Environmental Education In Schools: An Alternative Framework

Abstract

A piece of action research is described which involved an alternative approach to environmental education with students of 11 to 18 years. The focus of the work was outside the timetabled curriculum using the school buildings and grounds as a model for environmentally responsible management and behaviour. Emphasis was on adopting criteria which were thought to lead to long-term attitudinal and behavioural change and also those which cast the researcher in a different role and gave a greater sense of "ownership" and control to the participants. The findings suggest that this approach has a good deal to offer in a context where it is becoming increasingly difficult to influence the timetabled curriculum yet where teachers and students feel that the environment is of great importance.