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THE CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF CONCEPTS, THEMES AND MODELS FOR THE INCORPORATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION (EE) FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN THE NAMIBIAN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION
The focus of this chapter is on the common understanding of concepts, themes and models for the incorporation of EE for sustainability with reference to the Namibian Colleges of Education. The chapter will begin by stating and defining the key concepts that form the basis of this study. These key concepts include incorporation,environmental education for sustainability and the Namibian Colleges of Education. Following this is an explanation of the factors that justify incorporation of EE in the Namibian Colleges of Education, the clarification of the concept cross-curricular teaching as a model for the incorporation of EE in the Namibian Colleges of Education and the discussion about the incorporation of EE goals in the Namibian Colleges of Education. This information will be obtained from the theoretical views and data of the supporting literature.
DEFINITION OF KEY CONCEPTS
The concept ‘Incorporation’
The review of literature shows a lack of definitions of the concept of incorporation,per se, but the following pronouncements capture the meaning of the concept.Ruskey & Wilke (1994:93) maintain that ‘there are three methods that have been most used to incorporate EE into the curricula: Insertion, infusion and integration’. According to these authors ‘Insertion’ means to place a “special unit of a course as a special unit or into the school curriculum. ‘Infusion’ is the process in which “EE is built into teaching of just about everything”. The authors concluded that the “terms‘infusion’ and ‘integration’ are used interchangeably or to re-enforce one another” (Ruskey & Wilke, 1994:93-94) The concept ‘incorporation’ is used in this study to capture the notion of infusing or integrating the content of Environmental Education (EE) in the curriculum through the lens and perspectives of different learning areas. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1995: 603) states that to “incorporate is to include or make something part of the larger whole”. Incorporation in this sense is seen as a process in which the major dimensions of EE are taught through the perspective of natural sciences and social sciences. This approach to teaching ensures that “no subject stands alone in the curriculum” (Muyanda-Mutebi, 2000: 5). The conception that could be drawn from this definition is that teacher educators should teach their subjects in relation to other educators in the educational programme. In this study, the concept of ‘incorporation’ is defined as a process of teaching or including the concepts, skills, actions, attitudes and values for EE through the perspectives of all learning areas in the Namibian Colleges of Education. Mathematics and Integrated Natural Sciences, Languages and Social Sciences, Prevocational Studies and Agriculture, Lower Primary Education and Education Theory and Practice are some of the learning areas that could be used in the teaching of EE in the Namibian Colleges of Education.
The concept ‘EE for sustainability’
In this study, the focus is on ‘EE for sustainability’. The concept shows the inclusion of concepts environment, education and sustainability. Although the meaning of these concepts will be defined as a unit at the end of this section, the three concepts are firstly defined separately in order to unfold the contexts from which the main concept of environmental education for sustainability is drawn.
The concept ‘environment’
Many authors perceive and analyse the concept ‘environment’ from a specific point of view (Lebeloane, 1998: 32). For example, The Encyclopedia of Conservation and Environmentalism (1995: 217) defines the word ‘environment’ as “the area that surrounds or circumscribes human or non-human beings”. This definition describes environment as the physical place where living and non-living organisms including human beings live. The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (1995: 387) defines the concept ‘environment’ as the ‘natural conditions, such as land, air and water in which people and animals live’. This definition relates the environment to natural resources such as land, air and water. The word ‘environment’ has been used to refer not only to natural conditions such as land, air and water but also to people (Cock in Cock & Coch, 1991: 2) and the economic impacts on that environment (Pearce in Pearce, 1994: 12). This means that the concept ‘environment’ has been broadened to include “social, political and biophysical realities” that act on the natural conditions (O’Donoghue, 1995: 16). In this study, the concept environment is used to refer to the total surroundings with the associated social, political economic and biophysical factors that act upon it.
SUMMARY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
DECLARATION
CHAPTER ONE ORIENTATION
1.1. INTRODUCTION
1.2. BACKGROUND
1.2.1 The global environmental crisis
1.2.2 Environmental degradation in Africa
1.2.3 Environmental problems in Namibia
1.3. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1.4. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.5. HYPOTHESIS
1.6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
1.8 DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
1.9 PROGRAMME OF THE STUDY
CHAPTER TWO THE CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF CONCEPTS, THEMES AND MODELS FOR THE INCORPORATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION (EE) FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN THE NAMIBIAN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2. DEFINITION OF KEY CONCEPTS
2.2.1 The concept ‘Incorporation’
2.2.2 The concept ‘EE for sustainability’
2.2.2.1 The concept ‘environment
2.2.2.2 The concept ‘education’
2.2.2.3 The concept ‘sustainability’
2.2.2.4 Environmental Education (EE) for Sustainability: A synthesis
2.2.3 The concept ‘Namibian Colleges of Education’
2.3 FACTORS THAT JUSTIFY THE INCORPORATION OF EE FOR SUSTAINABILITY AS A CROSS-CURRICULAR THEME IN THE NAMIBIAN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION
2.3.1 Historical factors
2.3.2. The nature of EE
2.3.3 Lack of qualified and skilled teachers in EE
2.4 CLARIFICATION OF THE CONCEPT ‘CROSS-CURRICULAR TEACHING’ AS A MODEL FOR THE INCORPORATION OF EE FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN THE NAMIBIAN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION
2.5 THE INCORPORATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL (EE) GOALS FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN THE NAMIBIAN COLLLEGES OF EDUCATION
2.5.1 Goal 1: Ecological foundation
2.5.2 Goal 2: Conceptual awareness, issues and values
2.5.3 Goal 3: Investigation and evaluation
2.5.4 Goal 4: Environmental action skills, training and application
2.6 SUMMARY
CHAPTER THREE THEORECTICAL PERSPECTIVES FOR THE INCORPORATION OF EE FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN THE NAMIBIAN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 THE ROOTS OF EE: AN OVERVIEW
3.3. PERSPECTIVES ON HISTORICAL LANDMARKS FOR THE INCORPORATION OF EE
3.3.1 The Stockholm Conference
3.3.2 The Belgrade Charter
3.3.3 The Tbilisi Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education (EE)
3.3.4 The World Conservation Strategy
3.3.5 The United Nations Report on the World Commission for Environment and Development
3.3.6 The United Nations World Conference on Environment and Development
3.3.7 The United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development
3.4 PERSPECTIVES ON THEORIES OF MODERN ENVIRONMENTALISM FOR THE INCORPORATION OF EE FOR SUSTAINABILITY
3.4.1 Deep ecology
3.4.2 Ecocentrism and Technocentrism
3.4.3 Theories of sustainability
3.5. PERSPECTIVES ON POLICIES AND KEY DOCUMENTS THAT GUIDE THE INCOPORATION OF EE FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN NAMIBIA
3.5.1 The Constitution of the Republic of Namibia
3.5.2 The National Policy on Education for All
3.5.3 The Pilot Curriculum Guide for Formal Basic Education in Namibia
3.5.4 Draft Environmental Education Policy for Namibia
3.5.5 The National Policy on Adult Learning
3.5.6 The Green Plan
3.5.7 The National Assessment Report for the World Summit on Sustainable Development
3.6 SUMMARY
CHAPTER FOUR RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 THE CONCEPT ‘EMPIRICAL RESEARCH’
4.3 RESEARCH DESIGN
4.3.1 Quantitative research design
4.3.2 Qualitative research design
4.4 DIRECT AND INDIRECT DATA COLLECTION
4.5 POPULATION OF THE STUDY
4.6 DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS
4.6.1 The teacher educators
4.6.2 The Librarians
4.7 SAMPLING STRATEGY
4.8 VALIDITY OF DATA
4.8.1 Internal validity of data
4.8.2 External validity of data
4.9 RELIABILITY OF DATA
4.10 ANALYSIS OF DATA
4.10.1 Close ended questions and open ended questions
4.10.2 Chi- square test
4.11 CLASSICAL AND GROUNDED THEORY
4.12 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
4.13 SUMMARY
CHAPTER FIVE PRESENTATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
5.3 THE INCORPORATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION (EE) CURRICULUM GOALS IN THE NAMIBIAN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION
5.4 TEACHER EDUCATORS’ UNDERSTANDING, AWARENESS AND INTERPRETATION OF CROSS-CURRICULAR TEACHING AS A MODEL FOR INCORPORATING EE FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN THE NAMIBIAN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION
5.5 REASONS FOR NOT INCORPORATING EE AS A CROSSCURRICULAR THEME IN THE NAMIBIAN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION
5.6 TEACHER EDUCATORS’ FINAL COMMENTS REGARDING THE INCORPORATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION (EE) FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN THE NAMIBIAN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION
5.7 SUMMARY
CHAPTER SIX SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INCORPORATING EE IN THE NAMIBIAN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
6.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
6.4 CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE STUDY
6.5 HOW THE PROBLEM OF THE STUDY WAS ADDRESSED
6.6 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
6.7 SUMMARY
