three link components: a) Education about environment (knowledge). b) Education for the environment (values, attitudes and positive action). c) Education through the environment ( resource). Environmental education has an ability to solve the societal needs, the need of a community problem and the solutions. We need the school children to share and develop the motivation from school about various environmental issues, which are the challengers of today and prepare them for the future.
• 4.
  EE must becomea vehicle for engaging young minds in the excitement of first hand observation of the nature and understanding the patterns and processes in the natural and social worlds in order to take care of the habitat and its surroundings which becomes a major part of EE in both primary and upper primary stages of school education. In the secondary and senior secondary stages also some of the major issues such as environmental protection, management and conservation are to be dealt in more detail.
• 5.
  Primary Stage EE isimparted as EVS, which forms a common component of syllabus, prescribed by the state and CBSE. The contents and concepts covered in these books are as follows:-  Familiarization with one’s own body.  Awareness about immediate surroundings.  Need for food, water, air, shelter, clothing and recreation.  Importence of trees and plants.  Knowledge about source of energy.  Protection of environment etc. The text books lay emphasis on raising awareness levels and sensitizing children about environmental concerns.
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  Upper Primary Stage Thecontents of text books present and extension and elaboration of the concepts introduced at the primary stage. The major concepts dealt with in these text books are;  Natural resources.  Water cycle.  Food chain.  Classification of plants.  Ecosystems.  Basic knowledge about earth and its atmosphere.  Impact of deforestation.
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  Secondary Stage In thisstage the environmental concepts are at concrete and abstract levels. The concepts covered are;  Biosphere.  Greenhouse effect.  Ozone layer depletion.  Nuclear energy.  Bio energy.  Radiation hazards.  Environmental laws and action etc.
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  Higher Secondary Stage Thisis the stage of diversification. Students opt for either the academic stream or the vocational stream. The treatment of concept becomes deeper and more discipline oriented. Majority of the concepts are found in the text books of biology, chemistry and geography, which are optional subjects. Students opting for any one of these subjects would accordingly benefit in different aspects of EE. The converge of EE concepts in the text books of various subjects includes:  Atmosphere pollution- Global warming.  Green house effect.  Acid rain.  Ecology.