CONTENTS
Kaoru Yokosuka
Opening Address Miyagi University of Education………………………………………………………………

Masayuki Inoue
Message from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan

1………………

3

Nobutaka Watanabe
Opening Remarks Miyagi Pref. Board of Education ………………………………………………………………

5

Yoshikichi Abe
Opening Remarks Sendai City Board of Education………………………………………………………………

6

Kazuyuki Mikami
Aims of the Symposium………………………………………………………………………………………………

8

Jack T. Moyer
Nature and Human Life……………………………………………………………………………………………

10

Paul H. Williams
Environmental Education : Accessible to All……………………………………………………………………

Vicki Keliher
Environmental Education in Australia : Towards Sustainable Schools
Alisara Chuchat
Environmental Education : A Case of Thailand

13………………………………………

17…………………………………………………………………

26

Heiko Crost
Environmental Education in Germany : Towards Sustainable Schools……………………………………

31

Toshihiko Higuchi
Support for Promotion of Environmental Education in Japanese School……………………………………

36

Chiemi Saito
Learning in Nature : Perspective from Behavioral Biology ………………………………………………………

39

Zongmin Wang
The Developmet of Environmental Education of Elementary School and Junior High Schools in Caina …

41

Randy Champeau and Jennie Lane
Environmental Education in Wisconsin : A Teacher Education Approach……………………………………

47………………………………………………………

56…………………………………………………………………………………

64

Ryokichi Hirono
Global Environmental Issues and the Education for Sustainable Development, Now and in the Future …

80

Ning Wang and Lianxi Sheng
The Research in the Environmental Consciousness and the Interacted Education of Teachers in the Middle School …

85

Namyong Chung
The Environmental Education Strategy for the Practical Arts Subject in S. Korea

89

Yoshihiro Ugawa
Environmental Education and Information Technology
Andrea Déri
Community, School, Environment

Masahisa Sato
Four Support Systems and the Ideas of Widen School………………………

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Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Opening Address
Miyagi University of Education
Kaoru Yokosuka*
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Good morning. Mr. Masayuki Inoue, the Deputy Director
General of the Science and Technology Academic Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology, and Mr. Nobutaka Watanabe, the Chair of the Board of Education of Miyagi
Prefecture and Mr. Yoshikichi Abe, the President of the Sendai City Board of Education and distinguishedpanelists and speakers and participants from all over the world and distinguished guests, ladies andgentlemen, thank you very much for joining us for the symposium despite your busy schedule in December
and end of the year. I would like to say some words of gratitude to all of you for joining us today. On behalfof the organizers, teaching staff, faculty, graduate school, students and undergraduate students and theinfants and children in the schools attached to our university, I welcome you all. In the area of environmental
education, this is actually the first experience to hold an international symposium organized by our university
with sponsorship from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. This symposium
certainly will mark the first page of a very significant opportunity to lead to a new way for environmental
education, and I really would like to say words of thanks to the ministry for selecting this symposium as one
sponsored by the ministry. This symposium has the theme of Support for School Environmental Education,
by exchanging the research findings and information of all the people engaged in the field of environmental
education. This symposium attempts to make some contribution to the enhancement of environmental
education in the future. Now, on a global base, environmental issues have attracted much of the attention andalso to the education of children in educational arena. This symposium, I believe, holds great significance.
The course of study in Japan has been revised. A new course of study was enacted in April this year, and the
new comprehensive learning class which dealt with crosscutting issues beyond the various disciplines has
started. Therefore, how we raise the awareness toward environmental problems in the minds of children andstudents and to enhance the improvement of environment and conservation of environment constitute very
important themes for all of us. Our university established the Environmental Education Center in 1997, tograpple with environmental issues and education. We exchanged a memorandum in March this year among
the universities and Miyagi Prefecture Board of Education and Sendai City Board of Education to enhance thequality of education and to improve the quality of teaching staff in environmental education. This symposium
is being held within the wide range of activities toward this end. I hope that we would like to turn our ears
to the voices from the fields of environmental education to emphasize the community approach. The various
communities grappling with environmental education thereby facilitate participation in the global activities.
I hope the symposium will not only activate environmental education efforts in Japan but in the world andwith a major contribution made by the Environmental Education Center of the university, we would like tofurther accumulate the findings of our research on today’s symposium to expand the field of research in the* President of Miyagi University of Education, JAPAN－1－

Opening address

future. Taking this opportunity, I would like to solicit the support and guidance of every individual withyour understanding and cooperation so that our wish and aspiration could be realized in the future. Thus, inholding today’s symposium, we are indebted to the efforts of many people, to mention a few, the faculty of thecenter, the teaching staff of the university, and also people from outside the university, and as you are fully
aware the students of our university have been making great efforts in holding this symposium. The teaching
staff, students, and people of the university’s affiliated schools were involved in the process of teachingmaterial development. Taking this opportunity, I would like to say a word of appreciation to all of you. Let
us repeat again, how appreciative we feel for your cooperation, and I really hope that the symposium starting
today will be a productive one to all of you. Thank you very much.

－2－

Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Message from the Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology, Japan
Masayuki Inoue*Thank you very much for the introduction. Miyagi University of Education is organizing this meetingand Miyagi Education Board and Sendai City Education Board are also co-organizing this International
Symposium on Environment Education. I was given this opportunity to speak few words and would like tothank you all very much for inviting me as well. I would like to express my sincere congratulations to you on
this occasion. We have distinguished foreign participants as well this time. Let me take this opportunity to
say few words on this. Japan is trying to become a nation based upon science and technology, and we would
like to emphasize both education and science & technology. Especially, with regard to science & technology,
we are now promoting the second phase of the Science & Technology Basic Plan. Amid these plans, we havedifferent priority areas of science & technology to be promoted as “system innovation” is being promoted.
What are the priority areas? Life science is one of the areas; nanotechnology, material science as well as
information, but the environment, of course, is one of those priority areas that we emphasize. With regard tosystem innovation, for example, the science & technology budget has been doubled, but one of the initiatives
is to enhance the understanding of science & technology among the youth. We would like to make great
efforts. That’s one of the important pillars of our system reform. Japanese science & technology as well as
the academic level need to be improved and heightened, and we have different measures to achieve this goal,
and holding international symposia at university level is one of those important measures. This symposium
is part of a program to support school education for the sake of environmental education because theenvironment is a global issue and challenge, and this is an international symposium to deal with education
within the context of school education. I believe this is a unique symposium, and therefore we decided toassist in hosting this symposium. That is the backdrop for us assisting this program. I said that one of ourpriorities is the environment, and the environment is a major challenge globally. The World Summit on
Sustainable Development (WSSD) was held in Johannesburg just in August this year, and in 2005 the United
Nations will start the Decade of Environmental Education for Sustainable Development at the United Nations
level. Thus, there is a globally-heightened interest and expectation toward environmental education. As
President Yokosuka mentioned earlier, in Japan as well under the implementation of the new course of study
by the Japanese government, there are new hours dedicated for comprehensive studies. So, environmental
education is now being promoted, but I understand they are facing many challenges and difficulties and there
is still room for improvement and issues to be solved. Sendai City of Miyagi Prefecture is a local government
which is very actively engaged in initiatives related to the environment as a Prefecture and as a City. I
understand that the schools are actively promoting environmental education and different activities as well.
I hope that through this type of symposium, you could really have the opportunity to convey your messages* Senior Deputy Director-General,
Science and Technology Policy Bureau, Ministry of Education,Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), JAPAN－3－to Japan and the rest of the world. In other words, we can reconfirm environmental issues globally andhow we can use such information for school education. We Japanese people seem to be bit discouraged welost confidence. However in the last three years, we can say that four Japanese nationals became the Nobel
laureates. One of those people actually studied at Tohoku University here in Sendai. Mr. Tanaka is the newNobel Prize Laureate. It is a hundred years since the foundation of this Nobel Prize. In Stockholm, there is
the Nobel Museum for the prize, and if you visit this museum, you can see the “culture of creativity” that istheir slogan depicted there. Creativity is the challenge for the 21st century for Japan and for the century ofthis knowledge, but the keyword “creativity” was written there. There are different keywords. Let me quote
in English for example “meeting”, “communication”, “contact”, “networking”, “combination”, “diversity” and“slump”. It’s very interesting that the word “slump” is included and “chaos” is also included. That being
said, to enhance such creativity, this symposium today is held under the auspices of Miyagi University of
Education. I hope that you could serve as the center for networking and center of excellence for these people
who are enthusiastic about environmental education promotion. I hope this is not the end of it. I hope thiswill be the starting point to create the networking of that sort, and I hope that this will become a triggering
event for that. With these wishes expressed, I would like to conclude my opening speech. Thank you.

－4－Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Opening Remarks Miyagi Pref.
Board of Education
Nobutaka Watanabe*
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the Miyagi Prefectural Board of Education, I would
like to say a few words of greeting. I appreciate that this international symposium is being held here.
We thank Mr. Masayuki Inoue, the Director General of the Science and Technology Policy Bureau from
the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Science & Technology, and also distinguished guests andparticipants who have come all the way to Sendai despite their busy schedules. Since last March, the Miyagi
Prefectural Board of Education and the Miyagi University of Education have planned multiple projects
together, and this symposium is one of those projects. We think this marks a new page for our relationship inthe 21st century. As Mr. Inoue mentioned earlier, in April 2002, the new course of the study was implemented
at elementary and junior high schools. In providing such education, environmental issues cannot be
overlooked. There are various environmental issues on the global scale, and there are various proposals
regarding environmental issues, and there are many problems to be solved regarding environment education.
We think it’s very important for students to heighten their interests in environmental issues of waste and inenvironmental concepts based on global issues that are very close to themselves.
During this symposium, through the lecture presentations and discussion, I hope that a specific direction
for environmental education or environmental education support can be determined. I would like to conclude
my speech by expressing my respect to all of you here this attending this symposium, and also to those who
conducted research in education. I hope this symposium will be very fruitful for all the participants. Thankyou very much.

* Deputy Superintendent, Miyagi Pref. Board of Education, JAPAN－5－

Opening Remarks
Sendai City Board of Education
Yoshikichi Abe*Good morning. My name is Yoshikichi Abe, the Superintendent of the Sendai City Board of Education.
Today I would like to offer my respect and encouragement to everyone involved in this symposium. I am
anticipating a great success, and I am sincerely grateful to have the opportunity to be here today.
Well, how do you like Sendai? The residents of Sendai are proud of the beautiful zelkova trees that line
our streets, and dramatically follow the cycle of changing seasons. We are comforted by the vivid, bright greenof the new growth in the spring. In the summer, the rich, vibrant green of the dense foliage fills the air withlife and vitality. As fall approaches, we marvel at the intensifying display of orange, yellow, and red, as theleaves meet with the cold winter air. The majestic Mount Zao, and other mountains tower over the west of
the city, while to the east, the vast Pacific Ocean extends to the distant horizon. We are blessed with delicious
water and bountiful harvests from the natural environment around us. I enjoy fishing, and from personal
experience, I can tell you where to go to catch various types of flatfish that make a perfect side dish for ricewine.
I am proud to call Miyagi Prefecture and Sendai City my home, and I hope to preserve this area’s
beautiful natural treasures for all future generations.
For this reason, we must work to raise environmental awareness on the local and international level. On
the local level, the city of Sendai has been certified with ISO 14001, and beginning with mayor of the city,
we are all working towards protection and conservation of natural resources. The board of education also
is working for this cause, and during summer vacation, about ninety thousand people have the opportunity
to learn about environmental issues through “Eco-schools.” Tomorrow we will hold the “Children’s PracticalEnvironmental Forum.” I hope that this event, along with other efforts will help to promote our students’environmental awareness. On the international level, I know that people from various countries recognizethat the natural environment transcends national boundaries. We share our wisdom and combine our efforts
to work towards environmental protection and conservation on a local and international level, and lovingly
care for the irreplaceable nature that benefits us all.
Starting today, the “International Environmental Education Symposium” will be held for three days
based around the theme of finding the light that will illuminate the path towards saving the natural world. I
wish to express my deep respect and gratitude to all of you who will participate in the search for this essential
light.
Also, tomorrow’s “Children’s Practical Environmental Forum” held by the Sendai City Board of Education
has been made possible through the cooperation and efforts of many people. I would like to thank all ofyou, and particularly, I would like to express my gratitude to Ms. Andrea Deri who will present the opening
lecture. Because of everyone’s efforts, the students of Sendai can gain a heightened environmental awareness* Superintendent, Sendai City Board of Education, JAPAN－6－

Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

and a broadened from of reference which will enable them to take practical steps towards environmental
preservation.
In conclusion, many thanks to all of you who have traveled great distances to join this symposium. As
you have heard, I am very proud of this city and its beautiful natural surroundings. I would be honored if allof you enjoy your stay here in Sendai. Thank you very much.

－7－

Aims of the symposium

Aims of the Symposium

Kazuyuki Mikami*
I would like to express my warmest welcome to all participants from overseas and Japan on behalf of
the Symposium Administration Committee. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to Mr. Masayuki
Inoue from MEXT (Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), Mr. deputy
superintendent, Nobutaka Watanabe from Miyagi Education Board and Mr. superintendent, Yoshikichi Abefrom Sendai City Board Education for their kind and stirring remarks.
This symposium entitled “Supports for School EE” is one of the subsidized projects of MEXT, being held
as an International Symposium in 2002 adopted by the Ministry. Now, I would like to explain about the aimsof the symposium and how it came about. The Environmental Education Center was founded in Miyagi
University of Education in 1997. The center aims to cultivate people of abilities to gaze with deep interest
and anxiety, to have a high sensitivity and a strong sense of responsibility about environmental problems; tobe aware of the importance of prevention against environmental pollution and the destruction of nature andto act for the environment. Especially, we are asked to contribute to the environmental education at school.
Five years have passed since the foundation of the center, so we wanted to evaluate our achievement andthen decided to hold an international symposium as a new step.
We believe that environmental education is based on a high sensitivity to nature and affection forhumans. In this symposium, we want to know about the good practices of school environmental education
in foreign countries in collaboration with educational institutions on environmental education, and want todiscuss about how environmental education should be at school.
Now in schools in Japan, environmental education is carried out in some subjects such as social studies
and science or in the class of “integrated learning”.
“The integrated learning” started recently, but has already some problems. To the persons who wonder if
environmental education might be a kind of fashion, it is no more a main subject of the integrated learning.
Global education however has become the main, because parents expect that their children learn English as
an activity of global education in school. But people should notice that environmental education and global
education are one. Environmental education was based on a variety of wisdom and on real information.
I wonder if it is sometimes difficult for schoolteachers to acquire the variety of wisdom and the real
information. If there is a system to support activities of school EE, it must be helpful for schoolteachers.
Then, they can get a lot of information anytime they need. To build up the system, we have to discuss thecontents of a supporting system; how the system should be and what institutions such as universities can dofor them. For such reasons, we planned this symposium.
Now, I would like to explain about the contents of this symposium. After this opening session, Dr. Jack
T. Moyer will give us a special lecture on the ability of nature on environmental education. Then, Dr. Paul
H. Williams will also give us a special lecture on how the results of environmental science are reflected in* Chair of the Symposium Administration Committee, Director of Environmental Education Center, JAPAN－8－

Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

environmental education at school.
The first session of the symposium was entitled by “Challenges from Supporters’ Viewpoint”. In
the session which will be held this afternoon and tomorrow morning, some case studies on practicing
environmental education will be reported on from Australia, Thailand, Germany, China, USA and Japan.
On the second day, the meeting place will be shifted from here to Izumity 21. In the session entitled“Expectations and Requests from Schools”, some remarks or comments will expressed by Miyagi Prefecture
Board of Education, Sendai City Board of Education and Kesen-numa City Board of Education.
In the afternoon of the second day, Sendai city will organize “Children’s Forum for Environment” that is
co-organized by Miyagi University of Education. At the beginning of the Forum, Ms. Andrea Deri will give usa special lecture entitled “School, Community, Environment”. She sent questionnaires to all elementary andhigh schools by internet and obtained quite interesting results, I heard. We will have a good opportunity to
notice some characteristics of children.
After the special lecture, children will present their environmental activities at each school. All attendants
may have a chance to know about the present activities of children for the environment in Japan.
On the last day of the symposium, the meeting place will come back to this International Center. We will
have talks on “For the Future of EE”. This year, the World Summit on Sustainable Development was held
in Johannesburg. According to the paper, NASA published a simulation of the melting of polar ice. In sucha way, it is the important time now for environmental education. At this symposium, we would like to ask
you to discuss what universities and research institutes can do to support school EE. Based on the results
obtained, we want to expand the scope of our activities and contribute to school education.
Nowadays, we are living in the midst of intricate information networks. Some information is useful but
most others are unnecessary or incorrect. In the crowdedness of hasty urban life, we sometimes have an
illusion as if we are in a honeycomb. To think about our environment, we have to get back a sense of wonderof nature, life and the whole environment around us. The difference of DNA sequences between a human anda chimpanzee is said to be only 3% or so. Nevertheless, their life styles are very different from each other.
I wonder if we lost something on the way in the development of civilization.
The attendants here from foreign countries might see yellowish-brown fruits, called “kaki” in Japanese,on the branches of persimmon trees. I heard that in the Sendai district, people leave some fruits on the top forbirds and give some on the low level to travelers, and eat the remaining of the middle level. Since old times,
we Japanese have had good customs to live with other people and also with other forms of life, though somecustoms are exceptional. We have to remember it.
We have to have a lot of discussion during the symposium but the time for it is limited. I would liketo ask you for substantial discussions. I am sure that this symposium will be very fruitful for exchanging
information and creating new ideas to support school EE. In addition, I hope this symposium will bring all
participants into a deeper understanding through good discussions for children, and into warm friendshipwith each other.
In closing, we thank Miyagi Education Board and Sendai City Education Board for their joint auspices,
and also Kesen-numa City Education Board, IGES, the Japanese Society of Environmental Education, theEcosystem Conservation Society Japan, FMM and UNU for their special cooperation. We also appreciate
the support of Miyagi Prefecture, Sendai City and all communications including newspapers and television
stations.

Thank you for your attention.

－9－

Special lecture

Nature and Human Life

Jack T. Moyer*
The rapid deterioration of our natural environment, coupled with the unfortunate worldwide swing
away from environmental problem solving (e.g.,the Kyoto Protocol, etc.) toward old-fashioned nationalism
and preparations for war, only makes it more obvious than ever that environmentally-focused educational
programs are badly needed. And, in fact, in Japan there has been a major increase in environmental
education in the schools, especially at the elementary school level. Sadly, though, most such programs aremainly classroom-centered, often taught by teachers with little or no actual first-hand knowledge of wild
nature.
Among the educational programs that actually take place in natural settings, many, if not most, focus oncollecting specimens and, if the program is ocean oriented, cooking and eating things taken from the naturalenvironment. Such old-fashioned approaches to nature education are out-of-touch with the realities ofdwindling biological diversity in the 21st Century.
Students learning in the classroom about the rapid pace of species extinctions develop no personal
identity with nature. It is too commonly imagined that people are somehow unique and different from nature.
Actual “low-impact” studies in the natural environment are badly needed. Because our planet is made up
of roughly 70% oceans, ocean education is especially urgent. However, the media-created image that theoceans are dangerous continues to hinder development of actual in-the-ocean education. Fortunately, this ischanging.
For 16 years I have been conducting in-the-ocean environmental schools for children from grades 5
through high school. Minimal environmental impact is stressed, no specimens are taken nor even touched, as
students make three important discoveries: (1) the oceans are fun, (2) the oceans are spectacularly interestingand (3) the oceans are of immense value. Of course, staff members are well-trained in rescue, and safety is
the top priority.

１２* Naturalist, The President of Miyakejima Ocean Family, Adviser to the Miyakejima Nature Center, JAPAN－10 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

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Photograph : offered by Ocean Family Club－12 －

Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. ,Vol. 5 No. 2, 2003

Environmental Education: Accessible to All

Paul H. Williams*
As articulated in the U.S. National Science Education Standards, there is a great need for teachers tounderstand the nature of science and to learn how to engage their students in authentic science activities bothin and out of the classroom. The Wisconsin Fast Plants and Bottle Biology programs, www.fastplants.org, areboth derivatives of my research and teaching at the University of Wisconsin which have come to be valued
and widely adopted in science and environmental educational curricula across the United States.
Fast Plants, Brassica rapa, are small rapidly growing plants that I have bred to have a 40-day
seed-to-seed cycle and are closely related to many Japanese and Asian brassica vegetable and oil seeds.
Fast Plants can be easily grown in classrooms using accessible lowcost materials. Fast Plants are ideal: 1)
for exploring all aspects of plant life cycles growth, development and reproduction; 2) for investigating how
plants respond to the environment; and 3) for understanding the relationships among variation, adaptation,
reproduction and inheritance. They are also widely used in research on genomics, plant physiology, ecology
and evolutionary biology. A recent addition to Fast Plants is instructional materials for investigating many
aspects of the life history of the cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, a natural pest of brassicas.
Bottle Biology is an educational technology in which recycled packaging containers such as plastic
bottles, food containers, film canisters, etc., are constructed as equipment for environmental and biological
explorations in the field, at home or in the classroom. Bottle Biology fosters self-reliance and student
ownership.
Accessible, low-cost Fast Plants and Bottle Biology materials centering on investigations of organisms
and their environments provide a strong basis for a growing understanding of the natural world by teachers,
students and their families.

* Lecturer in Center for Biology Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.A－13 －Opening address

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Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. ,Vol. 5 No. 2, 2003

Environmental Education in Australia:
Towards Sustainable Schools
Vicki Keliher*
Introduction
When the Australian Academy of Science convened the first national environmental education conference-Education and the Environmental Crisis − in 1970 (Evans and Boyden 1970), Australia became one of
the first countries to engage with the newly emerging form of environmental education. Despite the earlypromise, the impetus to introduce environmental education into the formal curriculum in Australia often
seems to stagnate. It is hoped that the release of the Environmental Education for a Sustainable Future:
National Action Plan (NAP) in July 2000 will underpin a resurgence of environmental education throughout
Australia, particularly in the formal education sector. With the support of the initiatives and strategies thatarise from the NAP, Sustainable Schools Projects in the formal sector in all states may now be able to provide
broad-based and effective environmental education.
Hence, this paper begins by providing a brief overview of the development of environmental education inAustralia so that the place of the National Action Plan (NAP) may be better understood. The second section
outlines the initiatives and strategies of the NAP. These strategies may provide both the impetus and a
viable framework to enhance the development of environmental education policy in all Australian States andTerritories. Support provided through the NAP should enhance the establishment of Sustainable schools
projects in most states. Sustainable Schools should be able to implement environmental education programs
that provide information, enhance understanding, challenge and review values, alter attitudes and promotechanges in behaviour that lead to a more sustainable lifestyle. While significant levels of non-government
support for sustainable schools projects exist in many states, only New South Wales has introduced an
Environmental Education Policy for Schools. Support documents for this policy offer some guidelines
for delivering environmental education programs through a school environmental management process.
Therefore, with the New South Wales curriculum support document (Implementing the Environmental
Education Policy in your school (2001)) as a guide this paper concludes with an overview of the strategies andkey elements fundamental to success of Sustainable schools.

Environmental Education in Australia − A Brief History
The field of environmental education, as we currently understand it, grew out of increasing awareness ofenvironmental degradation and the concerns being voiced by scientists and others in the 1960s. Of course,
environmental education has been with us, in one form or another, for much longer than the last thirty years.
Indeed those writers who look to the 1970s as the ‘beginning of environmental education’ may have overlooked
the indigenous perspectives in environmental education. The Aboriginal people who first settled this land

* Lecturer, Environmental Education Griffith University, Queensland, AUSTRALIA－17 －Opening address

40 000 years ago established a human ecology that was in harmony with the natural ecology. Australian
Aborigines have elaborate systems for codifying their knowledge of the land, its cycles, the need to respect it,
and the management practices that allowed them to use the land and its resources in a sustainable way.
However, the field now known as environmental education has its beginnings in studies such as nature
study, outdoor education and conservation education (Stapp 1974, Gough 1997). Australia was one of the first
countries to engage with environmental education when in April 1970 the first Australian national conference
on environmental education was convened under the auspices of the Australian Academy of Science (Evans
and Boyden 1970). Australian representatives were also present at the Belgrade workshops in 1975 (Fensham
1976). However, by the time of the Tbilisi conference (UNESCO 1978) two years later the impetus appeared
to have been lost (Fensham 1978).
From the mid-1970s, environmental education became an educational and political priority for thenational Curriculum Development Centre (CDC). With the support of CDC the Australian Associationof Environmental Education (AAEE) was founded in 1979 (Gough 2001). AAEE has provided support
for many initiatives in environmental education and assisted in keeping environmental education on
the political agenda in Australia over the last twenty years. However, since the abolition of the CDC in
1981, environmental education has not been afforded the priority nationally that it was given previously.
Environmental education has to compete, often unsuccessfully, with other adjectival educations (e.g. social
education, Aboriginal education, gender education) for space in the curriculum.
While the Tbilisi Declaration on the role, goals and objectives and characteristics of environmental
education remain as a guiding influence in Australia and internationally, several other major national
and international publications and conferences have been instrumental in guiding the development ofenvironmental education in Australia. In the early 1980s the National Conservation Strategy for Australia
noted the need to educate the community about sustainable development and conservation and to strengthen
and develop school environmental education programs (Gough 2001). In 1988 a National Curriculum wasdeveloped in cooperation with the states. As a partial response to Our Common Future (World Commission
on Environment and Development), the new curriculum targeted environmental education and encouraged
the development of environmental education policy in all states and territories. As a result of this Hobart
Declaration, most states developed environmental education policy documents. While these policy documents
provide useful support for environmental education in schools their implementation is not mandatory.
Although these policy documents received some support from teachers, this support was patchy, restricted toprimary schools and the secondary Geography and Science, and tended to focus on the natural and physicalenvironment (Smith 2001). In many cases these policy documents have not been reviewed for over ten years.
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio in 1992,
prepared a framework for international known as Agenda 21. Chapter 36 of Agenda 21 calls for the
integration of environmental education throughout all levels and sectors of society. Australia was slow to
respond in any coordinated way to this call (although some states produced new or revised environmental－18 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. ,Vol. 5 No. 2, 2003

education policy documents). The Thessaloniki Declaration (UNESCO 1997) sought to further clarify theconcept of environmental education or education for sustainable development. This Declaration presented
sustainability as an imperative to which education should devote itself. At the same time individuals andgroups within Australia began to focus more clearly on environmental education. It was at this time thatwork commenced in earnest on a review of the national needs for environmental education.
The Federal Government discussion paper, Today Shapes Tomorrow was released in 1999. This paper
noted that students should develop an understanding of and concern for the natural environment and develop
knowledge and skills that allow them to contribute to ecologically sustainable development. As a result of
responses to the discussion paper Environment Australia (a Federal Government Department) published
Environmental Education for a Sustainable Future: National Action Plan. It is hoped that the strategies
suggested by the National Action Plan will provide the impetus and a viable framework to enhance thedevelopment of environmental education policy in all Australian States and Territories. Support provided
through the NAP can also enhance the establishment of Sustainable Schools projects in most states.

The National Action Plan.
Information received in response to the 1999 discussion paper Today Shapes Tomorrow provided valuable
insight into environmental education requirements in Australia. Comments received from stakeholders wereused in the development of the document, Environmental Education for a Sustainable Future: A National
Action, Plan that was launched by the then Minister fro the Environment and Heritage, Senator Roberthill in July 2000. The NAP is designed to foster greater coordination and effectiveness in environmental
education across Australia. To achieve this the NAP recognises three key areas for action. The NAP aims toaddress the current needs in environmental education in Australia; enhance leadership for different sectors
in environmental education; and act as a starting point to enhance national efforts in ecologically sustainable
development.
The NAP aims to deliver a national environmental education strategy that can assist all Australians
in moving ‘beyond environmental awareness to informed action’ (Environment Australia 2002a). The NAP
begins by providing a broad definition of environmental education. That is environmental education should:. . . encompass raising awareness, acquiring new perspectives, values, knowledge andskills and informal processes leading to changed behaviour in support of an ecologicallysustainable environment. (NAP 2000, p. 3)
Furthermore, the NAP (2000) outlines several principles for the conduct of environmental education. It
suggests that environmental education should:
involve everyone;
be lifelong;be holistic and about connections;－19 －Opening address

be practical; andbe in harmony with social and economic goals and be accorded equal priority.
Through the community consultative process associated with Today Shapes Tomorrow a large numberof proposals for future action were received. From these proposals the NAP (2000 p. 5) identifies several
recurring themes and presents these as the key areas for action. These areas include:
Development of a national framework for environmental education;
Raising the profile of environmental education in Australia;
Better coordination of environmental education;
Greater access to quality materials;
More professional development for teachers in formal education;
More integration of environmental education principles into mainstream education;
Better resourcing of community organisations.
The intention of the NAP is to provide a framework for environmental education in Australia and toadvance the objectives of environmental education nationally. In order to address the action areas the
NAP (2002a pp. 5-10) then goes on to identify nine strategies that it is hoped will increase the profile ofenvironmental education, provide more resources for environmental education and encourage the integrationof environmental education into mainstream education. These nine strategies are:
1. National Action Plan
2. Establish National Environmental Education Council (NEEC)
3. Establish Australian Environmental Education Foundation
4. Communicate importance of environmental education
5. Update Australian environmental education web site
6. Establish a national environmental education network (NEEN)
7. Environment Australia environmental education working group
8. Environment Australia grants
9. National training program
Not all of these strategies have been fully implemented. The National Action Plan has been released
and adopted. The NEEC meets several times each year and has already initiated a number of activities
aimed at raising the profile of environmental education. Activities of NEEC have helped raise the profile ofenvironmental education and promoted better coordination of activities. NEEN was established in 2001 andis still developing its working arrangements. However, it has already been instrumental in providing funding
to support the Sustainable Schools project (Woods 2002).
The NAP is starting point in the move from emphasising awareness of environmental issues to developing
the knowledge, skills and values that are essential in promoting sustainability. While it is not meant to－20 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. ,Vol. 5 No. 2, 2003

replace the work done by state and territory departments and community groups involved in environmental
education, it does provide strategies and funding opportunities for advancing the importance of ecologicallysustainable development. In particular, the Federal Government has provided a funding package to enable apilot programme for Sustainable schools to be extended in Victoria and New South Wales. Sustainable schools
aim to develop a holistic environmental education program that can be used as a model for the development ofsimilar programs in other states.

Towards Sustainable Schools
Environmental education seeks to enable all students to contribute to the achievement of a sustainable
society. Environmental education encourages students to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes thatassist them in embracing sustainable lifestyles. Environmental education is not just another subject areavying for a place in an already overcrowded curriculum. Environmental education should be seen as a wayof teaching. The integration of the principles of environmental education and sustainability across the wholecurriculum is one way to promote the transition to a sustainable society.
‘The defining feature of the Sustainable schools program is the integration of existing and fragmented
approaches to environmental education into a holistic education program’ (Environment Australia 2002b).
The move towards a comprehensive and successful Sustainable schools program requires reform in threeareas:
1. Reform of Curriculum
2. Reform of School Management
3. Reform of Teacher Education
The first two of these areas combine to produce Sustainable schools and it is these areas that are clearlyaddressed in the Sustainable schools project. The area of reform to teacher education is being addressed
through professional development projects and in-service support. However, at this stage there appears
to be very little reform planned in the pre-service teaching area, although initiatives of the NEEC tertiary
education sub-committee may begin to address this issue.
Sustainable schools have the potential to realise the transition to a sustainable society. Although
Sustainable schools projects exist in several states, it is only in New South Wales that environmental
education is mandated. This means that from 2001 the environmental education curriculum statement
became policy with clearly enunciated minimum requirements. The curriculum support document,
Implementing the Environmental Education Policy in your School (NSW Department of Education andTraining 2001) clearly links environmental education objectives with the outcomes of syllabuses andemphasises integration of environmental education principles and objectives across the curriculum (Smith
2001). The Sustainable schools project in New South Wales as an example of what can be achieved inenvironmental education.
The New South Wales environmental education policy requires schools to develop a school environmental
management plan that focuses on three areas. These areas are:－21 －Opening address

Curriculum − a move from content to process, from single subject to cross curricular, from knowledge
about the environment to knowledge about issues of sustainability and from activities in the environment
to environmental action;
School Resources Management − realising that institutions teach us by what they do, being aware thatstudents need to live in a society that demonstrates a sustainable lifestyle, monitoring water, energy andwaste, and ensuring sustainable and democratic management practices; andSchool Grounds Management − ecologically sustainable management of the built and naturalenvironments.
Obviously, the development of a truly sustainable school does not happen overnight. The curriculum
support document in New South Wales recognises this and provides guidelines for a step-by-step process
towards becoming an ‘environmentally active school’. This framework provides a tool for evaluating andmonitoring the implementation of environmental education within a school. The expected final outcome ofthis process is a sustainable school that exhibits the characteristics outlined in Table 1 below.
The curriculum support documents also state (NSW Department of Education and Training 2001, p.19)
that the ‘most successful environmental management plans are those where the process of change’ is:participative: involving students, all staff, parents, local groups;
holistic: employing an integrated approach to environmental management of the site, the schoolcommunity and the curriculum; andsustainable: ongoing with a commitment to continuous improvement.
Table 1: Characteristics of a sustainable school (from Smith 2001, p.9)
Whole School
Planning

Curriculum

Resource
Management

School Grounds
Management

Whole schoolcommitment toenvironmental
management plan.
Logical and holistic
plan is evident.
Effective action plansin place and regularly
reviewed.
Objectives in all focus
areas are met.
Progress reported inschool’s annual report.

Effective
environmental
education is integrated
into all Key Learning
Areas.
Opportunities forenvironmental
education are
maximised.
Demonstrated
implementation ofprograms that address
all environmental
education curriculum
objectives.
Programs are basedon environmental
citizenship andpersonal action.

All resource
management
objectives are met.
Purchasing, resource
use and waste
management
integrated acrosswhole school.
“Best Practice”
employed.
Learning opportunities
incorporated.
Progress visible andreported.

Management is
consistent withprinciples of
ecologically sustainable
development.
Grounds developed toenhance environmental
education.
Progress reported.
School community
demonstrates
commitment to grounds.
A diverse learning
environment withpositive impacts on thelocal environment.

－22 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. ,Vol. 5 No. 2, 2003

There is a vast range of environmental projects that can be initiated through the sustainable schools
model. Successful programs can provide information, foster understanding challenge values, alter attitudes
and change behaviour towards a more sustainable lifestyle for all the community. The New South Walesmodel provides clear guidelines that underline the importance of involving the whole school community.
This model also encourages the incorporation of external programs and environmental organisations in theschool environmental education programs. However, one aspect of a holistic environmental program thatis only briefly addressed in the New South Wales model is the linkage of the school community to the wider
community.
Environmental education must be relevant for students so it is important to provide them with theopportunity to take action that links them to the real world. Students need to be able to see that they canmake a difference and that the ‘Think globally, Act locally’ adage has currency. Educators must be able toset up links to the wider community and other outside agencies in order to make environmental education
relevant and meaningful.
Coady (2001, p.1) suggests that there are fundamental strategies for developing a successful program thatmoves the school community towards becoming an exemplary sustainable school and forges links with thewider community. These strategies include:
Fostering shared vision and leadership with staff, students, parents and the community)
Appointment of focus people
Open communication structure
Utilisation of experts within and outside school community
Release time for people to manage projects
Preparation of proposals to resource projects
Engaging partners and maintaining partnerships
Several key elements that contribute to the ongoing success of environmental education programs in
Sustainable schools are also outlined by Coady (2001, p.1). First, a successful program needs to be inclusiveand collaborative with clear actions, time lines and responsibilities. An environmental education committeewith representatives form staff; students and parents can be effective in encouraging the adoption of newprocesses and practices (Coady 2001, NSW Department of Education and Training 2001).
Second, there is always a need for funding to support time release and resources for staff to develop andimplement programs. Schools must be able to identify funding opportunities outside the education system.
This is one area where the National Action Plan can be of assistance. ‘To date 111 schools have been funded
under the Natural heritage Trust and 2300 schools have been involved in the Trust-funded Waterwatch
program’ (Woods 2002, p. 6).
Third, there must be an ongoing monitoring process. Such a process can ensure that time lines are met－23 －Opening addressand can measure progress against the sustainable schools framework. Fourth, review and evaluation candetermine the effectiveness of the environmental education program. Review and evaluation can establish
the extent to which the environmental education program is raising awareness and understanding ofenvironmental issues, promoting the development of sustainable solutions among students and the communityand providing opportunities for action.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there must be celebration. Celebration is essential to maintainmotivation and counteract the paralysing effect that often results from concentrating on the complexity andmagnitude of environmental problems. It is important for the whole community to be aware that we are notfacing an ecological doomsday. Celebration of the positives can be empowering for all.

Conclusion
Since the first conference to highlight environmental education took place in 1970, environmental
education in Australia has moved forward. Despite the perception that the introduction of environmental
education into the formal curriculum has often seemed to stagnate, this review of the state of environmental
education in Australia shows that much has been achieved in the last thirty years. The release of theEnvironmental Education for a Sustainable Future: National Action Plan (NAP) in July 2000 has injected
new hope and prompted a resurgence of environmental education throughout Australia, particularly inthe formal education sector. With the support of the initiatives and strategies that arise from the NAP,
Sustainable schools pilot projects in the formal sector in Victoria and New South Wales are set to provide an
exemplary model for environmental education that can be introduced in all states. Sustainable schools will
implement environmental education programs that provide information, enhance understanding, challenge
and review values, alter attitudes and promote changes in behaviour that lead to a more sustainable lifestyle.
Sustainable schools can encourage students and the wider community to achieve a level of understanding,competence and citizenship that enables them to contribute to the achievement of a sustainable society. We
should all celebrate the successes and encourage an ongoing process that will result in all schools being
sustainable.

References
Coady, D. (2001) Strategies for developing an across curriculum approach to environmental education
in a secondary school: How environmental education can be made relevant to students
through links with outside agencies and community groups, Paper presented at AAEEThe Future is Here − a Conference for Environmental Education, Melbourne.
Environment Australia (1999) Today Shapes Tomorrow: Environmental Education for a Sustainable
Future − A Discussion Paper, Environment Australia, Canberra.
Environment Australia (2000) Environmental Education for a Sustainable Future: A National Action
Plan, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. On-line at〈http://www. ea. gov. au/educat
ion/publications/nap/pubs/nap. pdf〉
Environment Australia (2002a) Environmental Education for a sustainable future − A National Action
Plan http://www. ea. gov. au/education/nap/index. html (accessed 20/11/2002)－24 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. ,Vol. 5 No. 2, 2003

Environment Australia (2002b) National Environmental Education Network
http://www. ea. gov. au/education/nap/neen/projects. html (Accessed 20/11/2002)
Evans, J. and Boyden, S. (Eds.) (1970) Education and the Environmental Crisis, Curriculum Development
Centre, Canberra.
Fensham, P. J. (1976) A Report on the Belgrade Workshop on Environmental Education, curriculum
Development Centre, Canberra.
Fensham, P. J. (1978) Stockholm to Tbilisi - the evolution of environmental education, Prospects, Vol
VIII(4), pp. 446-455.
Gough, A. (1997). Founders of environmental education: narratives of the Australian environmental
education movement. Environmental Education Research, 3 (1), 43-57.
Gough, A. (2001) Environmental Education in Formal Education: Where Have We Come From and Where
Should We Be Going, Paper presented at AAEE The Future is Here − A Conference forEnvironmental Education, Melbourne.
NSW Department of Education and Training (2001) Implementing the Environmental Education Policyin Your School, NSW Department of Education and Training Professional support andCurriculum Directorate, Bankstown.
Smith, S. (2001) Developing an Environmental Education Policy for the Future: The Revised
Environmental Education Policy for NSW Schools, Paper presented at AAEE, The
Future is Here − a Conference for Environmental Education, Melbourne.
UNESCO-UNEP. (1978). The Tbilisi Declaration. Connect, III(1), 1-9.
UNESCO (1997). Educating for a Sustainable Future: A Transdisciplinary Vision for Concerted Action.
Paper presented at the International Conference on Environment and Society:
Education and Public Awareness for Sustainability, Thessaloniki.
http://unesdoc. unesco. org/ulis/
Woods, P. (2002) The Commonwealth Government’s Approach to Environmental Education, Paper
presented at the AAEE conference − Sustaining Environmental Education: Celebrating
Diversity, Griffith University, Nathan.

－25 －Opening address

Environmental Education: A Case of Thailand
Alisara Chuchat*Thailand is one of the front line countries that value Environmental Education in its education systemand school curriculum. Over 40 years, the school curriculum has been contained either the content or
knowledge concerning environment in various form and subjects, from the elementary up to secondary
education. If one divided the development and progress of environmental education, it could divide into 3
periods. The first period, from the early sixty to mid seventy, environmental education was established as one
subject called “nature study” and it was offered at the elementary education. This very name might familiar
with many countries. At this time, the status of environmental education hardly observed at the secondary
education. In 1975, Thailand had changed new education system and launched a new school curriculum from
grade 1-12. At the beginning of this change, environmental education was part of other subjects such as partof life experience subject at the elementary education and one unit on ecology as in science subject both at thelower and upper secondary education.
Until 1990’s after the world summit at Rio de Janeiro, the environmental education was named as a
subject and established in the school curriculum. However it was categorized in the field of social studies andwas offered at the lower secondary education or junior high school as an elective course. At other levels of
education, the environmental education was integrated in subject such as life experience in the elementary
education and partially touched upon environmental education such as ecology in the science subject at thesecondary education. In 1998, it was the first time that science education committee took an active role ineducating our children about environmental education by developing a new subject called “environmental
science” and assigned it as a compulsory course for every students to study at the upper secondary education.
Despised the named environmental science, the objectives and content was focused on educating our childrenof the next generation to understand sustainable development and care for our environment. At the verysame time, the King of Thailand has motivated and encouraged the Thai people to conduct their life on
sufficient economic which very much carries the environmental value in it. Thus, the Thai people as well as
Thai education and school curriculum accept His profound thought and put into practice as part of the main
theme of environmental education and sustainable development.
In the year 2001, the government of Thailand announced the education reform and launched the new
curriculum framework. At this time, there’s a policy for all school curriculum to integrate environmental
education in all subjects particularly science, social studies and health education.
One uniqueness of working on environmental education in school in Thailand is that environmental
education is not only concerned by the Ministry of Education, but there’re also other agencies and* Assistant Dean, Facalty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, THAILAND－26 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. ,Vol. 5 No. 2, 2003

organizations such as NGO’s and other government organizations. These organizations have beenworking closely and collaboratively among each other and with the schools in order to reach the success ofenvironmental education that is to inculcate our children to love and care for our environment. The case thatcan be observed, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment has produced supplementary readings,
teacher handbooks, audio visual, poster and printing materials for the use of teaching environmental
education. National Energy Policy Organization (NEPO) is another semi government authority has funded
one of mea-project for integrating environmental education in the school from elementary up to secondary
education. At this moment, environmental education could be observed in almost every school in Thailand.

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Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Environmental Education in Germany :Towards Sustainable Schools
Heiko Crost*
Biophysically, it is not the best time to have a lecture. In Southern Europe, you have the habit to makea “siesta”, but today that is not possible and so I will use the method of very famous Austrian − British
composer, perhaps you all know him, it is Haydn. He used in its symphonies when he had the feeling, that theaudience fells asleep a big drum. Unfortunately today there is not a symphony and I have no drum.
First of all, I have to thank very much to the Miyagi University of Education for the perfect organizationand even a person with a big jetlag feels comfortable and has therefore to thank Prof./Dr. Mikami, Kazu,
thank you very much!
Just a bit about my person: For what I get my money for today, it is to direct the “teacher in-service
training institute” in Frankfurt. We are making courses in environmental education, but I am also
responsible for courses in mathematics even in literature and so on. And only a small part of our courses
are in environmental education, but my passion, my brain and my heart is just till of my students days inenvironmental education. So I became engaged in the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Umwelterziehung” thatmeans “German association for environmental education” and I am working there in the executive board.
Europe is compared to the United States or Australia, divided in a lot of countries, very small countries
and so we have an umbrella organization for environmental education, and so I am talking today (even if myhome country is Germany) as representative of the “Foundation of Environmental Education” this umbrellaorganization in Europe.
We heard today several times the well known slogan think global, act local and so my lecture today
is about global aspects and how to organize it locally. Let it say so: we are working not only in Europe
meanwhile also in other countries of the world. I am talking about the every day practice in eco-schools. Thatis my main topic. I will give you the background of our international dimension, and how it works. This isvery similar in all partner countries FEE is an umbrella organization as I already explained. I will tell you
something about the NGO organization and his structures about his members and the four programs. This
foundation is running also other school-projects like “Young reporters”, “Learning about Forest” and thevery important program of “Eco-schools”. In the year eighty-one, four European countries decided to makeenvironmental education together, to run programs together. If someone in Germany puts all his rubbish
in the Rhine River the neighbour countries of France, Belgium or the Netherlands will have the result of apolluted river, so you have to make environmental education programs across the borders. Today we have

* Head of the Frankfurt Teachers in Service Training Institute, Hesssisches Landesinstitut fur Padagogik, GERMANY－31 －nearly no borders in Europe. You can travel from Finland to Sicily without any passport. So we are making
efforts to come closer not only in environmental education. For FEE as an umbrella organization with in the
moment 29 member countries it is very important that there is no governmental dependency. Governments
are changing at least every four years, perhaps even quicker. So we have the chance in FEE, that we canhave discussions and decisions without being connected to political parties. The central topic of FEE is theenvironment.
At my first power-point-page I tell you something about twenty-six countries engaged in our program of
eco-schools, but twenty-nine countries are members of our organization, but they don’t run all the programof eco-schools. They run other programs of FEE. In the last year, we gave up the third E from FEEE (itwas the E standing for Europe) because we went globally. South Africa, Marocco, Russia, Chile and the
Caribbean islands want to join us. Today we have as first full member, South Africa outside Europe and now
more countries are applying to for membership in this umbrella organization. The idea is, not coming from
Europe with a type of new imperialism and saying “Oh, we have a good idea. Join us and you have to do itin the way we are doing it.” No, that is wrong. We just want to network together and bring the fruitful ideasof all countries together. You have not to invent the wheel every time new again and again. So as I heard
the lecture from Vicki, I noticed a lot of ideas they are comparable to ours. Perhaps linking together with
Australia must be very good. Our organization is a very democratic organization. The FEE General Assemblyis held once a year and every member country sends one representative to this General Assembly. This year
we had the General Assembly in Istanbul, and next year it is in Germany. All delegates are voting for the
executive board. I am a member of the executive board and the treasurer. I can tell you this is not a very
good job to be treasurer in this time.
We have four programs running, “Eco-schools” is one. We have in every country a national program
director of eco-schools and one international coordinator. You can see it is a real border crossing organization.
The international secretariat is today adopted by the “Tidy Britain Group” it is sitting in the United Kingdom
near Manchester. The blue flag campaign, I tell you on another page something more about the blue flag, isfor marinas, and beaches with good bathing water qualities. The international coordination of “Eco-schools”
is sitting in Lisbon, “Blue flag” in Copenhagen, “Young reporters” in France and “Learning about Forest” is till
the end year sitting also in Copenhagen and then changing to Germany.
The “Blue flag” campaign, run by FEE, is also an environmental education program. I would say forcommunities, beach management and for tourists. So, we are giving them an eco-label and this is for beaches
and marinas they fulfill specific criteria. This campaign is every year at every beach with seminars for theusers of the beaches, for the community and also for the owners of sailing boats and motorboats. It is theenvironmental management of the coastal areas, what is important for us. We are measuring the water
quality, the facilities for handicapped and of course safety criteria are very important. The success you cansee here, we have an amount of beaches because the communities are very interested to get the “Blue flag”.
If they have the flag at the beach, tourists will pay attention and say “Oh, here it must be good. It must be
clean. I’m making my holidays at that beach.” So tourism is very interested in this award. Last year we got－32 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

an ecological price from a big European tourism company so we are happy to run this program.
Another project is for young people: “Young reporters”, it is for students at a higher level. It is a research
work in the internet, writing little articles in newspapers about environmental problems. Doing the researchwith internet and communicating it in the internet. It is for the secondary schools. Another programis “Learning about Forest” (Leaf). The countries we are working within the northern part of Europe, in
Scandinavia, have a lot of forests and the problems are very different from those in Spain. In Spain perhaps
students have to learn how to handle the fire problem in the woods, or having no water in the woods, so thisprogram is based on twenty-five years experience in Scandinavia “to learn in the forest with the forest” and tohave school lessons outdoors.
Now, to our most important program: “The Eco-schools program”. It is how we have also heard fromother lectures, it has to have an impact on the whole school and it is a certification program. Every school gets
after one year and only for one year this symbol. The school is allowed to have it on the letter heads and evengets a flag. We call it “Green flag”, this eco-school flag. About the necessity to involve the whole community
according to the local agenda twenty-one it is not only having lectures or lessons about environmental
education, no (!) you have to work together with the community with parents and other students. I told you
FEE is an international organization and you see most of the European countries are now members. It is
not exactly updated we have three countries more now in the middle of this picture we have South Africa
but I must confess I couldn’t manage it to bring an other flags in this presentation. Of course we are linking
and informing with a website here you find the address: www. fee-international.org! It is like all the otherprojects I mentioned. Blue flag, Young reporters, Leaf and so on. What is the use for being in FEE for thecountries, because the countries have to pay a certain sum for being organized in this umbrella organization?
They get back every third month an online newsletter, there are meetings at least twice a year of all national
coordinators in a host country in Europe (in future perhaps world wide) and we supply all the schools witha logos, resources, leaflet and papers for lessons. I like just to mention here the eco-schools “seven steps
process”. This is really indeed the cornerstone of the program. It is as I mentioned the approach for getting
involved. Every one has to take part on the community level. It is an action in the sense of a local agenda. In
nineteen hundred ninety-four the project was financed through the support from the European commission,from Brussels we got money today, the financial situation is not the best so we are running the program
without financial help of the European commission, but we are today supported from UNEP (United Nations
Environmental Program) with his head office in Nairobi. We have also sponsors they give us a bit of money to
run the program. On the national level or the local level, it is a bit easier to get money. A lot of countries getmoney from communities. On the scientific and pedagogical range we are working with universities together.
You see here on the right side of the picture, the name of the word eco-schools. That differs from language
to language. Sometimes it is called “gron flag” like in Sweden or in Denmark. The name differs but the idea
is in every country the same. The eco-schools history is, as you can see, a big success. We have of course
differences between participating schools and awarded schools. Here in these first years we had no symbol
for an award then we created this green flag and then we needed certain efforts to have the flag. Till today
in 2002, we have a lot of participating schools but give not every school which is participating the award. It－33 －is not enough to plan in a concrete school environment two or three roses in a school garden. That is notenough for our idea of environmental education as you all know. If you look of our internet page of eco-schools
you find all these flags, and if you click just the country perhaps you find the link of the national situation of
eco-schools behind that, how many schools took part in special events and special problems and so on. This
page is perhaps most important for the sense of our eco-schools program. I will just explain it very shortbecause of the time I will not explain it too long. The situation is the following in this idea:
1) You start with an environmental review. That can be in the school. It can be outside in the school in thecommunity, you go out with students and look at your nearest environment and then you list all damages
and the dirt and you make a review about the local environment.
2) Then you sit together in the so called “Eco-schools comity”: teacher, parents, students, and you discuss
together the problems you have seen.
3) You have reviewed, and then you decide to make an action plan for the solution of the whole situation.
4) Then when you have made an action plan you will go to working groups with students for solving the
problems. And if you can’t solve it, you work at this problem.
5) The next step is to make an evaluation of the working and the decisions what is the best way to solve theproblems.
6) Last but not least you have to inform the other students, they have not worked with you, you have to informall the parents, the community and all who are involved, and then as a result you make an eco-code foryour whole school about the behavior, about the action, and the result you want to have.
Here you see photos from practical examples: here is just an eco-school committee it is perhaps a bit too
big, but sometimes it is a whole class sometimes it is only a group of five or ten persons. If you have very
active students they want to take part all, because they feel important.
This is an example just for a review. You are going with your students just across your school and just ina corner or outside you find rubbish and you say “How can it be solved?” Perhaps this is easy, take it and bring
it away. But how can you bring the rubbish away where have you to put it, what is the reason that you havefound that dirty corner. The action plan as I told you is not only to clean the dirty corner. That is not enough.
To think it over what is perhaps the reason for it and how you could prevent it in the future.
You have found for instance a water tap in students toilet is dripping. What can we do and what is areason for saving water or going by bicycle to school.
Of course we have scientific research possibilities. As you have all said it is necessary to do research in－34 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

all the subjects. Here you can see a picture of a science lesson.
What is very important, to celebrate, if you have won this green flag you have to make a celebration
or a party because the whole school has to identify the aims of the “green-flag”. Look, it is a very different.
Sometimes it is only a small group getting that for the whole school. Sometimes it is a very big group, so don’t
forget celebrating.
One of the ideas of my lecture is to invite you all to work with us together. If you want to become amember of FEE don’t hesitate. It is very good and interesting to work together. It is just the possibility tobuild up an international network. You give your students the possibility to have another school as a partner,
fill out this application for linking. Ask other eco-schools what they are working in environmental affairs, andas a result you get an answer from another school, so you have the chance to work together with schools from
Iceland to Morocco from the Caribbean to South Africa on the same program. It is best education, and a workfor understanding each other not only in Europe but for different parts of the world.
Thank you.

－35 －

Support for Promotion of Environmental
Education in Japanese School
Toshihiko Higuchi*
Objective of this report
The objective of this report is to explore how to support the environmental education to Japanese formal
education. Since the books on environmental education guideline by the Japanese Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sport and Science were issued in 1991 and 1992, there had been any developments in school
environmental education of 1990’s, in comparison with that of 1980’s. However, we still have any issues for
success story of environmental education, although we got some good results in formal education. One of theissues is the support to environmental education in formal education.

Contents in this report
1） Why support to school should be promoted in environmental education?
Firstly, we discuss the reason why the support to school on environmental education should be promoted.
2） What ways of support for environmental education are necessary in formal education?
In this section, we explore the ways of support for promotion of environmental education.
3） Partnership on professional development or teacher training related environmental education amongorganizations.
Examining examples of teacher training workshops, we discuss the fruit and issue in professional
development and teacher training, and examine the support by NGO’s, environmental authorities anduniversities.
4） Interaction between school education and local environmental behavior.
Finally, I would like to show that the support to school in environmental education has the good effects for
local environmental behavior.
1） Why support to school should be promoted in environmental education?
The reasons why support by outside of school should be promoted in environmental education are as
follows.
* Environmental education is new theme in formal education.
* It has interdisciplinary feature.
* It has learning activities with real world related to local nature, culture and society.
* The change of the Course of Study from this year has the new period, “the Period of Integrated Study” thathas the educational object to bring up ability of problem resolution.
2） What ways of support for environmental education are necessary in formal education?

* Professor, Tokyo Gakugei University, JAPAN－36 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

* Educational support by the able organization and people of local society in practice of environmental
education.
* Support on development and information dissemination on leaning activities focusing on local environment.
* Establishment of resource system supporting educational exploration by students during inquiry process or
problem based leaning in the Period of Integrated Study.
* Support by local community when creating environmental friendly schoolyard and school building.
* Environmental learning center with professional interpreter, environmental information and educational
materials.
* Support on professional development through teacher training workshops.
* Emotional effect to school by making the Action Plan for Environment as Local Agenda 21 with civic
involvement.
* Support by promotion of national or international project for environment with common theme.
3） Partnership on professional development or teacher training related environmental education
As an example of support systems, an idea of partnership on professional development is discussed. When
the ways of support described in the above are examined for implementation of professional development, wehave to offer the system with good relationship among the educational board, environmental board, NGO,
teacher organizations as union and subject research association, and university.

Training workshop by
educational board

PD by university,
environmental
section and NGO

PD in ordinary teachingby
discussion
andinformation exchange
among teachers

Partnership on professional
development among organizations－37 －4） Interaction between school education and local environmental behavior
Finally, I would like to show that the support to school in environmental education has the good effects for
local environmental behavior. The effects are as follows.
* Use of school facility by community.
* Confidence on environmental action in people who participate to support the educational activities in school.

－38 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Learning in Nature: Perspective from
Behavioral Biology
Chiemi Saito*
Summary:Children can enjoy and get adapted to harsh environment much more easily than adults. Then, throughthe experience, they learn how to deal with nature, and then would in turn really understand the power of thenature. Thus, to develop the attachment to the nature in children’s mind, what we need to give children is notknowledge, but real experience in the nature.
This is the biggest goal of environmental education for school age children.
In this lecture, I would like to emphasize only a fact that “we are a part of the evolution system”.
Everybody is a part of a species named Homo sapiens, which is a mammalian species that evolved from moreprimitive living creatures taking billions of years. It is important to be conscious about it when we thinkof the development of children. Just imagine a man who has been grown up in a green house, under somemoderate temperature and humidity for 24 hours a day. Suppose that he has been fed the same food everyday,
which is very soft, tasty, and made of perfect nutrients he needs. Suppose that he has been spoiled as much
possible, having no objection from others in any case. This man won’t be able to survive in the real life: hemay not be able to handle with social problems, he may get flue very easily, may complain all the time about
the climate. If not, at least he will suffer pyorrhea. This example sounds extreme, but we have known many
examples in which children under extreme environment show abnormal behaviors or health problems when
they get grown up. Many diseases like bad teeth, diabetes, high blood pressure, fatness, lack of vitamin-C,
constipation, or other psychological problems are partly derived from the diet of developed countries, which
is very much different from the food to which the body of human being is adapted.

Even if we can enjoy

highly technological life without moving a finger, the fact that you are still an animal, that need particularenvironment for your survival and reproduction, will never change.
As Human being, we need clean air, variety of plant and animal food, sunshine, water, proper
temperature, other people who can cooperate with us, and so on. In other words, we need particularenvironment for our lives. But the environment in nature is never stable. To adapt to the dynamics of ourenvironment, e have abilities to be adaptable to different environmental factors, and that ability is acquiredby the complicate interaction of genetic elements and developmental process. We should not neglect thenecessity of proper development in proper environment for our healthy and sound lives.
Then, what is the proper environment we are supposed to be in? The only answer is “the life like people
before agriculture”, which is about ten thousands years ago. Remember that we human being evolved taking
more than four million years, but most of the time-until the beginning of the agriculture-our lives were rather* Associate Professor, Environmental Education Center, Miyagi University of Education, JAPAN－39 －stable. We were living in the nature, coordinating with the nature perfectly. Our body and brain had been
designed for the life in the nature, and we still have the same design.
We feel comfortable in the forest when it is very hot, or we feel safe when we are with family or friends.
This is the real environmental problem for children. In the developed countries, or even in developing
countries in many cases, children are deprived of many opportunities to learn from nature. It if not essential
at all to teach children how human being are stupid to pollute and overexploited natural resources. This issomething anybody can learn anytime of one’s life. What we need it not to stop the children to experience asmuch possible in the nature, so that children, who have the mechanism to learn and develop their skill mucheffective than adult people, can have their chances to be wiser than us.
I have not dicussed about sustainable development so far. If children can have sound body and brain,
does it have nothing to do with the sustainable development of the earth? Yes, it has. If we need sustainable
world, we must solve many problems, and also we know instinctively that we need deep respect and love fornature that we have lost.
People tend to feel uncomfortable when it is too hot or too cold, when there are insects surrounding them,when it is dark, or when the sunshine is too strong. People tend to feel comfortable when they do not needenergy to move to different places. People prefer soft and highly nutritional foods than fibrous food. The
preference is mostly made up through the developmental course. We have to admit that it is easier to spoil
children than to put them into the environment that is severe for grownups. But children can get adapted toharsh environment much more easily than adults. Then, through the experience, they learn how to deal withnature, and then would in turn really understand the power of the nature. Thus, to develop the attachment
to the nature in children's mind, what we need to give children is not knowledge, but real experience in thenature.
This is the biggest goal of environmental education for school age children.
We staffs of the Environmental Education Center, Miyagi University of Education, have launched the“friendship project” since 1996. In the project, we train university students in the natural field, and after
enough experience, we let them to lead children in wild. We do not plan detailed schedules, as we believe thatchildren should not have the idea that they have to do something there. We just release them in the nature
to help them learn by themselves. At the beginning, it is very hard to teach university students not to say“No!” or “Don’t do it!” to children, as they are the easiest way to control children’s behavior. The almost only
thing leader should do is to do something that can inspire children’s voluntary experience. When children
start make questions, leaders must be able to answer properly, but leaders should not force children to ask
questions. It may not sound like school education, but we believe that children need to feel more in natureand interact with each other in wild. They need to love the experience in nature much more, so that they will
think about nature and grow interest in natural systems.

－40 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

The Development of Environmental
Education of Elementary School andJunior High Schools in China
Zongmin Wang*
This year is the thirtieth anniversary between China and Japan in their normalization of diplomatic
relations. In the days of commemorating this important historical event, China and Japan’s specialists in
education got together and talked about the environmental matters of interest to both sides. This is of great
importance.
We all hope that the 21-century will be a new century that can keep peace in the world, protect theenvironment, and preserve men on a regular developed way. As China and Japan are very close neighbors,
who are just separated by only a narrow strait of water, in order to make this ideal come true, I think these
two nations must keep friendly relations.
From the point of view of environmental ecology and geography, as it were, China and Japan are an
environmental community that is difficult to separate. Therefore, it’s extremely important for people inthese two countries to use for reference and environmental education. Now we’re facing the crisis of water
resources, decrease of forest area, desertification of land, extinction of species, acid rain, greenhouse effect,ozone layer depletion, life garbage, air pollution etc. If we don’t pay close attention to environmental
education, don’t protect the environment and bring it under control, the earth will gradually lose the ability
to offer human being’s life. The point of environmental issue is education. Education is expected to be put
into operation from kindergarten, elementary school and junior school. Next, I’m going to do some brief
introduction about the problems of environmental education in China’s elementary school and junior school.

1. Environmental Education’s Rise in Elementary School and Junior High School
Since China carried out reforms and an open policy, in the course of economic construction anddevelopment of society, we’re always confronted with the problem of two relations. One is the relation between
environment and development. Choosing the way “Construction ~ Environment Destruction~ Administer
again”, or choose the way “At the Same Time”, which means doing the construction while protecting theenvironment and doing the development. Most people approve the way, which goes together with environmentand construction and also coordinates growth. The second is the relation between human beings and nature.
Choosing antagonism and destruction, or making a harmonious atmosphere? Instructive experiences tell us
when human beings make good relations with nature, both of them make a profit, and then they developed.
On the contrary, if human beings and nature just have antagonism and destruction between each other, there
is no doubt that they will be destroyed. Human beings and nature should cross a river in the same boat andhelp each other develop. Anyway, we have to receive this kind of education first of all when we try to establish
this kind of consciousness, to form this kind of ability.

* Former chairman, Tianjin Educational Scientific Research Institution, CHINA－41 －(1) Mentioned at “Basic National Policy”
The Chinese government in 1983 held a national environmental protection meeting. It was definitely
mentioned, “environmental protection is a basic national policy”. It also expounded that environmental
education plays an important role in the environmental protection cause. The National People’s Congress
held in 1989 adopted “Environmental Protection Law”, then went a step further to authorize the environment
protection’s position as a basic national policy. For the first time a national environmental education
meeting was held in 1992. The theme of this meeting was “Protect Environment on the basis of education”.
Environmental protection, in fact, the key to environmental protection is education. Environmental education
is a national policy while it is also a national condition.
(2) Stress Environmental Education from Moppet
According to the guidance of “Protect Environment on the Basis of Education”, at the meeting of national
environmental education that was held in 1992, we emphasized the need to strengthen environmental
education from four aspects. One of the important aspects is “Through environmental education inelementary school, junior high school and kindergarten, try to train and improve children and young
people’s consciousness of the environment.” There’s a necessity to stress environmental educational forchildren. Environmental education has been included in our nine-year’s compulsory education, and it has also
been brought into elementary and junior high school’s education program and teaching planning. A group of
middle school students wrote a letter to Premier Zhu Rongji in 1999. They mentioned that we have to stressenvironmental education for children, compile teaching material for environmental education, attachingimportance to forestation and so on. Premier Zhu Rongji made comments and said: “Junior high school 2year students concern themselves so much with environmental education, which made us elders ashamed.”
Some departments concerned were asked to adopt their suggestion. Our country’s basic education has beenreformed in the curriculum since 2000. On the standard of elementary school, junior high school and highschool’s curriculum and complacence of teaching material, they all lay emphasis on including the content ofenvironmental education.
Environmental education of elementary and junior high school has the widest cover, the strongest
prevention and it has greatly influenced one’s whole life. It has the special action that other environmental
protection measures can’t take the place of.

2. Enforcement of Environmental Education in Elementary School and Junior High School(1) Environmental Education’s Goal and Content in Elementary School and Junior High School
Now environmental education’s goal, the recognizance of content and operation are still at the stage ofexperimentation and exploration and we haven’t got the final conclusion. We listed the aspects below.
1. At first make students conscious of the environment and the value of the environment.
2. Master initial basic knowledge and technology of environmental science.
3. Train the correct environment emotion and moral behavior from the beginning.
4. Train student’s ability to participate and solve the problems.
5. Have the initial ability of estimation cope with the environment measure has been adopted.
Some schools make environmental education’s goal and content from the angle of psychology. Such as
knowledge, emotion, consciousness, behavior and so on.
－42 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

There are also some areas requiring “light green” training according to the elementary school’s
environmental education. Generally, middle schools carry out “middle green” training, emphasize the spreadof environmental consciousness, improvement and volunteer service. Some special schools keep the “deepgreen” as their aim, combine the knowledge of environmental protection, practice and responsibility, so it canreach the demonstration, radiation, movement, and demand of region in environmental protection.
By means of environmental education, students undergo a process which is non discipline 〜 other’s discipline 〜 self discipline 〜 self-consciousness. So their independence of will and originality have beendeveloped further.
(2). Environmental education’s Way and Method
When environmental education was organized at the beginning of the 1980s, the way and the method
were quite monotonous. The content of environmental protection has always been connected with homerooms.
As a result of twenty year’s practical exploration, environmental education emphasized synthetic study andsystematic education currently. It combined classroom instruction with extra-curricular activities; spread ofknowledge with the improvement of ability; rational recognize, emotional experience with practice; instructionin school with instruction out of school, total evaluation with different links and different stages of evaluation.
Bring in classroom instruction, research and investigation, extracurricular reading, actual practice,information exchanges, some activities have a main theme, regional activities, summary of experience, action
research, contests in school and so on. Environmental education can be conducted by means of such various
kinds of forms.
<1> Green Classroom- Bring Environmental Education into the Classroom
After long efforts, the construction which includes compulsory lessons, elective lessons, and activity
lessons “three green course” are being formed little by little. This construction that contains synthetic
education, will take effect in many different kinds of classes. It also guides students to do synthetic study.
Tinajin Shiyan NO.7 Middle School’s seventh grade takes “Water Resources” as the main content forenvironmental education. Teachers teach water’s physical properties in physics lessons; teach distributionof water resources in the world in geography lessons; teach the relations between water and life in biology
lessons; teach the method to investigate statistical data in math lessons. Teachers also teach students how towrite a report in Chinese lessons. Students and teachers jointly organize to investigate the situation of seas
and rivers. They went to Jixian Yuxiao reservoir and mountains to extract water in order to write research
reports. The eighth grade takes “Pollution Problem” as the main content and infiltrate it at all kinds ofteaching. Teachers guide students to take the synthetic study. For example, in history lessons, we know thatthe education at that penetrate with environmental protection laws. The Chinese traditional figure Xia Yu
used his own method to bring flooding disasters under control. The first environmental protection code in theworld called “Tian Lv” was finished in the Qin dynasty. And we also have “Tang Lv” since the Tang dynasty.
In the Song dynasty, planting trees in spring and protecting dams in summer was considered as common
sense. This kind of compulsory study is still being used at few schools as experimentation currently. For
example, set up the compulsory course like “Environmental Science Basis”. According to the statistics, almost
80% of middle schools in our country put environmental education in the school education and teaching
program. According to some imperfect statistics, there’re almost 50 kinds of editions which have been
compiled as teaching materials.
－43 －In addition, some outside reading is welcomed by middle school students. As newspapers we have “China
Environment Newspaper”, “Environmental Education”, “Earth Family”. As popular science books, we have
“General knowledge of Environmental Protection”, “Guide to Environmental Education”, “Shout to Green”
and so on. Especially, Jane van Lawick-Goodall’s “In the shadow of man” is really very popular. Some schools
and classes set up “Green books” as a special bookshelf. However, generally speaking, reading materials forenvironmental protection are still not enough and they can’t satisfy the reading demand of students.
<2> Activities with Green Themes
From both sides of basic knowledge, technology of environmental protection and modern environment
protection’s popular and important problems, we should select the theme of environmental education to guidestudents to a synthetic study center on one theme. The theme such as “Protect the earth’s lung-forest”, “Protect
biology’s diversification”, “Atmosphere and survival of human beings”, “The earth village is on the verge ofcrisis”, “Treasure the water of life”, “Green food and green consumption”, “Re-understanding China’s vastterritory and abundant resources”, “Environmental Protection and Development that can be continued” and soon. There are also some environmental protection activities, in which literary and artistic creations are held.
The song that names “the song of green team members” was also produced.
We have also developed some education activities according to the commemoration of the environment.
Such as “forestation Festival”, “The week of loving birds”, “World Environment Day”, “Ozone Day” etc...
In addition, lots of schools have a couple of green science and technology groups in order to protect theenvironment. They also have some mean themes. For instance, the working room of “Green Life”, researchgroup for environment protection chemistry”, the geography group concern themselves with world affairs andlove our country; the group for “survey of water quality”; the group for “noise testing”; the working station for
new sources of energy.
<3> Green Base Activities
Some schools and areas, which are in the lead of environmental education, have their own education base.
This kind of base activity has stabilization, systematism and substantial results of education.
Shanghai Caoyang NO.2 Middle School formed “room”, “field”, “river”, and “road” four green synthetic
synthetic study bases. “Room” is to build an environment protection laboratory about 100 square meters.
“Field” means a botanical garden in school; it contains lots of kinds of trees and more than 20,000 kinds offlowers. “river” is a river near the school. For more than 20 years students continue to investigate, extract,
analyze, write essays, take some measures of the pollution of river water’s quality, plants, soil and so on. “Road”
means the streets of the region that the school belongs to. As to the plants on the streets, car’s exhaust gas,
survival rate of vegetation, the influence of shops, they mentioned that different kinds of vegetation should beplanted because of the road’s different situation. They also participate in doing the activities to put the riverin order.
<4> Green Society Practice Activities
Society practice activities are important channels for carrying out environmental education. Its theessential space for students to close society and develop their personality. Through these kinds of activities,
students are endowed with the chance to contact the society and reality, to understand the environment, tosociety and reality, to understand the environment, to strengthen the consciousness of the environment andtheir ability of environmental protection will be increased also.
－44 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

First of all, the cooperation between school and region is important. To organize the environmental
community together, to give on the activities whose theme is “School, Family, Community-Our Green
Homeland in common.” Students take part in activities within their power like planting, protecting greenery,
beautifying the environment, administering pollution and so on. And also develop the activity that is related
to the contract “keep the green pledge and strive to be the green citizen. In the community, the students
delegates work as “Green Ambassador”, “Young Green Bodyguard”, “The sentry post for supervising theenvironment” to do some service. Some families also take part in these activities very positively. The help
each other and make some environmental under taking; the situation that school, family and community build
the environment net together has been formed. School, family and community’s activities have been realized.
It makes students who have the synthetic study prove the way to environmental education. It contains
realizing the mass of character, becoming a regular practice, knowing the system and scientific knowledge.
On the other hand, schools also organize many different kinds of social practice activities for students.
It’s useful for them to be close to nature, to be close to society, to study in the practice actively. It also helps
them to cultivate their character. After some activities such as summer camp of environmental protection,
doing some investigation by bicycle, students got lots of chances to understand nature. They wrote some
reports of their research and investigation. One student said with deep feeling, “If we fully recognized thenature, then we can understand ourselves much more.”<5> Green Science Research Activities
On the way of environmental education, guide students to made lots of kinds of science groups bythemselves and around some theme. Of course to imitate the science work person’s manner is very important.
In order to research the air’s quality, some group members went to different places to take snow on thesnowy day. Then they put them together to do the laboratory test, analyze them from both physical property
and chemical property. The final step is to compare them together, then complete the report.
In the activities of biology group, one student asked a question. There used to be a swallow living at his
house, but since he moved to a new clean house, he could never see the swallow there. He wanted to know
why. As everyone is interested in researching this problem, they made a theme that was “house’s outside
wall’s affect for swallow building nests”. Within 3 months they went to 359 houses to do the investigation,
research 97 swallows’ nests, read many data. At last, they got the result. Whether swallows can make a nest
or not is not related to whether the house is new or old, but depends on whether the wall is rough or not. It is
successful for students to learn some synthetic study through it.
Many science groups make lots of kinds of activities. For example, “the research of Tianjin wild animals”,“the investigation of main road’s vegetation pollution”, “danger of noise and exhaust gas”, “measure theamount of bacteria of disposable chopsticks”, “investigation of used battery’s environmental pollution”,“research of the effect on creatures from cigarette smoke” and so on. More than ten middle schools in Tianjin
have a good relationship with the Japan Community Education association, they cooperate to have theactivities of “nature classroom”.
By means of doing investigation, research, and practical activities like a young science work person,
students became to lead these things by themselves. Their logical minds will be improved through this kindof synthetic study. Their ability was trained scientifically and the synthetic ability was improved a lot.
<6> Green Management－45 －Environmental education needs the relevant organization in order to keep education under control andalways be held effective. With the support of the Chinese government, according to the lines of national
environmental education’s action, the activities of having an education appraise through comparison about“Green School” is held in many places in China. These activities have been held for 5 years, even now
there are 105 schools which have been evaluated as “Green School”. More than 5000 schools were given
commendations by prefectures and cities. This year we also had the national green school environmental
education meeting. More than1000 green schools and 10 thousand teachers took part in this meeting. It took
5 months to finish it and the commendation ceremony was held in Beijing. These activities play an importantrole in the development of environmental education.
With the support of government, environmental protection associations and young people anenvironmental science fans association was set up. Schools set up lots of kinds of groups, graduate
courses and the environmental education and then the education net is formed. Some schools developed
environmental education very well. They established seven “one”. They are one plan, one system, one base,
one teaching material, one series of activity, one team (teachers and students), one group of typical case”
A lot of cities set up environmental education web sites and many schools have their own environmental
education homepages. It strengthens the exchange of environmental education information not only in China
but also in other countries. It also promotes the development of environmental education little by little.

3. The Problem that Elementary School and Junior High School Environmental Education are
faced withEnvironmental education in elementary school and junior high school in our country started a little late.
The level of development in total is not so high. Especially, consciousness to protecting the environment islight; the environmental education in all places hasn’t been developed on all sides. Some students have very
heavy pressure of study, so it affects them to take part in the activities; the number of trained teachers ofenvironmental education is still very small. We still lack funds for environmental education.
The Chinese government is paying more attention to protect the environment. We made fifteen plans
for Chinese environment protection. We hope that with the support of the government, we can strengthen
the system building of environmental education; strengthen the teaching material building of environmental
education; strengthen the training of the teachers of environmental education; improve the fund ofenvironmental education, then the environmental education will be developed much more.
We hope our new generations will be the generations who have much more strong environmental
consciousness and can make some new contribution to the world’s environmental protection.

－46 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Environmental Education in Wisconsin:
A Teacher Education Approach
Randy Champeau* and Jennie Lane**Jennie Lane

Introduction
Thank you for the opportunity to visit your beautiful country. You are such a great nation. I am very
excited about visiting with your people and learning about environmental education in your country. There isso much in Japan to see and learn about.
In the United States (U.S.), I work in the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education located at
UWSP in the College of Natural Resources is one of the oldest university natural resources programs in
the U.S.A. It is over 100 years old. Presently, 2000 students have major areas of study in ecology, wildlife,
forestry, soils, water resources, land use planning, and environmental education.
Dr. Randy Champeau, the director of the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education, was invited toattend this symposium, but prior obligations restricted him from attending. He approached me and asked me
to present in his stead. I was very honored to be selected as Dr. Champeau’s substitute. I have been with the
WCEE since it began in 1990, I have a Master’s degree in Environmental Education, and I direct a program
within the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education, called KEEP or the Wisconsin K-12 Energy
Education Program.
In this paper, I will provide an overview of the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education andhow, through our teacher education approach, we see to improve and increase the environmental literacyof Wisconsin citizens. The Wisconsin program is considered to be one of the more advanced statewide
environmental education programs in the U.S.A.

I. History or Rationale for Establishing Environmental Education
The history or evolution of environmental education in Wisconsin is similar to other states and the
U.S.A. as a nation. In the 1600-1900s, most education or activity related to the environment was directed
at developing, harvesting, or extracting natural resources from the environment for human use. Natural
resources were viewed as abundant and even endless in supply. Our agriculture practices did not consider
how soil fertility could be depleted. We harvested wildlife and fish with no concern for the ability of these
species to reproduce. We dumped waste into the air, on to the lands, and into our lakes rivers, and streams* Director of the Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education, U.S.A** Associate Dean of the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, & Director of the Wisconsin Center for
Environmental Education, U.S.A－47 －without knowing these wastes would degrade the environment, kill other species, and ultimately, have anegative impact on human health and the quality of life.
In the late 1800’s and on to today, we began to see the impact of past approaches to resource use. Speciesof wildlife and fish were disappearing. Air and water resources were identified as polluted or unfit for humans
or other species. One major crisis, which swept across the U.S. in the 1930s, was the massive erosion of our
fertile soils by wind and water as a result of poor agricultural practices. Farmers were losing soil - the natural
resources that provided them with the basic needs to sustain their lives. This period of massive erosion is now
identified in our history books as the Dust Bowl Era. In addition to depleting our soils, we had over harvested
many of our forests. People were depleting the wealth of the land.
The general public was less aware of the large picture related to our declining natural resource base, butthere were scientists, politicians, and business people who had the foresight to understand that this abuse of
our natural environment could not continue because it would lead to a decline or even collapse of our economic
system. They understood that natural resources or the environment is the basis of any country’s economic
prosperity and it contributes directly to the physical and spiritual health of a nation.
A noted early U.S. philosopher was John Muir (late 1800s), who taught that the environment waspart of our spiritual well being. He ultimately founded the Sierra Club, which is very influential citizen
environmental organization in the U.S. Theodore Roosevelt, one of our early presidents (1901-1909) iscredited with establishing a national policy of “Environmental Conservation” meaning we must use ourresources “wisely” or conserve them so that present and future generations will have them to support their
quality of life.
Another influential scientist/philosopher/teacher in the mid 1900s was Aldo Leopold, a former professor
at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He proposed and taught a concept called the “Land Ethic,” whichstressed the fact that people are part of the environment and not separate from it. The following is a famous
quote from Leopold.
The question is, does the educated citizen know he is only a cog in an ecological mechanism?
That if he will work with that mechanism his mental wealth and his material wealth can
expand indefinitely? But that if he refuses to work with it, it will ultimately grind him todust? If education does not teach us these things, then what is education for? (p. 210)
The teachings and policy positions of these historical leaders and others like them ultimately led tothe acceptance by the public of the environment as an important part of public policy. In the 1970s, theU.S. experienced the passage, by our government, of many environmental laws and educational programs
aimed at protecting the environment. The passage of this environmental legislation is now recognized in our
history books as a major social movement. Today the debate does not question the need for protecting theenvironment, but rather to what degree do we protect it. Sustainability has become the goal of environmental－48 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

protection today in the U.S.A. That is, developing social systems that function while minimizing negative
impact on the environment and protecting it for the long term. By sustaining quality of the naturalenvironment, we will contribute to the long-term sustainability of our economy.

II. Development of EE in Wisconsin
Environmental education (EE) in Wisconsin’s schools clearly was established as a response to the growing
awareness of environmental problems. It grew out of and ultimately includes three earlier education efforts
or movements. The first approach in the schools to EE was nature study (1500-present). This focused on
studying the natural history of plants and animals out of interest appreciation and to determine utility forhuman use. The next contributor to EE is “Conservation Education” which developed in the early 1900s.
Classes in Wisconsin schools were developed to educate students about wise natural resource management
practices; for example, agriculture practices that minimize erosion of soil by wind and water. Conservation
was taught mostly in specific courses for students that might be interested in fields like agriculture orforestry. In the 1950s to present, ecology became an important area of study within our science classrooms.
Ecology is the study of how energy flows through and matter cycles within natural systems or ecosystems. In
other words, how ecosystems work.
The process of environmental education evolved to include the concepts of nature study, conservation
education, and ecology. However, it places an additional emphasis on involvement of each citizen inpreventing and solving environmental issues. Wisconsin’s definition of environmental education is as follows:“A lifelong learning process that leads to an informed and involved citizenry having
the creative problem-solving skills, scientific and social literacy, ethical awareness andsensitivity for the relationship between humans and the environment, and commitment
to engage in responsible individual and cooperative actions. By these actions,environmentally literate citizens will help ensure an ecologically and economicallysustainable environment.”

III. The Implementation of Environmental Education in Wisconsin Schools
Environmental education was formally established in Wisconsin through two pieces of legislation passedby the state government in 1985.
One piece of legislation or law requires that students studying to be teachers must receive formal
university course work in environmental education. The other piece of legislation requires that all 400 school
districts in Wisconsin develop curriculum for students that addresses environmental education. Each of theselaws is more fully explained below.

Teacher Training Requirement
To become a teacher in Wisconsin, a person must attend and graduate from a four-year university teacher
education program. After successful completion of the university program, they are then certified to teach－49 －in Wisconsin’s schools. Certification may involve teaching one or two age groups. A teacher can be certified
to teach 5-year old-13 year old students. This is called “elementary school certification.” These elementaryteachers teach multiple subjects such as reading, math, English, and social studies. The second area ofcertification is for teachers teaching 13-year-old students to 18-year-old students. This is called “secondary
certification.” Secondary certification involves teaching in specialty areas. At the secondary level, teachers
become specialists in teaching only math or only science and usually do not teach in multiple areas as theelementary teachers do.
The 1985 law required that all elementary teachers and secondary teachers in the areas of agriculture,science, economics, civics/government, and social studies receive university course work in the following
environmental areas.
a. Natural resources and their conservation;b. Ecological principles;c. Energy in both biological and physical systems;
d. People-environment interactions, including;a historical/philosophical review of such interactions,
implications of human population growth,
natural resource management,
the impact of technology on the environment,
the impact of the environment on physical and mental health;e. The use of affective education methods to teach about the environment; andf. The use of cognitive education methods to teach about the environment; andg. Methods of teaching citizen participation skills.
The above areas were collectively called environmental education training.
Wisconsin has thirty-one university and college teacher certification programs. All of these programs
are reviewed on a five-year cycle to confirm that these environmental education concepts are being covered intheir teacher certification programs. If they are not covered, the particular college or university in violation
could lose its clearance to have a teacher certification program.

School District Curriculum Requirement
The second piece of legislation or law that established environmental education in Wisconsin schools
required school districts to develop curriculum or educational plans for implementing environmental
education in the classrooms. The requirement reads as follows:
Every school district must develop and implement a written, sequential curriculum plan
incorporating instruction in environmental education into all subject area curriculum plans, with－50 －

Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

the greatest emphasis in plans for art, health, science, and social studies education.
There are 2,000 schools making up 400 school districts in Wisconsin. These districts are associatedwith particular urban or rural communities. There may be a few too many elementary and secondary schoolbuildings within a district. All of the school buildings within a district follow the district's classroom educationor curriculum plan. The Wisconsin State Department of Education provides guidelines, which strongly
suggest what should be included in the more detailed district educational plans. These state guidelines arecalled “Standards.” For example, there are standards for mathematics, reading, science, and all the other subject
areas taught in schools. Environmental education also has a set of standards (Wisconsin’s Model Academic
Standards for Environmental Education, 1998). If a school district does not follow the suggested standards,
they could potentially lose their state funding, which supports about 60 % of their operation. The other 40%
comes from local/community taxes.
There are too many standards to list here and I refer you to Wisconsin Model Academic Standards forEnvironmental Education, 1998 listed in the reference section of this paper. In general, the standards call forenvironmental education to be integrated into the elementary and secondary level within the areas of science,
agriculture, economics, civics, language arts, and social studies. All the standards can be summarized into thefollowing categories.
A. Awareness & Investigation of Environmental Issues
B. Ecological Knowledge and Knowledge of Resource Management Practices Leading to a Sustainable
Society
C. Knowledge of how citizens can participate in the prevention and resolution of environmental issues.

IV. Support for Building Environmental Education in the Schools
Legislators/politicians did not feel that requiring environmental education in teacher certification
programs and in district curriculum planning was enough to establish or nurture the long-term developmentof environmental education in Wisconsin. In 1990, the state government passed what might be called theEnvironmental Education Support Act. With this law, two statewide resources were established to help build
environmental education programs in the schools. A Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education wasestablished along with a statewide coordinating body called the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board.
The structure and functions of each of these institutions is explained below.

Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education
The Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education (www.uwsp.edu/keep) was established to directly
assist teachers in the development of environmental education, and it was placed within the state University
System.
The goals of the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education are as follows:－51 －To develop, offer and evaluate graduate and undergraduate credit courses in environmental
education.
To collaborate and develop partnerships with agencies, organizations and institutions on thedevelopment, implementation, evaluation and recognition of environmental education programs tobenefit the state of Wisconsin.
To develop and conduct environmental education needs assessments and program evaluations.
To develop and conduct environmental literacy assessments of Wisconsin’s students and teachers.
To maintain an environmental education resources center or library for use by educators.
To meet these goals, the WCEE has a staff of eleven full-time faculty/staff and 15 part-time faculty/staff.
A brief overview of programs that help meet the goals of the WCEE is provided below.
An EE Masters Degree in Environmental Education Leadership for Teachers. This involves two
years of advanced study beyond the four years required for teacher certification.
An EE Resources Library was established for teachers. It contains hundreds of EE curriculum andactivity guides, children’s books, reference books, videos and other information that assist teachers
in developing their classroom activities. It is one of the largest EE curriculum collections in thenation.
Enrichment EE courses are offered around the state for certified teachers. Over 80 courses areoffered and about 1,200 teachers participate each year. Teachers in Wisconsin are particularlyinterested in taking university courses because they must have an additional 125 hours of university
instruction every five years to maintain their certification.
On an annual basis, the WCEE facilitates a high school conference on the environment. Up to 300
high school students (16-18 year olds) meet at a central location to discuss and present papers on
environmental topics.
Special Topic Programs are another area addressed by the WCEE. Programs in energy, wildlife,
waters resources, and forestry are available or are being developed. Generally, these curricula
follow a similar structure. They contain activities that can be taught by elementary and secondary
teachers. Activities relate to four areas: human need for the natural resource, developing theresource, effects of developing the resource, and managing the development of the natural resource
in a sustainable way. The energy program, the Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program (KEEP)
started in 1995 and is described further below. A K-12 forestry education program (LEAF - Learning
Experiences and Activities in Forestry) started in 2001 and is modeled after KEEP.
Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program
The Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program (KEEP) is a comprehensive teacher education programthat aims to increase and improve energy literacy in Wisconsin. It accomplishes these objectives by helping
teachers integrate hands-on, standards-based, energy education into classrooms. The cohesive KEEP
package-Conceptual Guide, Activity Guide, and inservice course-takes teachers from “What is energy?” to“How can we manage today’s energy use for tomorrow?” Nearly 1,800 K-12 teachers have participated in the
KEEP inservice. In addition, KEEP provides networking, student involvement, and funding opportunities.
－52 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

KEEP is funded through Focus on Energy and administered through the Wisconsin Center for Environmental
Education.
KEEP offers professional development opportunities, such as our introductory energy education course
and an online course that covers fundamental energy concepts. KEEP is developing follow up courses that
focus on specific topics such as renewable energy and school energy efficiency. KEEP provides teachers withresources, including the KEEP Activity Guide and energy education trunks will be available to teachers soon.
Through the website (www.uwsp.edu/keep) and newsletter, teachers receive updates on energy happenings
and events. KEEP is partnering with the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board to offer nearly $200,000
in energy education grants. Finally, KEEP involves students in energy education through a CFL fundraiser
and works with the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (www.the-mrea.org) to coordinate statewide
events for students.

V. Other Environmental Education Efforts in Wisconsin
Several Organizations have contributed to the development of environmental education in Wisconsin.
These are the Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education and the Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources.
The Wisconsin Environmental Education Board was established in the 1990 legislation as the second
major support mechanism for coordinating the development of EE in Wisconsin. Members of the Board
represent various sectors of Wisconsin’s society. The Board has two primary activities it pursues to address
its goals. It facilitates a $450,000 annual grants program, and it has developed a statewide strategicplan for advancing environmental education in all community sectors across the state. The second major
pursuit of the WEEB is the development of a Statewide Strategic EE Plan. This strategic plan consists of aseries of recommendations for improving EE in all sectors of Wisconsin’s society. The WEEB disseminates
these recommendations and then uses its grant program as an incentive to encourage pursuit of therecommendations by various education programs in the state.
The Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education (WAEE) is described as a nonprofit
professional organization set up and run by the volunteer efforts of its membership. Membership dues or
payments serve as the primary funding base. The organization develops its own board of directors from its
membership. Members include professional environmental educators, agency personnel, schoolteachers
and nature center educators. The goal of the Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education is toprovide networking/sharing opportunities for environmental education professionals. The WCEE sponsors
annual statewide conferences for environmental educators where papers are presented on ways to develop
and improve EE in the state. Often WAEE leaders sit on other influential boards such as the Wisconsin
Environmental Education Board. Also, members of this organization are sometimes effective at influencing
government and public policy. This organization was, in large part, responsible for promoting the legislationthat created the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board and the Wisconsin Center for Environmental
Education.
－53 －The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is the state governmental organization responsible
for managing natural resources and enforcing environmental laws in Wisconsin. They have a Division ofInformation and Education, which places educators at natural areas and parks around the state. They
are a primary source for information or publications about the status or quality of Wisconsin’s naturalenvironmental. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources often cooperates on various EE efforts with
the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education, Wisconsin Environmental Education Board, and the
Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education.
The Global Environmental Management (GEM) Education Center at UW - Stevens Point is a unifying
concept, program, and facility at the College of Natural Resources (CNR). GEM provides intercontinental
learning bridges to build a sustainable future. It will serve as an international model for training leaders
who think globally and act locally to make a world of difference in communities in America and abroad in the
21st century. The Education Center intersects CNR’s teaching, outreach, and research components. GEM
programs focus on many critical environmental issues including watershed management, smart growth land
use planning, sustainable forestry, and sustainable energy systems. For more information visit the GEM
website at http://gem.uwsp.edu.

VI. Evaluation of Environmental Education and Summary
The Wisconsin Department of Education cooperates with the Wisconsin Environmental Education
Board to periodically evaluate the level of environmental literacy of the state’s students. This is done bytesting student’s knowledge about the environment and their attitude towards it. The Environmental
Education Academic Standards are used as a guide for the development of test questions. In general, student
environmental test scores have improved and the feeling across the state is that all the efforts to improve EE
are resulting in a more environmentally concerned public. The hope is that the public will continue to build
this concern for the environment into their day-to-day lifestyles.

Summary
Environmental education in Wisconsin has developed in response to the awareness that the naturalenvironment was and is being degraded and polluted by human activities. Yet, humans are dependent upon
the natural environment for a strong economy and for their quality of life. Wisconsin requires environmental
education in teacher training programs and in school curriculum or educational plans. These requirements
have been in place for close to fifteen years in Wisconsin. To support the required EE in the schools, thestate has provided resources in the form of a Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education, a Wisconsin
Environmental Education Board, and its environmental grants program.
As a result of these laws and resources, environmental education is becoming a basic part of Wisconsin’s
educational system. The students’ environmental literacy is increasing and we hope this will result in
improved environmental conditions for the short and long term. The goal of a sustainable society is becoming
more and more a part of public policy.

－54 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Bibliography
EE 2005 A Plan for Advancing Environmental Education in Wisconsin. 2001, Wisconsin Environmental
Education Board, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI 54481. Phone 715-346-3805
A Guide to Curriculum Planning in Environmental Education. 1994, Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction, Publication Sales, Drawer 179, Milwaukee, WI 53293-0179. Telephone 1-800-243-8782.
National EE Standards. For Information on the following resources contact: NAAEE Publications Office, 410
Tarvin Road, Rock Spring, GA 30379 USA
Telephone: 706-764-2926 Fax: 706-764-2094 Web site:
http://www.naaee.org/html/pubintro.htm
Environmental Education Materials: Guidelines for Excellence.
The Environmental Education Collection: A Review of Resources for Educators, Vol. 1, 2, & 3.
Excellence in Environmental Education-Guidelines for Learning (K-12) Executive Summary & Self
Assessment Tool
Excellence in Environmental Education: Guidelines for Learning (K-12)
Promoting Environmental Education--An Action Handbook for Strengthening EE in Your State andCommunity. 1994. National Association of Conservation Districts, P. O. Box 855, League City, Texas77574-0855
The Quiet Crisis and the Next Generation. 1988. Gibbs Smith, Publisher, P.O. Box 667, Layton, Utah 84041.
Presents an overview of the history of the environmental movement in the United States.
A Sand County Almanac. Aldo Leopold. 1966. Oxford University Press, U.S.A.
The State of the Natural Resources 2000. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 101 S. Webster
Street, Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921.
Wisconsin’s Model Academic Standards for Environmental Education. Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction, 1998. ISBN 1-57337-067-3. Telephone 1-800-243-8782.

－55 －Environmental Education andInformation Technology
Yoshihiro Ugawa*Introduction
Why an environmental education course is in a university of education?
In order to keep good environment, personal activities on the basis of environmental knowledge play animportant role. Environmental education helps establishing such motivation. And I think it is importantthat knowledge and experience on environment have to be taught by teachers who had learned at anenvironmental education course.

What can be done while sitting in front of a computer?
In environmental education and environmental learning, actual experiences are the most important.
Information technology can not contribute directly to them. In fact, however, there are qualitative differences
between actual experiences and computer works.

Information technology may support environmental education
As a member of System Research of EEC, I provide web contents and biological and environmental-related
database for environmental education. The purposes of providing database are to share more information andto use them effectively. I think that database is a basic tool for an analysis on a huge amount of informationin environmental science.
Environmental problems, which sometimes are to worldwide, can not be discussed within a limited
region. Every student can not join in various actual nature activities. Although it is virtual, additional
experiences can be provided by using Web or new technologies. These information technologies might help
learning information and acknowledgment in environmental education. In this time I will introduce you someexamples that I had produced.

Example of support
Bulletin Board System for a school class, “Are fallen leaves garbage?”
It is just a season of fallen leaves. Sendai is called a city of forest. Fallen leaves from roadside trees coverroads and sidewalks so that many efforts have to be made for cleaning them. In this city, fallen leaves aregathered into plastic bags and finally burned. In a forest, on the other hand, fallen leaves are bearing animportant role to become a home of living things and to give nutrition for the next year.

* Associate Professor, Environmental Education Center, Miyagi University of Education, JAPAN－56 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

In 1999, a lesson program. “Are fallen leaves garbage?”, was proposed at an elementary school of Sendai.
This program aimed children to aware that fallen leaves might not be garbage where they could return to theearth, and to provide a chance to think about the natural environment.
In Japan, “an Integrated Course” was newly introduced, in which teachers could deal with a theme
without limited in a specific field. Some schools adopted that program on fallen leaves as an integrated
course.
In 2000, another program, “Save fallen leaves”, was planned at another school. These two programs gavechildren a chance to study whether fallen leaves are garbage, to find their effective use, and to face to thenature.
For student classes of these programs, we proposed the use of computer networks to be able to ask
for responses of many other persons on their studying matters and opinions. At the time, a bulletin board
system was required for the expression and exchange of their opinions, at which EEC provided a server andtechnological support.
The BBS were produced through many tests from the stage of planning in order to enable the improved
exchanges of opinions by introducing the ideas of teachers who
actually need for their students.
At that time, Internet had just been introduced to the schools
and E-mail was rarely used for students.
The use of BBS on a Web browser, which can be used easierthan E-mail, enables students to have unusual experiences, suchas having responses from far countries and a message directlyfrom the Mayer of Sendai.
1. Explanation of a bulletin board
Ask for opinions about whether fallen leaves are garbage, and its reason.
In this figure, a question is proposed to ask for an opinion and its reason about whether fallen leaves are
garbage.
BBS is seemed to be easy to operate, however, it is hard for children to follow an opinion thread since
opinions written through the network are not led in time order.
It is difficult for school sites to maintain such BBS. However,we could contribute only in providing theserver for the program. Actually, we would not be able to maintain all Buss for increased number of schools
with different requests.
－57 －2. Result by graphics.
it is not garbage. 53.1%

3. Reason and comment can be seen at a same time.

It is not which, either. 30.6%
it is garbage 16.3%

Environmental Balance Sheet for Kids
In Japan, there is a program of environmental education, called “Environmental housekeeping book”(AnEnvironmental Balance Sheet). It consists of the estimation of CO2 gas emission from daily activities and thelearning of opportunities to reduce emission and to save energy and money.
To utilize the program, a spreadsheet software was needed in the former state,but it was difficult forchildren. Then we provided a Web site for children in which estimation can be used in a class.

After entering data into a box besides an icon, the data will be converted into the volume of CO2 gasemission. The volume is expressed not in liter but in the number of 20-liter tanks, which is a special idea
proposed by school teachers. I remember that children were surprised and shouted at the number of tanks.

－58 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

4. Graph can be produced on the basis of entered data.

5. Reference materials relating greenhouse effects are prepared.

Map system for environmental education
Cooperation of Survey on living thing in Sendai
Environmental education involves complicated study research fields. It is typical in a map information
which includes accumulated location data of different studies.
EEC has been cooperated with Sendai Science Museum in the surveys of some living things in Sendai.

－59 －Survey on Frogs in Sendai for Kids
Survey of a familiar animal, frogs encouraged kids in interests in environment. Results were shown
realtime. In 2000, the survey of frogs in Sendai had been performed on the basis of maps we produced.
In a series of this surveys there was a special advantage that never seen before. The former surveys
conducted by the government, the Ministry of Environment, are only paper based studies. When children
would return their survey paper back to its conducted organization, the results of these data would beannounced only in the next year. After so prolonged time, the children might graduate from their schools or
lose their interests in it. On the other hand, our survey can be displayed in real time through the Internet, sothat children can find their plots on the screen.
Besides, there is another profit, which indicates differences between town areas where no frog was found,town areas where several frogs were found and suburb areas where the nature remains, through the study of
two typical frog species, Bufo japonicus formosus (Eastern-Japanese Common Toad) that can live in a town
area and Buergeria buergeri (Kajika Frog) that can live only in a suburb area where the nature remains.

Survey map on living thing in JapanThe frog map covers the area of Sendai. We have a plan to extend the map coverage to all of Japan.
There is a survey map on bloom of cherry trees in Japan. Apart from the announcement by the Authorityof the Government, we intend to produce a bloom map which is made by children. The map would show thetransition of bloom points from the south area to the north. Besides, another survey is conducted on red
dragonflies.

The first map consists of 80 Km mesh and the second consists of 10 Km. In 10 Km mesh map, data can beentered in 1 Km unit.

－60 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Map for field works
Besides, we produced a cyber-map of Aobayama-mountain,which
is located behind our University, as a map for surveys of living
things,environmental studies and fieldworks within a smaller area.
In this map, the smallest mesh is 50 m which can be grasped at a
glance, various data including texts, pictures and moving images
can be stored.

Map for a school
We also produced sample maps for teaching programs inenvironmental class.
In corporation with Omose Elementary School in Kesennuma city, in later a member of this school willappear on the stage, we attempt to provide a regional map near the school. Apart from the former maps, thismap utilizes a simple clickable system for Web browser so that school teachers can edit by themselves. And
this map uses a link to BBS system of “network news” which can easily be used through a mail client such as
Outlook Express or Netscape Communicator.
The submission of a test message and anothermessage attached with images was succeeded.
This shows an editing process to produce a clickablemap by using a Web page editing software. URL of BBS
is written in a window which enables the operation of
map-linked BBS.

－61 －

Submission by Becky Rosenberg and attached image are shown.

Taking records of activities on environmental education
In joined in the activities on environmental education, and in accompanied with the field works of EEC, I
attempt to leave these records on the web.
In the activities including friendship activity at Kinkasan-Island, exploration of Aobayama-mountain anddriving monkeys out of the west region of Sendai, the records and documents have been accumulated throughvideo and picture images and written texts.

Fieldwork of Kinkasan, Aobayama－62 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Conclusion
What have performed
Improvement of the communication and sharing of information through computer network
Bulletin Board Systems, Map Systems, Environmental Balance Sheets
Creation of the Web based teaching materials which can be used easily
Environmental Balance Sheets, Map Systems

Evaluation and advice are required.
These activities have begun just a few years ago. I have had no evaluation on these systems about theirusefulness, and no opportunity to talk about them among EEC. In this time, I hope to know what evaluation
would be made for my activities by many specialists gathered from the world. In addition, I want to know
hints or opinions that guide me to more effective use of computer, network and information.

－63 －Community, School, Environment

Andrea Déri*

SummaryThis paper addresses the interdependence of community, school and environment. It argues that thestronger their relationship, the better their respective quality. Survey results presented in this paper oflearning preferences of 539 primary school students of age 8-14 in Sendai, Japan confirm that students are
keen to learn about their community and their environment. The top three learning preferences include active
approaches such as eLearning, hands-on learning in the local science museum and visiting nature reserves.
By offering successful examples of community-based learning for sustainable development from five countries(Hungary, Japan, Ukraine, USA, Poland), the author encourages educators to engage in community-basedlearning and consider students’ learning preferences.
I. Community2 and learning

In traditional communities“It takes a whole village to raise a child”. This African saying perfectly captures the responsibility of thecommunity in a successful education, the interdependence between good, relevant education and a dedicatedlocal community.
There are, however, two important assumptions in this saying: the community knows the child’s learningneeds, and the community as a whole is dedicated to the learning process. These assumptions are inherent
characteristics of a traditional, rural, self-sustaining community life. More importantly, these characteristics
are vital to the survival of the community. The community not only knows what a child needs to learn to beable to participate in that community (work, family life, spirituality, culture etc.) but no other entity than thatparticular community knows exactly what the child − and ultimately the community − needs.
Therefore it is well understood that each community member has to contribute to the child’s
learning process as each member has something special to offer. Without taking this responsibility, thecommunity’s future is in jeopardy, as children are ill-equipped to produce food, fiber and shelter in thatparticular environment (climate, bio-geography, cultural norms). In this highly contextual learning, successful
education means a composite of parallel, mostly hands-on learning processes that are essential to children’s
happy life in their community, and also to the sustenance of their community. As traditional communities are* Programme Manager, Capacity Building Programme, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), JAPAN－64 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

dependent on their natural environment, education is inherently “environmental”: all aspects of the learning
process include environmental and social considerations.
Helena Norberg-Hodge reflects on this process with astute clarity when she describes the traditional
community-based learning in Ladakh, India: “With the exception of religious training in the monasteries,
the traditional culture had no separate process called ‘education’. Education was the product of an intimate
relationship with the community and its environment. Children learned from grandparents, family, andfriends.” “They learned about connections, process, and change, about the intricate web of fluctuating
relationships in the natural world around them.” 3

In the globalizing era
But how relevant is this practice of community-based learning in a rapidly globalizing world, in urban
schools where teaching is isolated from the local community and indifferent to the immediate environment,
where many children are actually commuters? To answer this question, let’s explore first what concern
educators have about modern schools and then explore what benefits community involvement can provide.
There is a deep-felt concern, voiced by sustainable development minded educators that “modern”
education, rooted in the XIX. century’s industrial paradigm4, does not raise children to become happy, creative,
responsible people but only prepares students to become part of the labor force as an efficient supporter of
economic growth without due consideration to social and environmental values.
What role can schools play in re-orienting “modern” education towards a more holistic learning process?
What can schools really change within a system where education as an institution supports the status-quo
of societies? Re-orienting the economic growth agenda towards sustainable development goes beyond
the capacities of learning institutions but schools can spearhead the re-orientation of education towards
sustainable development5 by aiming for more6 than academic achievement and/or career development7.
An important component of this re-orientation is the re-connection of education with real life issues
in their complexity to learn about “connections, process, and change, about the intricate web of fluctuating
relationships in the natural, [social and economic8] world around”. And this is where the involvement of thelocal community-be that community a village or an urban housing complex-, can offer opportunities of not only
a more holistic education but enriched personal and community / societal development, and as a result, better
environmental care and quality, and ultimately a more sustainable development.9

Benefits
With the separation of education from real-life community issues, not only learning becomes moreacademic and thus less action oriented but the integrity of the local community also suffers from loosing
the young generation’s attention to social and environmental issues. By involving community membersin the formal education, or complementing the formal education with informal community-based learning,－65 －community and school are re-connected for both personal and social benefits, as it described in Figure 1.
Having compared the benefits in traditional and modern societies, there is a striking similarity:community-based learning is an immediate survival issue of traditional (self-sustaining) communities, andalmost a pre-requisite for sustainable development of modern societies.

Traditional communities

Modern communities

Personal

Learning is useful and fun

Learning is useful and fun

benefits

Ability to fully and happily function in

Ability to better understand andthe community

participate in the local community, andAcknowledgement for contributing withthe whole society

special individual skills

Better chances for more rewarding

Sense of identity

career choices
Sense of belongingness

Community

Survival

Sense of community/societal

Sustained identity

Enhanced identity

benefits

Sustained social capital

Increased social capital

Adaptation to climate and societal

Ability to solve problems, reach goals bychanges generated by innovation

innovations through trans-generational

inspired by trans-generational learning

communication

Environmental, social and economic

Environmental, social and economic

considerations are inherent part ofconsiderations integrated into learninglearning

Tacit knowledge and improved

Tacit knowledge is passed on for theknowledge management contributes to asurvival of future generations

sustainable development

Figure 1. Benefits of community-based learning in traditional and modern societies.
The implication of knowledge management also highlights the significance of community-based learning.
Interaction with other community members supports students’ implicit learning10 and the acquisition oftacit knowledge, the heritage of trans-generational experience related to that particular community in agiven bio-geographical environment. Tacit knowledge can not be taught at school, can not be expressed bywords, formulas or other explicit ways, but constructed only through direct, hands-on experience and social
interaction. This is a critical point if we consider that environmental wisdom, or in other terminology local,
indigenous knowledge, can only be acquired through implicit learning.
Opportunities for inter-generational interaction offer students with opportunities of implicit learning
about their local environment (including nature conservation, farming, forestry etc.). It is, however, theeducator’s responsibility to make sure the learning leads to knowledge construction (tacit knowledge) which isindispensable for future decisions related to managing local environmental assets.
－66 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

How it works: System thinking and scenario analysis
Increasing community involvement in learning (school-based, after-school and life-long learning) results
in increased social capital11 and thus increased ability to address community goals: a reinforcing cycle (Figure2.) This cycle can go reverse as well: decreased community investment in education weakens the community’s
ability to reach its goals. The same phenomenon is articulated at a different level by the laconic statement: “Asthe community goes, so goes the school” 12 and vica versa13.
Scenario analysis and scenario development conducted in the USA have also arrived at the sameconclusion: community values exercise the driving forces in shaping public education14.
Applying a system thinking perspective of school-community interplay helps also better understand thestrong link between the social capital and the quality of local environmental management15.

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Figure 2. Reinforcing cycle of community involvement in learning.

－67 －II. Community-based environmental education in practiceThere are inspiring efforts all over the world to purposefully re-connect schools and their communities. A
quick search on the internet by using Google as a search engine for “community, school, environment” resulted
in 4,300,000 hits (September 28, 2003). This is a promising sign of realizing the connection of community life,
school-based learning and the quality of the local environment, and making purposeful efforts to re-establish
the traditionally strong links among young people’s learning, the activity of adult community members tosustain their bio-geographically, culturally and economically shaped local environment.
Improving science education with community-based projects in the USA16 has been convincing. Although
research data is not always available to assess the effectiveness of all community-based learning projects,
schools with community-based learning integrated in their curriculum seem to have higher academic
achievements, happier students who are also more willing to participate in their local community and takeaction for their environment.
Following are a few (just a very few) good examples of community-based environmental education andeducation for sustainability projects from five countries: Hungary, Japan, Poland, Ukraine, USA.

Hungary
The Forest School 17 programme, supported uniquely by both the Ministry of Education and theMinistry of Environment, offers interdisciplinary hands-on learning that involves local communities in the
exploration of real life issues. The Hungarian Eco-School Network18 is part of the Environment and School
Initiatives project of the OECD-CERI (Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development-Centre for
Educational Research & Innovation), with having roots in earlier community-based environmental education
demonstration projects with the Institute for Sustainable Communities19. Eco-schools do not only learn aboutsustainable development but they are managed sustainably as well from the operation of the school to thecatering and working closely with the local community: they walk their talk.

Japan
The Learning Environment and Activity Foundation20 in Nishinomyia, Japan trains community members
to teach students about various aspects of their community, e.g. mothers teach young children about nature
and art, businessmen introduce students to eco-products and eco-labeling, and government officials offer
hands-on field studies on water quality assessment.21

UkraineParents, teachers, students, NGO members, farmers, business people and other interested membersof the community discuss what and how they want to learn together about their environment. Students
learn together with parents to map air pollution, to map illegal garbage dumping, to solve the community’senvironmental problem - not only to learn for better grades.22－68 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

USA: Environment as an Integrating Concept
One of the best researched community-based environmental education initiatives is based on the concept
of “Environment as an Integrating Context (EIC)”. US schools used the environment as the integrating
concept not only in science but for all subjects including literature, history, math, social studies. The EIC
Model TM, developed by the State Education and Environment Roundtable” (SEER) improved students’achievement by using local natural and community surroundings as a context for learning.23 Integrating
ecological principles into all subjects of education at school also included the adoption of system thinking
which resulted in not only higher academic achievement but better use of higher order thinking skills
and ability to grasp and solve complex problems creatively. “EIC didn’t teach me all the facts that every
traditional English or history teacher thought I should know,” said one high school graduate. “What it didteach me was how to learn and how to process what I learned into my own facts.” 24

USA: Vermont
The Vermont Education for Sustainability Program25 is “learning that links knowledge, inquiry, and action
to help students build a healthy future for their communities and the planet.” This initiative succeeded tointegrate sustainable development in the education standards of Vermont! Community Mapping26 helps young
people to explore their landscape and discuss their local land-use planning. The Environmental Learning
for the Future (ELF)27 initiative trains community members, mostly parents, to teach elementary school age
children about nature through hands-on explorations. The Linking Learning to Life28 helps students to better
understand the community and their career choices by giving students hands-on learning opportunities invarious organizations including business in their community.

USA: Georgia
The Education for a Sustainable Future Project29, supported by the U.S. Department of Education
developed and successfully implemented curricula and lessons plans on education for sustainable future with
the involvement of local communities in Georgia, USA.

PolandA country wide network of Community-based Environmental Education Centers has been established tostrengthen the quality of community life, school-based and after-school education and their environment30.
In-service teacher trainings support educators with well-tested, innovative methodology.

III. Preferences in community-based learning : Survey in Sendai, Japan“Sendai is ranked the 5th most attractive city in terms of economic activity and living conditions by Hong
Kong’s “Asia Week” magazine. “So no wonder,” the population growth rate is the highest of the 13 major cities
in Japan. Daytime population exceeded one million two years ago.”31 One of the factors in Sendai’s attraction
is its high quality education system which pays special attention to link learning with real life issues, bringing
schools, communities and their environment to close connection.
－69 －Students in Sendai regularly have enjoyable and meaningful learning experience outside of the school, in
their larger community of Sendai, well integrated in their curriculum. Also, the pre-service teacher training
programme of the Miyagi University of Education includes community-based field studies which prepare
future teachers for designing and effectively offering students with real life, community-based learning
experiences.32

Students learning preference: survey results

Rationale
Having looked at the websites of Sendai’s elementary schools, I was delighted to see that many schools
had a strong environmental profile with vibrant community links. Schools must have a plethora of ideas,
approaches and tools to make all this happens. What can other schools learn from Sendai?

Research question
Inspired by this motivation a simple research scheme was designed around the following researchquestion: Given all the options, how students prefer learning about their community and their environment?
In other words, what are the most motivating approaches?
There were two underlying agendas in this question: (1) To better involve students in their learning
process by giving them an opportunity to share their voice, their preferences. (2) To help teachers adjust the
curriculum according to students’ preferred learning so learning can be more enjoyable, more motivating andeventually more effective in terms of raising environmental awareness.

Figure 3. Students of katahira elementary school in Sendai participate in an electronic survey about theirlearning preference.

Methodology
A survey was designed to assess the learning preferences of students in terms of the venue (at schoolor various out of school venues) and the generational composition (peer or mixed-generational learning) of
their learning. The only choice which was more of a learning approach than an actual venue was the use of－70 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

the internet in learning. We wanted to include this option as we assumed many students enjoyed using theinternet for learning not only at school where they had limited time but also at home and other venues e.g. inthe science museum.
The survey asked students to select one, two or maximum three situations (out of the offered eight ones
including their own additional choice) they would prefer learning in when they learn about their community,
Sendai. Each option had two varieties: learning with friends (peer group), and learning with friends andadults (mixed generation group).33
An electronic survey 34 using single choice was designed in close consultation with the education
authorities of Sendai. The survey’s language used age-appropriate colloquial Japanese, without any unusual
words, expressions for students of 8-14 years old. The electronic survey was hosted by the server of the United
Nations University, Tokyo (UNU) using UNU’s proprietary application designed for multi-language electronic
surveys. Students could access the survey from the computer laboratory of their school for three days one
week prior the conference. The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) received the survey
results and shared the analysis with the students and the education authorities in Sendai at the conference.

Results
539 students from more than 120 primary and secondary schools from the larger metropolitan area of
Sendai submitted their 1,498 choices in the eSurvey.35 Not every student submitted three preferences, some
did less. Students ranked the offered choices (14), did not use the opportunity to add their own, individually
articulated, different choice.
The top four learning preferences include eLearning (ICT-assisted, computer/internet-based learning),
hands-on learning in the local science museum, visiting nature reserves and learning in their school.
The results can be summarized in the following five figures.

Learning Preferences
300
250
200
Number of Choices 150
100
50
city park mixed－71 －farm mixed

Figure 4. Learning preferences in all 14 categories.

school mixed

Learning Environments

company mixed

internet mixed

farm peer

museum mixed

nature mixed

city park peer

company peer

nature peer

school peer

museum peerinternet peer0Learning Preferences by Group Composition
300
250
200
Number of Choices 150
100
50

farm

city park

company

natureschoolmuseuminternet

0

Learning Environments

Figure 5. The same as Figure 1 but arranged in a way that the peer / mixed generational learning preferences
are seen separately.
The ranking of peer-learning is different from the ranking of mixed-generation learning. Visiting nature
reserves and the local science museum ranked highest in mixed-generational learning.

Learning Preferences:Peer Learning vs. Mixed-generation Learning
1500
Number of 1000
selection 500
0

peer

mixed

Learning group compositon

Figure 6. Learning Preferences according to learning group composition: peer-learning and mixed
generational learning.
Peer learning was preferred (81%) to learning in a mixed-generation group (students, adults, grand-parents).

－72 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Learning Preferences
350
300
250
Number of Choices

200
150
100

Total (=peer +mixed)

50
farm

city park

company

schoolnaturemuseuminternet

0

Learning Environments

Figure 7. Learning Preferences with combined (peer learning and mixed generational learning) categories.
Electronic learning delivery systems (eLearning), like computer, internet-based learning, TV, radio etc.
ranked first as students’ preference in learning about their community. Visiting museums, culture houses
came very close as second, visiting nature reserves third, and learning in traditional school-based environment
ranked fourth. Visiting companies, offices, hospitals, banks, or city park, and finally farms ranked relatively
low.

Learning Preferences in Mixed / Peer Learning Ratio
0.40
0.35
0.30
0.25
Mixed / Peer
0.20
Learning Ratio
0.15
0.10
0.05
internet

city park

schoolmuseumcompany

farm

nature0.00

Learning Environments

Figure 8. Mixed/peer learning ratio for each category (nature, farm etc.).
The mixed/peer learning ratio for each category (nature, farm etc.) shows students’ relative preference tolearn in mixed-generational environment.
－73 －Although students prefer learning with their friends in general, exploring nature and visiting farming
activities are the most popular choice when students want to share learning with adults.

Interpretation
Survey results presented in this paper of learning preferences of 539 primary school students of age 8-14
in Sendai, Japan confirm that students are keen to learn about their community and their environment.
The high number of survey respondents in limited time and short notice reflects students’ willingness andenthusiasm to participate in their community-based learning.
Students’ overwhelming preference of learning in peer-groups versus mixed-generational ones is not
surprising given the age of students, students’ previous experience and the strong socialization (school-basedlearning socializes students to learn in peer-groups in sharp contrast with community-based learning wheremixed-generational groups are more the norms). Providing young people with mixed-generational learning
opportunities, however, continues to be important to re-dress the balance for trans-generational learning andinspiring innovation.
Although students prefer learning with their peers, exploring nature and visiting farming activities
are the most popular choice when students want to share learning with adults. Learning about nature andfarming in mixed-generation groups is perhaps the most critical areas for acquiring tacit knowledge, wisdom
passed down from generation to generation. Although the ratio of mixed/peer-generational learning is thehighest in these two categories-a sign of appreciation of trans-generational tacit knowledge which is moreassociated with mixed-generational learning-it is desirable to strengthen this trend with well-designed
community-based learning programmes.
Students’ top three choices constitute active learning approaches: eLearning, hands-on exploration in thelocal science museum and learning in nature reserves. This result confirms the often reported experiencethat active / interactive learning is the most motivational, most engaging36, and most effective especially forlearning about the environment37. The local science museum in Sendai provides a formative, state-of-the-art
learning experience to explore local and global environmental phenomena by using a wide range of tools
including remote sensing, laboratory experiments etc. Applying active approaches to community-basedlearning is recommended not only for increased motivation but also for understanding that learning about fastchanging local issues one should always take an active approach, a self-motivated initiative. By using active
approaches young people ability and willingness to act for local environmental issues are greatly enhanced.
Given the fast development and forceful promotion of ICTs, it is not surprising that the favorite choiceof learning is eLearning: 54% (in peer groups). One of the most attractive features of eLearning is its
learner-centered design: students can immediately see, hear and evaluate the impact of the actions, decisions
and this tight control with strong motivation keeps them engaged, motivated. The increasing amount of
information about local issues can offer teachers, students and community-members a great resource forlearning and informed cooperation. The threats of using eLearning often prevent teachers to even consider－74 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

it as a tool. Wisely designed and applied eLearning programmes that add value to other learning forms,
however, can greatly enhance the effectiveness of community-based learning without falling in the trap ofescaping into a virtual reality.
Although school-based learning ranked as the fourth in popularity, given the choice, students would
spend less than a day per week (16 %) of their learning in classroom when it comes to learning about theircommunity. This is a good evaluation of classroom-based learning methods in Sendai as otherwise students
significantly preferred non-traditional learning setting which they associate with community-based learning.
When students learn together with their parents, neighbors, people from business and administration,
farmers, craft men, etc. on a regular basis-as they do in community-based learning-they meet people theywould otherwise not, and they become acquainted with parts of the community which would stay hidden in theregular school education. Through these interactions, the bonding among people, the “social capital”, thus thesense of belongingness and sense of community gets stronger, more diversified and deeper. To purposefullyenhance this process, the current good policies on community-based learning need to be supported and further
studies (e.g. gap analysis) are needed to prioritize action for improvement.

Recommendations
Keep involving the local community in education.
Keep high profile of environmental issues across the whole curriculum.
Strengthen educational programs understanding rural development (more on farms).
Address more the social and economic aspect of community-development.
Honor students’ learning preferences.

IV. The “shin-do-fuji principle
In conclusion, let’s reflect on the “Shindofuji Principle, and old Japanese principle which has a message（身土不二）
for us about community, environment and learning. Originally a Buddhist teaching, the shin-do-fuji
principle literally means that our body and its environment are inseparable:
身 (shin) − our body土 (do) − environment (Earth)
不二 (fuji) − inseparability (not two = one)
It sounds like a succinct articulation of system thinking or the precautionary principle: the interplay
between the physical environment and ourselves warns us to learn more about this system, and bewareof the limits of adaptability of these actors. The globalization-induced mobility and the emergence ofmega-communities (mega-cities) pose a new challenge in (re) learning mobility and the opportunity of (re)defining our relationship with our environment. The key is learning the system. This is a lifelong learning
process. The oneness of human kind (individuals, communities) and our local and global environment gives－75 －us both responsibility and hope.
Acknowledgement
Noriyoshi Sato, Sendai Board of Education
Professor Kazuyuki Mikami, EEC, Miyagi University of Education, Sendai
Dr. Yoshihiro Ugawa, EEC, Miyagi, University of Education, Sendai
Dr. Masahisha Sato, Reiko Koyama, Mami Takanarita, IGES, Hayama
Dr. Brendan Barrett, Ng S.T.Chong , UN University, Tokyo
Ms. Motoko Mezaki, interpreter, translator, Tokyo

Notes:
1

This paper summarizes the main points presented on 2 December, 2002 in Sendai, Japan Contacts:

deri@iges.or.jp, http://www.iges.or.jp/, http://iges.net
2

In this paper community is defined as a group of people with common geographical locality, common interest

and common aspiration (goals).
3

Norberg-Hodge, H. (1991). Ancient Futures, Learning from Ladakh, Learning the Western Way, P 110.

Sierra Club Books. USA
4

Senge, P. & Cambron-McCabe, N. & Lucas T. & Smith, B. & Dutton J. & Kleiner, A. (2000): Schools That

Learn. A Fifth Discipline Field-book for Parents, Educators, and Everyone Who Cares About Education,
Doubleday/Currency http://www.fieldbook.com
5

Agenda 21, Chapter 36 (1992):

http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21toc.htm
Earth Summit: Agenda 21 (The United Nations Program of Actions From Rio), 1992. United Nations
Department of Public Information, USA
6

UNESCO “Educating for a Sustainable Future” (1994 - 2001)

http://www.unesco.org/education/esd/ ;7

It is important to acknowledge that community involvement ranks as the third of the five most importantschool-level factors that influences students’ academic achievements. In Marzano, J. Robert (2003) What
Works in Schools: Translating Research Into Action. ASCD, USA
8

Addition by the author.

9

Community-based learning as a tool in education for sustainable development is promoted in several

international educational initiatives, most recently: UNESCO Decade of Education for Sustainable－76 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Development (2003)
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001311/131163e.pdf
10Implicit learning: complex learning in the absence of conscious recollection of what has been learned. It canbe accessed more readily on implicit memory tests (e.g. performance) than on explicit memory tests (e.g. directquestioning). Source: Eysenck, M.W., Keane, M.T. (2001). Cognitive Psychology. Psychology Press, Taylor
and Francis Group11

Social capital can be described as the relations between individuals and groups, often referred bysustainable development minded economist in addition to economic and environmental capitals. “Sharedknowledge, understandings and patters of interactions that a group of people bring to any productive activity”
in Roseland, M. (1998) Toward Sustainable Communities: Resources for Citizens and Their Governments, New
Society Publishers, Gabriola Island BC, Canada and Stony Creek CT, USA
For further reading: Sustainable Measures: Community Capital
http://www.sustainablemeasures.com/Training/Indicators/Capital.html
12Senge, P. & Cambron-McCabe, N. & Lucas T. & Smith, B. & Dutton J. & Kleiner, A. (2000): Schools That

Learn. A Fifth Discipline Field-book for Parents, Educators, and Everyone Who Cares About Education,
Doubleday/Currency http://www.fieldbook.com
13

See also: Deri, A. (2003) “Community-based Education for Sustainable Development.” (eCourse).

http://iges.net
14

Further readings:

GBN.org (1998). “Scenario Thinking: Education and Community.” Scenario Planning Global BusinessNetwork.
Chase, Bob. (1998b). “Welcome to Connecting Schools, Families, and Communities.” National Education
Association
Ogilvy, J. (1995). “Education and Community: Four Scenarios for the Future of Public Education.” Global
Business Network. http://www.gbn.com/ArticleDisplayServlet.srv?aid=505
15

The benefits of system-thinking-based community management are described by Gwendolyn Hallsmith (2003)

The Key to Sustainable Cities, Meeting Human Needs, Transforming Community Systems. New Society
Publishers, USA

16

Rapp, K.A., Lal, C. (ed.) ( 1996) Improving science education with community-based projects.

National Science Teachers Association, USA
－77 －

17

Environmental Education and Communication Programme Office, Hungary, homepage:

http://www.prof.iif.hu/konkomp/indexa.htm
18

Hungarian Eco-School Network homepage: http://www.okoiskola.hu/

19

Read more on the Institute for Sustainable Communities homepage: http://www.iscvt.org/

20

Learning Environment and Activity Foundation’s homepage: http://www2.ocn.ne.jp/~leaf-j/

21

Read more on the Institute for Sustainable Communities homepage: http://www.iscvt.org/

22

Read more on the Institute for Sustainable Communities homepage: http://www.iscvt.org/

23

State Education and Environment Roundtable (SEER) homepage: http://www.seer.org/

24

Sherman, P. (1998). Empowering Students to do Extraordinary Things:

Environment as an Integrating Concept http://www.rmc.sierraclub.org/pandp/1998-02/eic.html
25

Shelburne Farms' homepage: http://www.shelburnefarms.org/

26

Orton Foundation’s homepage: http://www.orton.org/

27

Environmental Learning for the Future (ELF) http://www.vinsweb.org/education/

28

Linking Learning to Life's homepage: http://www.linkinglearningtolife.org/

29

Center for Education for a Sustainable Future’s homepage: http://csf.concord.org/esf/

30

Read more on the Institute for Sustainable Communities homepage: http://www.iscvt.org/

31

Outline of Sendai City, Slide Show on Sendai City’s Homepage:

http://www.city.sendai.jp/information/SlideShow/frame15.html
32

Environmental Education Center of the Miyagi University of Education:

http://www.eec.miyakyo-u.ac.jp/english/

33

The text of the eSurvey (original in Japanese):“At school you will learn about Sendai in different ways. What would make you most excited, what are you－78 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

really looking forward to? Choose three.”
1.

Classroom lesson in school

2.

Visiting a factory, a bank, a hospital, an office etc in the city

3.

Visiting a museum, a culture-centre in the city

4.

Visiting a city-park

5.

Visiting a farm, rice-paddies in rural areas

6.

Visiting a nature reserve: mountains, seashore

7.

Using computer/Internet, TV, radio

8.

Other: Your ideas....

34

Survey URL: http://c3.unu.edu/sastrial/survey_statistics.cfm?id=229

35

Total student population in Sendai: 539

Total number of primary and secondary schools in Sendai: 148
36

Cooper, G.(1998): Outdoors with Young People. Russell House, U.K.

37

Deri, A. Cooper, G. (1993) Environmental Education - An Active Approach. Regional Environmental Centerfor Central and Eastern Europe, Hungary－79 －Global Environmental Issues andthe Education for Sustainable
Development, Now and in the Future
Ryokichi Hirono*This presentation, entitled as “Global Environmental Issues and the Education for Sustainable
Development, Now and in the Future,” aims to identify effective policy recommendations for the improvementof education for sustainable development, in particular environmental education both in industrial anddeveloping countries.
In Section One it makes an overview of the current state of the environmental degradation the world overand in particular in the Asia-Pacific region.
Industrial countries are characterized in terms of environment by:
1）the exploitation at home and abroad of non-renewable resources and the wasteful use of renewable
resources including marine resources resulting from the unsustainable lifestyles of the people and theintensive competition among private sector enterprises in the increasingly globalized world economy,
steadily leading, though on a decelerated basis, to the destruction of the Nature and its ecosystem
including deforestation, desertification, the loss of clean extended beaches and biodiversity,2）a rapid pace of urbanization, resulting in an increasing traffic congestion, air, water and soil pollution,
noise, vibration and odour as well as an enormous expansion of household garbage and industrial wastes
coming out of extensive housing and industrial and commercial facilities, and3）an increasing threat to environmental destruction resulting from the possible use of mass destructive
weapons such as chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.
Developing countries, on the other hand, are characterized by:1）a steady loss of fertile farmland, tropical forests, clean water and other natural resources essential to thesurvival of human and other animal species, resulting from abject poverty especially in rural areas, anexcess use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides, over-grazing, deforestation on the land and unsustainablefishing using dynamite in the sea,2）a rapid rise of air, water and soil pollution resulting from a high tempo of unbridled industrialization
particularly in metropolitan areas and unregulated urbanization without proper zoning and a steadydestruction of clean ocean, lakes and rivers polluted by surging industrial and solid wastes and household
garbage,3）the destruction of the Nature and human lives in many developing countries resulting from the lack ofearly warning anti-disaster systems and from a growing number of internal armed conflicts leading to the* Professor Emeritus, Seikei University, JAPAN－80 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

surge of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, and4）the spread of energy-, resources- and waste-intensive, in other words, unsustainable lifestyles coming fromindustrial countries under an increasing intensive global competition among multinational corporations
operating the world over.
Section Two discusses those measures taken by governments of both industrial and developing countries
to deal with those environmental issues facing their people and identify major successes and failuresencountered by them. It identifies common features of policy responses against environmental degradation inindustrial countries, in the decided shift from “Command-and-Control” (C&C) approaches to “Commun
ity-Market-Regulatory” (CMR) ones, itself symbolizing the integration of environmental concerns into
national development plans and programmes and corporate pricing policies internalizing the social cost ofenvironmental degradation. It also evaluates the contribution made by various partners of development,
including central and local governments, the private sector including multinational corporations, local
and international NGOs and Official Development Assistance (ODA) by both bilateral and multilateralorganizations, specifically in China, India, Indonesia and the Republic of Korea, the countries where theauthor has been concentrating his analytical studies on major issues of environmental deterioration and the
public and private sector responses to it.
In Section Three the presentation focuses on the current state and major issues of environmental
education in both industrial and developing countries.
A. Its findings in industrial countries are:1）a great step forward made during the last decade or two in experiential environmental education inallowing the participants often targeting at school children and now increasingly involving adultcommunity residents including housewives and senior citizens to identify the state of environmental
degradation in local communities and the need for environmental conservation/protection measures at thecommunity, local and national levels,
2）a gradual shift from environmental education/learning focused on Nature Observation, birds and wild
animal watching to that on the critical importance of biodiversity, global warming and sustainable
lifestyle including the reuse of natural and man-made resources, the reduction and recycling of household
and industrial wastes, organic fanning emphasizing food safety, health and prevention of HIV/AIDS andcommunicative diseases and industrial and traffic safety as well,3）an enormous progress made in public organizations including government agencies and private sector
enterprises in environmental education/learning among their employees, resulting from the installationand implementation of of corporate environmental guidelines, reports and standards such as ISO14001
certification, the Zero Defect, the Quality Control and the Zero Emission movement spreading from one
firm to another, often initiated or supported by respective industry associations at the local, national
and international levels including Business Council on Sustainable Development. In preparing these
corporate environmental guidelines and reports and monitoring their implementation, a number ofenvironmental NGOs have been invited to participate to make it not only more effective but also moretransparent, participatory and accountable to the consumers of their products and services and to the－81 －local community in which those firms operate,4）a legal requirement of environmental assessment approval process for all public and private sector projects
exceeding certain amount of investment expenditures and ensuring a greater involvement of community
residents and environmental NGOs in preparing long-term city and regional development plans, urban
redevelopment plans, programmes and projects such as road building, park construction and the buildingof school and other public facilities to take into account their environmental concerns and impact,
5）SEVEN MAJOR ISSUES being identified as requiring urgent action by governments, central and local,
private sector enterprises and NGOs;a）an urgent need for improving evaluation methodologies and systems including measurements for project,programme and policy monitoring and performance in environmental education/learning,b）an urgent need for organizing, implementing and evaluating environmental education/learning FROMTHE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES AND IN THE BROADER CONTEXT OF EDUCATION FORSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BEYOND NARROW CONFINES OF ENVIRONMENTALEDUCATION AND LEARNING. This is one of the most important lessons coming out of the World
Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in August/September this year, resulting
in the adoption of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development as proposed byPrime Minister Koizumi in his endorsement of its original proposal advanced by a Japanese NGO network
Japan Forum for Johannesburg,c）an urgent need for developing professional manpower capable of supporting community citizens andgroups in planning and programming environmental education/learning activities in the community,in facilitating the mobilization of participants in such community activities, and in networking andcoordinating those organizations and individuals concerned with and interested in them,d）strengthening on a systematic basis environmental education/learning activities in different communities
and organizational and functional linkages and coordination among them,e）providing accurate environmental information on a timely basis to those in need,f ）strengthening systematic linkages among various actors of environmental education/learning such asconcerned individuals, NGOs, private sector enterprises and central and local governments, andg）support to private sector organizations in strengthening in-company environmental education/learning
activities, green purchases, environmental labeling and in drafting and publishing environmental
reports and support to NGOs and private sector organizations in organizing experiential environmental
education/learning activities.
B. Its finding in developing countries are:1）top priority being given to education for the reduction and eradication of poverty which constitutes one of
the major causes of environmental degradation in developing countries as shown in Section One, which bydefinition requires environmentally sustainable development integrating environmental conservation andprotection into national and local strategies for economic growth,2）considering the critical importance of girls’ and women’s basic education to income-generating capability
and their health education to restraining high birth rates and poverty syndrome, top priority be given
to basic education for all, which makes environmental education/learning more effective in developing－82 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

countries,3）considering that basic education for all constitutes a fundamental prerequisite to the provision oftechnical, professional and other tertiary education required for technology- and knowledge-intensive
industrialization aimed by many developing countries, and considering that MNCS operating indeveloping countries also increasingly require high-calibre employees both on the production floor andin offices and R&D laboratories, all the more importance be given to the provision of high-quality basic
education which should be only possible with high-quality teachers, teaching curricula, materials (textbooks
and reference materials), equipment and facilities as well as excellent school administration and dedicatededucation personnel,
4）with a growing importance being attached to the installation of legal framework administrative andjudiciary machinery for environmental protection, an urgent re-orientation is being required in theassistance of bilateral and multilateral donors in favour of environmental ODA and education/learning,along with further efforts by developing country governments and private sector enterprises for
integrating environmental concerns into all their national and corporate development plans, programmes
and projects,5）a constant adaptation in environmental education/learning being required in developing countries to take
into account changing needs and requirements of environmental conservation and protection in responseto changing panorama of environmental degradation both in substance and degree,
6）top priority in environmental education in developing countries will continue to shift in favour of theconservation and protection of the Nature, biodiversity, rare animals, birds and fish, and tropical forests
which all form the critical basis for eco-tourism now becoming quite popular in developing countries which
all require needed foreign exchange and job creation for millions of youth coming into the labour market
every year, and7）with the rapid pace of urbanization and industrialization, the importance of environmental
education/learning for proper collection, treatment and disposal of household and industrial wastes toreduce environmental hazards and risks should be quite clear and obvious.
Section Five presents some policy recommendation with respect to the direction and approaches toenvironmental education/learning in developing countries and to assistance by bilateral and multilateral
donors in line with the above.
On the demand side1）Reorienting national development strategy in favour of sustainable development and greater
environmental education/learning interface;2）Enhancing environmental, quality-of-life and human rights awareness among among people of all walks oflife, particularly among children and youth in and off school;3）Strengthening environmental governance including administrative and legislative measures and judiciary
system and CBOs/CSOs against pollution through public information disclosure, pollution charges, facility
licensing, green product certification and appropriate resource pricing;4）Provision of tax and other incentives for those households, schools, firms and other organizations－83 －interested in environmental improvement;5）Need for a gradual shift from “Command-and-Control” principle to “Community-Market-Regulatory”
approach, taking into account the variation of regions or areas in terms of damage and abatement cost insetting the level of standards and avoiding their uniformity as well as the equity effects of such standards
setting and their enforceability: need for introducing source-specific emission standards rather thanacross-the board ones;
6）Reorienting foreign assistance in favour of improving environment education and governance; and
7）Promoting subregional, regional and international cooperation in environment including environmental
education/learning, governance, emission trading and CDM as seen with the CJK tripartite arrangement,
On the supply side at home and from overseas
1）Upgrading tax and financial incentives and support to households, farmers and private sector firms to
install cleaner production technology and increase green investment, purchases and financing;2）Enhancing human and institutional capital and improving environmental management know-how;3）Strengthening administrative support for environmental protection through private-public sector
collaboration, inter-sectoral policy integration and community-based resource management;4）Promoting partnership among all stakeholders at the corporate, local and national levels in improving
environmental management through participatory planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation
processes;5）Re-orienting and increasing foreign assistance at favourable terms in favour of capacity development,i.e.,human capital and institutions; and
6）The CJK tripartite and regional cooperation for accelerating environment technology, financing andmanagement know-how through private sector cooperation such as joint ventures and technology licensing
and private public partnerships.

－84 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

The Research in the Environmental
Consciousness and the Interacted
Education of Teachers in the Middle School
Ning Wang* and Lianxi Sheng*

Ning Wang

Abstract: The environmental education in the higher normal colleges and universities plays a vital andindispensable role in improving the national quality and strengthening students’ environmental consciousness
in whole-course. This article discusses intensifying the environmental consciousness on the students who are
not major in emironment, rearing the interacted teaching parts and the methods of training extracurricular
activity skills, so as to lay a foundation for the systematization and regularization of higher college’s
environmental education.
The UNESCO and UNEP have put forth the theme that environmental education should be all-life whichfaces to any ages. Correspondingly, the outline of 9 years’ compulsory education in China has also posed
the principle that penetrating environmental education in the curriculum of compulsory education. The
whole-nation and whole-course of environmental education has become one objective of Chinese national
quality’s education. Currently, many higher colleges are probing actively the ways and methods of realising
the objective. Our school also has made some beneficial attempt.
1. The status and function of teacher’s education in environmental education
There are about 1,100 state-run universities in China, among which the normal colleges and universities
take account for a quarter. The higher normal academy is not only the base for bringing up middle
school’s teacher but also the chief force which take part in the whole-nation and whole-course environmental
education in the future. Therefore, the teacher’s education in the higher normal academy is particularand indispensable in the field of environmental education. The outline of 9 year’s compulsory education in
China regulates finitedly that we should penetrate the content of environmental education into geography,
chemistry, and other related subjects. It means that environment has not yet been compulsory in the primaryand secondary school, and it is necessary for teacher to penetrate relevant content in their majority teachingby virtue of their own environmental awareness, knowledge level and practice skill. So the higher normal
education’s effect on training students’ environmental awareness is much more important. As to the futureteachers, they should not only grasp systematic basic knowledge of environment science but also improve their
all kinds of abilities, which including penetrating environmental knowledge in related subjects, initiating
environment protection course indispendedly, leading and nurturing students to be close to the nature, know
the nature, find environmental problems and improving environment practically. Due to above reasons,the teacher education’s function and responsibility in environmental education are both very important anddefinited.
2. The methods and ways of training environmental consciousness in teacher’s education* Associate Professor, Environmental Science department, Northeast Normal University, CHINA－85 －This research subject is being probed actively in Chinese environmental education, the following are themeasures we take in education.
(1) Introduction of theory and environmental ideas① Combining establishing curriculum indispendedly with penetrating teaching
Northeast Normal University is a comprehensive normal university, establishing 46 specialities, among
which including Chinese, education, history, politics, maths, physics, chemistry, geography, biology and soon. It began to initiate the public optional course of probability theory of environment science from 1986.
Students have been liking this course and the amount of selecting the course is growing year by year. The
number is over 600 at present, which is about 25 percent of whole number in the same grade. To satisfy
the students’demand, we have initiated another serial course called environment and health. During theteaching, we not only attach importance to environment science knowledge and environmental awarenessbut also seek to explorate the relationship between environment science and many other subjects such as
geography, chemistry, biology and education. We set out the correspond contents and chapters related toenvironment science in secondary school’s textbooks, so that students can find out the junction point between
environment science and their specialities. And then they can lay a foundation for realising penetrating
environment knowledge more rapidly in secondary school’s teaching in the future.
② Emphasis on the textbook construction of environmental education
When it comes to the environmental education of students who are not major in environment, the popularscience has always been chief in the past, so, there isn’t any satisfactory teaching material at home andabroad. Having established the environmental courses for many years, we compose systematic textbooks,
such as modern introduction theory of environment science, environment and development, protect
human’s homeland--the Earth and so on. They have the same features in that their common theory guide,value pursuit, theme, object is respectively sustainable development, environmental ethics, suggesting green
civilization and harmonious coexistence and cooperate development between man and nature. Because of
these characters, they are very popular with students.
③ Training teacher’s capability of launching environmental education according to the secondary school’s
educational demand.
Considering the current demand of the secondary school’s environmental education, we lecture theory,
intensity training of demonstrated experiment in class, in addition, we found interacted education course,
making the theory of environmental education penetrated into classroom instruction and extracurricular
activities, so that students master interacted education approach and teaching parts. As far as the teacher’s successive education training class is concerned by ways of research and discussion, we focus on teaching
the difficulties and problems in the course of environmental education, intercommunicating good teachingexperience, so as to obtain the goal of teaching and learning advance together. By this form, we not only
lecture the knowledge of environment science but also learn from each other and improve mutually.
(2) Consolidating the practice ability's training
If only by ways of classroom teaching and training, we can’t complete the work of training the secondary
school’s tearchers to develop environmental education. It is required we strengthen their practice ability
by varieties of methods. Fortunately, the practice activities of environment science and technology provides
methods and means.
－86 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

① Analysing and inducing
In this activity, teacher presents topic research content at first, then students continue to complete it
by means of questionnaire, information retrieval. During the course, we aims to train students’ ability toretrieve documentation, design questionnaire. Take the research in dust and soil storm’s courses for example.
Students looked up lots of data and made on-the-spot investigation in western drought and semiarid
grassland and desert in Jilin province. Under school’s organization, they analysed and researched the course
in many terms and then finish papers which to be published in school’s or other newspapers and periodicals.
Another example is about the current situation and growth of environmental education in China. We guided
students to collect and compare information about every country’s present state of environmental education,
to investigate student’s environmental consciousness in university, middle school and primary school, to makestatistics, analyse, induce, summarize and to write article finally.
② Probing into question
At first students pose problems by themselves, then teachers guide. Its form includes society survey, visit
and study. The activity can foster students’ practice ability to investigate and analyse, organize and apply,
induce and summarize. Some students submitted the problem about urban garbage pollution at present.
Teachers guided and organized them to investigate the garbage’s dumping and transportation in urban
residential district and the waste tip’s construction. Having done these jobs, students wrote paper named theadvantage and disadvantage of collection of classified refuse and gave some suggestion about garbage disposal
in residential district. Other students presented water pollution. We organized students to investigate thelake’s water quality on the spot, to sample and analyse, then to finish the topic research. The activity team ofenvironment science went to investigate the water quality in South Lake in Changchun. Students measured
the water quality indexes, visited the sediment dredge spot. Their environmental awareness was improved
and their ability of designing investigation programme, organizing and practising, experimentalizing
on-the-spot, analysing and summarizing were also trained further.
③ Open-experimentAccording to the classroom lectures, we design and develop small scientific experiments. They were
finished by teachers and students interactedly, we established not only demonstrated experiments which aresimple and easy to do and audio-visual but also some field test methods, so as to make students understandthe basic theory. So far, me have established 7 big categories, 26 kinds of methods in all.
①’ simple and easy methods of water quality monitoring (8 kinds)②’ simple and easy monitoring methods of atmospheric pollution index (3 kinds)③’ the demonstration of atmospheric pollution’s emergence and effect (3 kinds)④’ the identification of indicator plants for atmospheric pollution (2 kinds)⑤’ the identification of water pollution indicating animals (2 kinds)⑥’ the raise of acid rain (1 kind)⑦’ green-house effect experiment (2 kinds)⑧’ water treatment methods (2 kinds)⑨’ the rapid test for contaminant in food (2 kinds)⑩’ other (1 kind)
The simple and easy demonstrated experiment is to in support of classroom instruction. On the one hand,－87 －it can make students understand the theory directly and profoundly. On the other hand, it can enlighten
students’ creatived thought, so that they can develop more classroom demonstrated and course experiments to
put them into implements in their future work.
3. Conclusion
The student in normal college will be the middle school’s teachers in the future, so their education
conception, knowledge structure, teaching and experiment skills, organizing and designing abilities areimportant sector and base of finishing environmental education. Therefore, (1) Initiating curriculum is one ofmain methods of improving students’ environmental consciousness whose majority are not environment; (2)penetrating education is the best way of enhancing students’ ability of finding out the relationship between
environment science and other subjects and looking for the junction point; (3) Interacted practice activity is
indispensable teaching part of making students master skills to guide and launch environmental protection
activity and to exploit the creatived thoughts.
Reference documentations:
1. Sun Fangmin the concise course of study of environmental education. Beijing. Environment Science
Publishing House in China, 2000.9.
2. Wang Hongqi, Li Changxing the form and method of environmental education. Enironmental Education.
1999 14(1): 3~5.
3. Yao Yaping discussion about environmental education in normal colleges and universities. Environmental
Education, 2002 32(3): 14~16.
4. Sheng Lianxi, Zhang Yin, Feng Jiang reflecting on the educational reform in environmental disciplinein higher colleges in Chinese mainland, Environmental Education and Environmental Science Research,
Changchun, Jilin Science and Technology Publishing House, 2001, 4: 17~18.
5. Thom J. MoEvoy case teaching approach − a effective form of environmental education, Environmental
Education, 2001 27(4): 22~25.
6. Wang Ning, Wang Zhexing, Du Chunguang environmental education’s penetrating and developmentin the middle school’s education. Environmental Education and Environmental Science Research,
Changchun, Jilin Science and Technology Publishing Houre, 2001, 4: 100~101.
7. Hao Miao, ding Yunzheng, Jiao Zhongzhi the scientific experiment about basic environmental education,
Environmental Education and Environmental Science Research, Changchun, Jilin Science and Technology
Publishing House, 2001, 4: 89~92.
8. Yang Jun, Li Shenghai, Ding Yunzheng developing primary probe in the middle school, Environmental
Education and Environmental Science Research, Changchun, Jilin Science and Technology Publishing
House, 2001, 4: 79~81.
9. Dong Sujing, Zeng Hongying the apply of topic centre interacted teaching approach into environmental
education, Environmental Education, 1999, 14(1): 6~9.

－88 －

Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

The Environmental Education Strategy for thePractical Arts Subject in S. Korea
Namyong Chung*
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to find the strategies to execute the environmental education through thePractical Arts subject in elementary school. This study was conducted by the review of literature, the content
analysis, and the discussions with panels of judges composed of experts in the environmental education
related fields.
The major conclusions of this study was as follows:
1. The Practical Arts subject is appropriate to conduct environmental education.
2. The Practical Arts subject set the basis to start environmental education in Korea.
widely conduct environmental education.
The followings were recommended based on the findings and the conclusions of the study. First, it isrecommended for the Practical Arts subject teachers to conduct environmental education in various ways suchas introducing environment-related jobs, daily work related to preventing environmental pollution, and so on,when teachers are teaching the ‘Understanding Family and Work’ area in the Practical Arts subject. Second,the environment contents should be included in all sub chapters in the ‘Living Skill’ area in the Practical
Arts subject. Third, ‘Hands-on’ education or ‘experience-based teaching skill’ should be executed in teaching
the Practical Arts subject. Forth, elementary school teachers should find a way to conduct environmental
education in a way of content integration between subjects so that teachers can save some time to perform
experience-based teaching which takes more time than other teaching skills.
The scientific technology and the economic advancement not only have brought material prosperity tohuman but also have endangered the life of human beings by destroying the environment. In Korea, since1970, the accelerated industrial development has brought an enormous amount of environmental damage
such as air, water, and soil pollution, and so on. This environmental destruction made people try to protect
and to recover the environment.
There are several approaches in many areas to protect the environment such as developing theenvironmental purifying technology in science areas, establishing the environmental laws, provisions,and regulations by the legal system, and establishing the least damaging economic development policy inadministration areas, and so forth. These approaches for environment protection are, however, symptomaticand short-term solutions for the environmental problems. On the other hand, there is a new and common
opinion that the educational approach is the fundamental solution for environmental problems (Seo, 1998;
Shin, 1991). There are several reasons that show the educational approach is the one.

* Assistant Professor, Daegu National University of Education, S. KOREA－89 －The basic idea of the educational approach is that people need to change their conceptions toward theenvironment so that they cultivate their practicing ability on environmental problems. It is also necessary forpeople to be awakened to the environment and to take part to achieve the goal of continuous environmental
development. Furthermore, ignorance of human beings toward the environment is the fundamental cause ofenvironmental destruction from the start. Therefore, the educational approach is not only fundamental but
also effective for solutions to prevent and to overcome the environmental problems (Ghang, 1995).
There are two major reasons to attach more importance to school environmental education. One is thatthe environmental education in the Korean school system is required so that it is more likely to be effectivewith students. The second reason is that the elementary school years are the time for students forming
environmental concepts. That is, by educating students on the appropriate environmental concepts, they
are able to contribute to solve the problem of the present environmental destruction and to prevent futureenvironmental problems.
To educate the younger students environmental education can bring better results because environmental
education does not give students knowledge or a simple skill related to environment but does give students
the right values and attitudes toward the environment. Therefore, it is more important to educate elementary
school students on the environmental subjects.
In Korea, there were environmental contents in the Practical Arts subject during the first national
curriculum term (1965-1962) and that was even before the environmental education was dealt with as animportant subject. Furthermore, environmental education becomes one of three major areas in the Practical
Arts subject in the 7th national curriculum. That is, the Practical Arts subject has played an important role in
the elementary education in Korea.
However, there is not much research on how the Practical Arts subject has dealt with the environmental
content, and what kind of environmental content should be put into the Practical Arts subject based on thecharacteristics of the Practical Arts subject. Therefore, it is needed to conduct the research on analyzing theenvironmental contents in the Practical Arts subject in the 7th national curriculum and on suggesting betterway of organizing and teaching the environmental contents.

Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to find the strategies to execute the environmental education through thePractical Arts subject in elementary school. The specific objectives for this study were as follows:
1. Investigate the background of environmental education in the elementary school.
2.

Analyze the contents of the environmental education in the Practical Arts subject in the 7th national
curriculum.

3. Suggest strategies for developing the contents related to the environmental education in the Practical
Arts subject.

Methodology
The research project was a qualitative study. This study was conducted by the review of literature,
the content analysis, and the discussions with panels of judges composed of experts in the environmental
education related fields.
－90 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Review of literature
The literature related to environmental education was reviewed to investigate the basis of discussion
on the elementary environmental education and to find the categories to analyze the contents of elementary
environmental education.
Content analysis
A content analysis was utilized to analyze the amount of the environment contents in the Practical Arts
subject. The subjects of the content analysis were all part of the Practical Arts subject from the 1st national
curriculum to the 7th national curriculum.
To analyze the environment contents in the Practical Arts subject, the content analysis framework wasdeveloped (Table 1). A total of 9 analysis categories in the environmental education contents was selectedbased on previous research (Shin, 1977; Shin, 1987; Nam, 1995; Lee & others, 1997). The selected 9 analysis
categories were ‘Natural Environment (NE)’, ‘Artificial Environment (AE)’, ‘Population (P)’, ‘Industrialization
and Capitalization (IC)’, ‘Resource (R)’, ‘Environmental Pollution (EP)’, ‘Environment Conservation (EC)’,‘Environment Sanitation (ES)’, and ‘Environmental Ethics (EE)’.
In the national curriculum, there are characteristics, objectives, contents, teaching methodologies, andevaluation methods for the Practical Arts subject. Furthermore, all the elementary school teachers mustuse and follow the national curriculum guide. Analyzing the national curriculum is the most proper method
to analyze the contents related to environmental education in the Practical Arts subject. Therefore theenvironmental education contents in the Practical Arts subject were analyzed by the 9 analysis categories.
Panel of judges
Apanel of judges was utilized to verify the quality and the propriety of the content analysis framework.
Also, the panel of judges verified the appropriateness of the environmental education strategies in the
Practical Arts subject.

History of the Environmental Education in the Elementary Education in Korea
History of the environmental education in the elementary education
It was the 4th national curriculum (1981-1988) when environmental education was considered in earnest
even though there was little content of environmental education before the 4th national curriculum. In the
4th national curriculum, the objective of environmental education was provided as ‘nature conservation,
environment pollution, and population problems must be taught properly and efficiently’. The contents ofenvironmental education, also, were suggested to be taught in various subjects in elementary schools.
The environment conservation model school system, which was coordinated by the Ministry of Educationand the Ministry of Environment together in 1985, pulled the trigger to make environmental education
alive. There were 4 environment conservation model elementary schools that received enormous amountsof financial aid from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Environment and conducted the model
environmental education for two years. The environment conservation model schools were selected every two
years and the number of the environment conservation model schools were getting higher and higher. From－91 －1993, the environment conservation model school system is being operated for preschool, elementary school,
middle school, and high school (Ministry of Environment, 1998).
In the 5th national curriculum (1989-1995), the objective of environmental education was prescribed as‘environmental education must be conducted in most educational activities, and environmental education
activities must be enforced especially in environment related subjects such as Ethics, Social Science, Science,
and Practical Arts subjects’. During the 5th national curriculum term, the Ministry of Education performed theenvironmental education related tasks with the assistance of the Korean Education Development Institution,
which developed a great deal of the environmental education materials. With the support of the Ministryof Education, the Korean Environmental Education Association was founded. That is, the major interested
people in environmental education changed from individuals such as government officers, schoolteachers,
etc. to the environmental experts such as professors, professional researchers, and administrators. All of
the interested parties came to work together (Ministry of Environment, 1996). However, the contents ofenvironmental education didn’t meet the satisfactory level in the 5th national curriculum even though theenvironmental education contents were much better than those in the 4th national curriculum (Choi, 1991).
There was a big progression in environmental education in the 6th national curriculum. In the 6th national
curriculum (1996-2001), the Ministry of Education made the ‘Environment’ subject separate as a selective
course for the secondary education system, which means environmental education was conducted in many
courses and the ‘Environment’ subject was added as an elective course. For elementary education, there
was no elective course for environmental education. Instead of a separate course, the Ministry of Education
developed a ‘School Discretion Course’ for 3rd-6th grades, 34 hours in a year, and elementary school teachers
would be able to select the environmental education subjects to teach students. However, the environmental
educational subjects were not required for the ‘School Discretion Course’.
In the ‘Guidance for Organizing and Conducting Curriculum’ developed by the Ministry of Education,
there were several directions for environmental education in the 7 th national curriculum. First, theenvironmental education must be mainly conducted in the ‘School Discretion Course’ and environmental
education related courses. Second, the environmental education must be integrated with the ‘School
Discretion Course’, environmental education related courses, extra-curricula activities, and school activities.
Third, the environmental education must be conducted in relation with community and home. This was thefirst time for the national curriculum to give very specific directions for integrating environmental education
with all kinds of school activities (Ministry of Education, 1998).
The Practical Arts subject and environmental education
In Practical Arts education, the environmental education contents were dealt with in the 1st national
curriculum while environmental education was considered in earnest in the 4th national curriculum for all of
the educational system. Especially in the 7th national curriculum, one of the three major areas (‘Understanding
Family and Work’, ‘Practical Arts’, and ‘Managing Life Resources and Environment’) is all environment
related.
Three chapters of the Practical Arts subject are offered for the ‘Managing Life Resources andEnvironment’area. The ‘Living Environment Arrangement’ chapter is provided for the 5th grade with two
sub-chapters of ‘Arranging Desk and Closet’ and ‘Cleaning and Wastes Management’. There are two chapters－92 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

related to ‘Managing Life Resources and Environment’ area. One is the ‘Utilizing Resources’ chapter,that consists of ‘Utilizing Life Resources and Saving’, ‘Recycling House Supplies’, and ‘Investigating theEnvironmental Problems and Practicing the Solutions’. The other one is the ‘Fixing the Home Interior’, thatconsists of ‘Decorating Indoor Environment’, and ‘Planting, Growing, and Pruning Trees’.
Furthermore, there are more environmental education related contents in the Practical Arts subject.
That is, Practical Arts education has played a very important role for environmental education in elementary
education.
Practical Arts education is appropriate to conduct environmental education due to several reasons of theteaching methodology and the way of approaching subject contents. Basically, the contents of environmental
education should be related to the daily life environment and should be approached in an integrated way.
Also, environmental education should be conducted in ‘learning by doing’ based on actual experience andshould not be in instructing knowledge related to the environment. These reasons have very similar points
to the 3 major characteristics of the Practical Arts subject, including ‘life subject’, ‘experience subject’, and‘integrated subject’.
The following specify what the commonness between the characteristics of the Practical Arts subject andthe environmental education should be.
First, Practical Arts education and environmental education both set importance on ‘life experience’. Inelementary education, environmental education should be related to children’s experience of perceiving social
and natural phenomena, which means the environmental education should be connected directly to children’s
daily life experience. That is why environmental education in elementary education should be focused onchildren’s lives, not on transferring the environmental knowledge (Kim & Nam, 1993). Remember that thesecondary education system already takes a part in transferring the environmental knowledge.
The Practical Arts subject puts importance on the problem-solving attitude that children should be able
to find the environmental problems and to try to solve the problems in real life. Therefore, the results ofenvironmental education by the Practical Arts subject do not remain in the classroom situation, but remain
in children’s life habits. Therefore, planning and executing the ‘wild flower exhibition’ or culturing the‘indoor garden in the classroom’ or ‘outdoor garden at school’ would be a good way for students to get an
environmental education.
Second, both of Practical Arts education and the environmental education attach much greater
importance on practice than knowledge or attitude. The environmental education not only lets students
perceive the seriousness of environmental problems, but finally makes students solve those problems in real
life, so that students get into habit of improving the environmental situation. Thus, it would be more effective
for environmental education to adapt the teaching-learning methods which are utilized in the Practical Arts
education including ‘learning by doing method’, ‘hands-on practice’, and so on. This would be another reason
that the Practical Arts subject is the proper subject in which to conduct environmental education.
Third, the Practical Arts education and environmental education are in common in that they both aredeveloped and practiced based on integrated and multi-originated subjects. Ideally, both forms of educationmust implement their subject in a certain scholastic area, which is integrated in many and different scholastic
areas, so that students should be able to apply what they learn in their lives.
Based on above theories, the Practical Arts subject fulfills and sets basic standards for executing－93 －environmental education. Therefore, it is needed for us to provide schemes in the Practical Arts subject sothat environmental education is performed properly in the Practical Arts subject.

The Environmental Contents in the Practical Arts Subject
The environmental contents in the Practical Arts subject by the national curriculum term
As a result of the content analysis by each national curriculum term, ‘Resource’, ‘Environment
Conservation’, and ‘Environmental Sanitation’ were major topics related to environmental education in the
Practical Arts subject in last 50 years of elementary education in Korea (Table 1).
In the 1st national curriculum, the Practical Arts subject consisted of 10 major areas. Among the 10
areas, environmental education was dealt with in ‘Decoration’, and ‘Sanitation and Nurturing’ areas. The‘Cultivation’ and ‘Sewing and Knitting’ areas also were related to environmental education. The major
contents of the environmental education in the 1st national curriculum were ‘Environment Conservation (EC)’and ‘Environmental Sanitation (ES)’.
There were 7 major areas in the Practical Arts subject in the 2nd national curriculum. ‘Resource (R)’ and ‘EC’
areas were dealt with in ‘Cultivation’, ‘Utensil Manufacturing’, ‘Upgrading Living’, and ‘Living Management
Education’ areas. There were 9 areas in the Practical Arts subject in the 3rd national curriculum including‘Cultivation’, ‘House and Environment Sanitation’, and ‘Cooking’ which were related to the environmental
education such as ‘ES’ and ‘EC’.
‘Living Plan and Management’, ‘Living Skills’, ‘Consumption and Saving’, and ‘Understanding Workand Job’ were 4 major areas for the Practical Arts subject in the 4th and 5th national curriculums. The
environmental education contents in the Practical Arts subject were ‘R’, ‘EC’, and ‘ES’ which were dealt within ‘Living Plan and Management’, ‘Living Skills’, and the ‘Consumption and Saving’ area.
In the 6th national curriculum, the Practical Arts subject was composed of the ‘Handling’, ‘Making’, ‘Raising
and Cultivating’, and ‘Arranging’ areas. The environmental education contents such as ‘R’ and ‘EC’ were dealt
with in ‘Raising and Cultivating’, and ‘Arranging’ areas.
There are 3 areas of ‘Understanding Family and Work’, ‘Living Skills’, and ‘Life Resource andEnvironment Management’ in the Practical Arts subject in the 7th national curriculum. This is the first time
for the Practical Arts subject to have the environmental area separately, which means the environmental
education was strengthened in the Practical Arts subject. The environmental education contents are
conducted under the title of ‘Arranging Living Environment’, ‘Utilizing Resources’, and ‘Fixing the HomeInterior’, which are dealing with ‘R’ and ‘EC’ in the Practical Arts subject. In the 7th national curriculum, thePractical Arts subject is partially dealing with ‘ES’, too.

－94 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Table 1. Environmental Contents in Practical Arts Subject in National Curriculum
NC*

G**

P

IC

R

EP EC ES EE
o
o
o

4

5

Managing and Cleaning the School Building
Wall Papering
Planting and Forest Management
Decorating Inside of School Environment
First Aid Treatment
Sterilization

o
o
o
o

6

Decorating Outside of School Environment
Nursing
Caring Childreno4Recycling
Planning and Managing Daily Lifeoo

5Soil Conservation and Pruning
Repairing and Managing Living Goodso6

Decorating Living Goods
Recyclingo4

Making a Flower Garden
Purposes of House Cleaning and Management
Cleaning Skills
Handling the Cleaning Tools
Managing School Supplieso5Planing and Pruning
Hygienic Washing Dishes
Environmental Hygiene and Decorating
Managing FurnitureManaging Family Life

6

Decorating the Environment
Environmental Hygienic Life

o

3rd

4

4th

NE AE

Cleaning and Arrangement in the Classroom
Gardening
Planting
Neat Dressing
Exterminating Parasite
Infectious Disease
Mouth Sanitation
Washing & Bathing

1st

2nd

Contents

5

6

Arranging Living Environment
Fixing the Home Interior
Rational Food Management
Non-wasted Clothing HabitsoooClean and Safe Living
Managing and Arranging Furniture
Collecting and SafekeepingooEnvironment Conservation
Trimming and Utilizing Trees
Recycling Old Clotheso*: National Curriculum, **: Grade
－95 －

o
o
o
o
o

o
o
o
o

o
o
o
o

o

o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

o

o

o

o
o

Table 1. Continued
NC*

5th

6

th

G**

Contents

4

Arranging Living Environment
Fixing the Home Interior
Rational Food Management
Rational Clothing Habits

5

Clean and Safe Living
Arranging and Managing Furniture
Collecting and Safekeeping

6

Environment Conservation
Tree Pruning
Recycling Old Clothes

o

o
o

3

Managing Clothes
Arrangement with Utilizing Boxes
Segregating Trash and Cleaning

o

o
o

4

Flower Gardening with Flower Garden (Box)
Selecting and Managing School Supplieso5Managing Computer Systemo6

Decorating In- & Out-door Environment
Safekeeping Food
Washing and Arranging Disheso5

Arranging Living Environment:- Arranging Desk and Closet- Disposing Trash and Cleaning

o

o

6

Utilizing Resources- Using and Saving Living Resources- Recycling Living Goods- Investigating the Environmental Problems
and Practicing the Solutions
Fixing the Home Interior- Decorating Indoor Environment- Planting, Growing, and Pruning Trees

7th

NE AE

P

IC

R

EP EC ES EE
o
o

o
o

o

o
o

o

Total

o
o

o

o

o

o
o
o

o

22

27

26

*: National Curriculum, **: Grade
The environmental contents in Elementary Education in the 7th national curriculum term
The results of the content analysis of environmental education contents in elementary education in the 7thnational curriculum term were shown in Table 2. For the 1st grade students, ‘EC’, ‘Natural Environment (NE)’,‘Artificial Environment (AE)’, ‘R’, and ‘ES’ were given much importance, while ‘Population (P)’, ‘Industrialization
and Capitalization (IC)’, ‘Environment Pollution (EP)’, and ‘Environmental Ethics (EE)’ were partiallyconducted in the 7th national curriculum.
The environmental content of ‘NE’ was reflected in various subjects such as ‘Social Studies’, ‘Science’,‘Disciplined Life’, and ‘Intellectual Life’, while ‘AE’ was reflected in the ‘Social Studies’ subject. ‘P’, ‘EP’, and‘IC’were included only in the ‘Social Studies’ subject, while ‘R’ was reflected in several subjects including ‘Moral
Education’, ‘Social Studies’, ‘Practical Arts’, and ‘Disciplined Life’.

－96 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Table 2. Environmental Contents in Elementary Ed. in the 7th National Curriculum
S*

Moral
Ed.

G**

NE AE

P

IC

R

EP EC ES EE

3Cleanness, Sanitation, Arrangement
Sparing and Caring Objects
Protecting Environment

4Etiquette and Order in the Public Placeo

5

Pursuing Common Profitso6

Caring Life
Preserving and Loving the Nature3

Way of Living in the Community
Terminal Station and Transportation
Changes in the Traffic and Communication
Institutes and Organization in the Community
Efforts of People in the Community

4

Shape of our community
Resource & Production Activity in Community
Self-government of and Life in Community
Problems and Solutions of Community
Future of the Community

5

Nature Environment and Life in Korea
Efforts for Preserving Environment
Life in the City Area
Life in the Rural Area

SocialStudiesContents

o

o

o

o

o

o
o

o

O
o
o

o

o

o

o

o
o

o
o

O
o

o

O
o

o

o

o

6

World Problems and Korea

o

o

o

o

4

Observing Animal Life

o

o

o

o

5

Life and Environment

6

Pleasant Environment

5

Arranging Living Environment

6

Utilizing Resource
Decorating Indoor Environment

3

HygieneoPhysical4

HygieneoEd.

5Hygieneo6HygieneoDisciplined

1

Cleaning Body
Caring the Public Goods

Life

2

Saving and Arranging Objects
Cleaning EnvironmentIntelligent

1

Looking for Animals and Plants
Arranging Objects

o
o

Life

2

Observing Surroundings
Observing the Animal (Plants) Growingoo

1st G***

1

Cleaning Body
Cleaning the Room

Science

Practical
Arts

o
o
o
o

o

o

o

o
o

o
O

O

O
o

O

Total

8

*: Subject, **: Grade, ***: We are the 1st Graders

－97 －

8

2

2

7

4

14

7

4

The environment content of ‘EC’ was provided in most of all subjects. ‘ES’ was dealt mainly in ‘Physical
Education’, and partially in the ‘Practical Arts’ subject. ‘EE’ was reflected in 2 subjects, ‘Moral Education’ and‘We are the 1st Graders’.

Conclusions, Discussions, and Recommendations
Conclusions and discussions
Based on the results of this study, the following conclusions were made:1. The Practical Arts subject is appropriate to conduct environmental education. Environmental educationin elementary education should have contents related to daily life environment, should take hands-on
teaching methodology, and should be conducted in integration with other subjects. These three points forenvironmental education in elementary education are directly related to three major characteristics of thePractical Arts subject including the ‘life subject’, the ‘experience subject’, and the ‘integrated subject’.
2. The Practical Arts subject set the basis to start environmental education in Korea. Environmental
education has been conducted and focused on the Practical Arts education before other subjects started
to teach environmental education (1982- ). From the 1st national curriculum term (1954-1962), theenvironmental contents of ‘Resource’, ‘Environment Conservation’, and ‘Environment Sanitation’ were
taught in the Practical Arts subject.
3. The ‘Life Resource and Environment Management’ area in the Practical Arts subject is composed ofcontents, which are related to environmental education except one sub chapter. Therefore, the ‘Life
Resource and Environment Management’ area is very suitable to widely conduct environmental education.
Recommendation
1. There is no environmental content in the ‘Understanding Family and Work’ area in the Practical Arts
subject. However, there should be environmental content included. Therefore, it is recommended for thePractical Arts subject teachers to conduct environmental education in various ways such as introducing
environment-related jobs, daily work related to preventing environmental pollution, and so on, whenteachers are teaching the ‘Understanding Family and Work’ area.
2. The environment contents should be included in all sub chapters in the ‘Living Skill’ area in the Practical
Arts subject. Or when setting the objectives for the lesson plan for the ‘Living Skill’ area, teachers should
include the environment-related objectives in each lesson plan.
3. ‘Hands-on’ education or ‘experience-based teaching skill’ should be executed in teaching the Practical Arts
subject.
4. Some of the environmental contents in elementary education such as ‘Population’, ‘Industrialization andCapitalization’, ‘Environmental Pollution’, and ‘Environment Ethics’ are less focused while others are
given much more importance in the national curriculum. That is, some of the environmental contents
are overlapped in several subjects. Therefore, teachers should conduct more specified content analysis toseparate each environmental content. Then, they should find a way to conduct environmental education
in a way of content integration between subjects so that teachers can save some time to perform
experience-based teaching which takes more time than other teaching skills.

－98 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

References
Choi, D. (1991). Environmental pollution and the importance of environmental education. Journal of
Science Education, Dec.
Ghang, S. (1995). Study on the Determining Factor and the Directions for the School Environmental
Education Policy. Doctoral Dissertation, Pusan University.
Kim, Y. & Nam, S. (1993). Present Problems and Solutions of the Environmental Education for the
Elementary and the Secondary Education. Korean Association of Environmental Education.
Lee, D., Lee, S., Chang, H. & Yoon, Y. (1997). Relationship between the elementary environmental
education and the secondary environmental education. Environmental Education, 19(2).
Ministry of Education (1998). Curriculum for the Elementary and the Secondary Education. Korea Subject
Matter Corp.
Ministry of Environment (1998). An Environment White Paper. Ministry of Environment.
Nam, S. (1995). Introduction to Environmental Education. University Corp.
Seo, W. (1998). The actual conditions and the developing strategies of the environmental education in theelementary education. Journal of Agricultural Education, 30(1).
Shin, S. et al (1987). A Study on the Strengthening Plan for the Environmental Education. Research
Report of Korean Education Development Instsitute.
Shin, S. (1977). Environmental Education. Samhwa Book Coop.
Shin, Y. (1994). A Study on the Effects of the Environmental Education. Korean Association ofEnvironmental Education.

－99 －Four Support Systems and the Ideas ofWiden School
Masahisa Sato*
The discussion was focused on the how to support formal education for the development of environmental
education. Discussion was conducted based on the series of presentation and the discussion of/among resource
persons who attended to the International Symposium on Environmental Education. At the summary session,some approaches and principles are pointed out for the effective development of environmental education,and then support systems were categorized into four. Finally, ideas of “widen school and learning community”
were shared among the participants as a result of the series of discussion.

1. Lessons learnt from the session.
Participants pointed out that somelearning approaches and principles
are needed when doing environmental
education in formal education. The
followings are the list of approaches
and principles discussed among theparticipants.

Enquiry Based
Based on Participation and PracticeCommunity Based
Be Collaborative
Respect for Heterophily as well as Homophily (Culture & Practices)
Think Globally, Act Locally
Be Holistic and about Connections
Involve Everyone
Integration
Learn from Community
Sense of Wonder & Exploration
Socially / Ecologically RelevantLife-Long
Partnership and Network* LEAD Japan Program, Academic Coordinator, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, JAPAN－100 －

Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Reorienting Education for Sustainability

2. Four Support Systems
Based on the some learning approaches
and principles as pointed out by theparticipants, four support systems areraised by the chair of summary session.
They are; (1) resources and opportunities
support system; (2) support system for
implementation; (3) support system forcapacity development; and (4) social
support system. The chair pointed outthat 4 support systems are strongly linked
together.

2-1. Resource and Opportunities Support System“Resources and Opportunities Support System” includes (1) access to communities; (2) access to eventsand projects; (3) access to information; (4) access to regional and global communities; (5) access to naturalareas; and (6) daily access to nature area and agricultural areas. Particularly, daily access to natural area/
agricultural field and local communities are important for students to realize the local resources and values.

2-2. Support for Implementation“Support for implementation” implies that it is important to develop contents for environmental education
with three aspects; (1) education in/ from/ trough the Environment which uses students’ experiences in theenvironment as a medium for education; (2) education about the environment, which emphasis knowledge
about natural and social systems and processes; and (3) education for the environment, which has an overt
agenda of values education and social change.

2.3. Support for Capacity Development“Support for Capacity Development” includes not only individual capacity development i.e. teacher
training, but also institutional capacity development. Setting school policy and rules, developing curriculum,
making decision on the educational policy, managing resources, are needed for the effective development ofenvironmental education at the school level. Inter-institutional capacity development is also important for the
conduction of environmental education, such as joint implementation of environmental education, and joint
research on environmental education, which can be done in cooperation with the other schools or the otherstakeholders.

2.4 Social Support System
It is pointed out that “Social Support System” is also important for community development and the－101 －

conduction of environmental education at the local level. This system enables community and school to bevery much involved, they are; (1) shared vision, slogan and norm; (2) shared opportunities and resources; (3)funding support system; (4) shared power and decision making, and open communication structure; (5) setting
rules, mandates, action plan, agenda at the local level; and (6) managing resources and opportunities.

3. Widen School and Learning Community
Lastly, the idea “widen school and learning community” is raised by the participants. By linking withlocal resources (human resources, natural resources, financial resources, cultural resources), school itself isgoing to be widen as a center of community. For the further development of communication between school
and community, Rogers (1995) suggested that “Change Agents” should provide a communication link between
a resource system of some kind and a client system. Also, he mentioned that the communication relationshipbetween the agent and client is important and that a good deal of two-way information exchange should takeplace. It may be expected that the function of the Change Agent has a role in making a bridge between school
education and local communities. NGOs, professional educational organizations, school teachers may have arole to play in this process.

－102 －

Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Progam/Schedule:
2 December 2002 at Sendai Excel Hotel Tokyu
Afternoon, Registration & Get together

3 December 2002 at Sendai International Center (Opening 9:00)(with English/Japanese Simultaneous Interpretation)
9:30-12:00
Opening address
Chairpersons: Y. Sasaki & T. Muramatsu
President of MUE
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Miyagi Pref. Board of Education
Sendai City Board of Education
Aims of the Symposium Director of EEC− Recess −Special Lectures
Jack T. Moyer (Japan) “Natare and Human Life”
Paul H. Williams (U.S.A.) “Environmental Education : Accessible to All”
12:00-13:30
Lunch Break
13:30-17:00
Presenting Papers and Discussion− Challenges from Supporters’ Viewpoints (Part I) −Chairpersons: N. Hagiwara & T. Watanabe
Vicki Keliher (Australia) “Environmental Education in Australia: Towards Sustainable Schools”
Alisara Chuchat (Thailand) “Environmental Education: A Case of Thailand”
Heiko Crost (Germany) “Environmental Education in Germany : Towards Sustainable Schools”− Recess −Toshihiko Higuchi (Japan) “Support for Promotion of Environmental Education in Japanese School”
Chiemi Saito (Japan) “Learning in Nature:Perspective from Behavioral Biology”
18:30-20:00
Welcome Reception (at Sendai Excel Hotel Tokyu)

4 December 2002 at Izumity21 (Opening 9:00)
9:40-12:20− Challenges from Supporters’ Viewpoint (Part II) −Chairperson: M. Yasue
Zongmin Wang (China) “The Development of Environmental Education of Elementary School andJunior High Schools in China”－103 －

Jennie Lane (U.S.A.) “Environmental Education in Wisconsin : A Teacher Education Approach”
Yoshihiro Ugawa (Japan) “Environmental Education and IT ”
− Recess −− Expectations and Requests from Schools −Chairperson: N. Komatsu
Miyagi Pref Board of Education
Sendai City Board of Education
Kesennuma City Board of Education
12:20-13:00
Lunch Break
13:00-14:10− Children’s Forum for Environment −Sponsored by the Board of Education of Sendai City, Co-Sponsored by Miyagi University of Education
Special Lecture:
Andrea Déri (Japan) “School, Community, Environment”− Recess −14:40-16:00 (Simultaneous Session of Junior High School in other Hall)
Presentations: Elementary School Coordinated by K. Saijo
14:40-16:00 (Simultaneous Session of Elementary School in other Hall)
Presentations: Junior High School Coordinated by T. Kawamura & Y. Ugawa

5 December 2002 at Sendai International Center (Opening 8:30)
9:00-12:15− For the Future of EE −Chairpersons : T. Muramatsu & Y. Hirabuki
Ryokichi Hirono (Japan) “New Currents for the Next Decade”
Ning Wang (China) “The Research in the Environmental Consciousness and the Interacted Educationof Teachers in the Middle School”
Namyong Chung (S. Korea) “The Environmental Education Strategy for the Practical Arts Subject inS. Korea”− Recess −Discussion− On support systems on School EE −Chairpersons: T. Koganezawa & M. Sato
Summary: M. Sato (Japan)
12:15-13:30
Lunch Break
13:30-18:00
Excursion
Visiting Windbreak Forests “IGUNE” (T. Koganezawa & K. Mizota)－104 －

Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Objectives:
In this symposium, we aim to explore and discuss what environmental education ought to be under
the notion that the foundation of environmental education is based on sensitivity toward our surrounding
environment and love for human beings in terms of how we interact with nature by learning from thecurrent state of environmental education abroad. Then, we will explore suitable environmental education
programs for the Japanese educational system in the light of possible assistance for EE by local authorities,
non-government organizations, and academic institutions.
In order to nurture such compassion, it is not sufficient to learn only through written documents andphotos. It is essential in environmental education to let people in the real field actually feel and touch theirsurrounding environment and raise their awareness, in addition to the acquired knowledge, toward the factthat we humans are a part of other living things and are maintained by coexisting with each other.
To achieve it, we should transform the existing “knowledge acquisition-oriented” classes into more
“empirical” ones. We also need teachers who are capable of implementing various fieldwork events.
Today, environmental education in Japan has been put into practice as a part of each related school
subject such as science and social studies and the “hours for comprehensive studies.” Yet, what environmental
education deals with should be more diverse in a variety of realms. Thus, a certain system to provide support
for schools is needed for this education. The assistance includes suggestions for teaching curricula, provisionof professional expertise and methods for environmental education. In this symposium, we will focus ourattention on the “EE utilizing natural fields” so as to have a detailed and animated discussion.
This symposium aims to contribute to advancing the level of scholarship on a variety of interdisciplinary
fields for researchers from all over Japan and elsewhere in the world, and thus to promoting international
friendship among the participants. This is one of the subsidized projects of Japan’s Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The symposium is being held as an International Symposium in2002 adopted by the Ministry.

Participants/Discussion Format:
In addition to the 10 international guest speakers, we will welcome 10 speakers domestically.
About a hundred participants making a special study of this field can also take part in discussions as well as
Q & A sessions. The symposium is open to the public. Admission free.

Date:
3 − 5 December 2002 (Tuesday − Thursday)
2 December 2002 at Sendai Excel Hotel Tokyu
Afternoon: Registration & Get together
3 December 2002 at Sendai International Center
Morning: Opening Remarks, Keynote Address－105 －

Afternoon: Paper Presentations
Evening: Banquet
4 December 2002 at Izumity21
Morning: Paper Presentations
Afternoon: Reports from School Children
5 December 2002 at Sendai International Center
Morning: Paper Presentations, Closing Remarks
Afternoon: Small Excursion “Igune”

Venue:
Sendai International Center (Aoba-ward, Sendai City), Izumity21 (Izumi-ward, Sendai City)
Special Lecturers:
Jack T. Moyer (Japan)
Naturalist, The president of Miyakejima Ocean Family, Adviser to the Miyakejima Nature CenterPaul H. Williams (U.S.A)
Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Center for Biology Education

Lecturers:
Alisara CHUCHAT (Thailand)
Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, Professor
Andrea DERI (Japan)
IGES, Capacity Building Program, Program Manager
Chiemi SAITO (Japan)
Miyagi University of Education, EEC, Associate Professor
Heiko CROST (Germany)
Head of the Frankfurt Teachers in Service Training Institute, Hesssisches Landesinstitut fur Padagogik
Jennie LANE (U.S.A.)
Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education, Energy Education Program, Program Director
Namyong CHUNG (S. Korea)
Taegu National University of Education, Assistant Professor
Ryokichi HIRONO (Japan)
Seikei Univeristy, Professor Emeritus
Toshihiko HIGUCHI (Japan)
Tokyo Gakugei University, Professor
Vicki KELIHER (Australia)
Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Grifffith University, Lecturer, Master of Environmental Education－106 －

Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Ning Wang (China)
Northeast Normal Universitiy, Environmental Science department, Associate Professor
Zongmin Wang (China)
Tianjin Educational Scientific Research Institution, Former chairman
Yoshihiro UGAWA (Japan)
Miyagi University of Education, EEC, Associate Professor
Miyagi Board of Education
Sendai Board of Education
Kesennuma Board of Education

Chairpersons:
Masaharu YASUE
Miyagi University of Education, EEC, Professor
Masahisa SATO
IGES, Program Officer, Research Associate
Natsuko HAGIWARA
Environment and Lifestyle Department, Miyagi Prefectural Government, Vice Director General
Takaaki KOGANEZAWA
Miyagi University of Education, Professor
Takao WATANABE
Miyagi University of Education, Professor
Takashi MURAMATSU
Miyagi University of Education, EEC, Professor
Yuri SASAKI
Miyagi University of Education, Associate Professor

Special Cooperaters:
Andrea DÉRI
IGES, Capacity Building Program, Program Manager
Fumiaki TANIGUCHI
Konan University, Professor
Masahisa SATO
IGES, Program Officer, Research Associate
Ryuuta TANABE
Ecosystem Conservation Society-Japan
Hiromi KOBORI
Musashi Institute of Technology, Professor

Symposium Administration Committee:
Kazuyuki MIKAMI (Chairperson), Masaharu YASUE, Takao WATANABE, Takaaki KOGANEZAWA, Kosei－107 －IZAWA, Hidenori SUGAWARA, Hiroshi OMURA, Jinichi MATSUMOTO

Symposium Executive Committee:
Takashi MURAMATSU, Chiemi SAITO, Koji MIZOTA, Yoshihiro UGAWA, Yoshinori SATO, Keiko FUKUI,Noriko MEMEZAWA, Kazuo SASAMURA, Kumiko SUGANAMI, Kiyoshi SAIJO, Toshio KAWAMURA,
Yoshihiko HIRABUKI, Masaaki OKA, Masayoshi KOGA, Yasuhiro OTSUKI, Hideki NATORI, Mikasa TIDA,
Takayuki INOUE, Yoshiharu ITO, Tomoo TAKATORI, Naoya KOMATSU, Kazuhiro INOMATA, Yoshiyuki
KAZUMOTO, Seishi KAWAGOE, Yuji GOUKE, Kenichiro NAKAZAWA, Takatoshi NAGANUMA, Eiji
HONGOU

Chairperson:
Dr. Kazuyuki MIKAMI, Professor & Director of Environmental Education Center (EEC), Miyagi University of
Education

Symposium Secretariat:
General Affairs Department, Miyagi University of Education
Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-0845 JAPAN
Tel: +81-22-214-3305
E-mail: isee2002@adm.miyakyo-u.ac.jp－108 －

Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Snapshot－109 －

－110 －

Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

－111 －

－112 －

Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

－113 －

Attendants
Abe, Hiroyasu

Hongou, Takamori

Abe, Masahito

Honzu, Manami

Abe, Osamu

Hoshi, SachikoAbe, Yoshikichi

Hosoi, Makoto

Aizawa, Fuminori

Ikeyama, Takeshi

Aizawa, Makoto

Inomata, Kazuhiro

Amal Mohamed Reda Mahmoud

Inoue, Masayuki

Aoki, Morihiro

Ishikawa, Hirohisa

Aoki, Toyoaki

Ishikawa, Hiroki

Ashidate, Masumi

Ishioka, Shintaro

Azuma, Kazuoki

Ito, Taiichi

Babu, Kadirikota Rajesh

Ito, Yoshiharu

Chiba, Masako

Iwasaki, Yuka

Chuchat, Alisara

Iwata, Kenichi

Chung, Namyong

Izumi, Etsuko

Crost, HeikoJin, Shibai

Cui, Huijing

Kadowaki, Yutaka

Cyubachi, Yoshietsu

Kamata, Yuka

Deri, Andrea

Kamii, Shizuka

Eguchi, Shozo

Kanno, Masaki

Fuchibe, Tsuyoshi

Katayama, Kyoko

Fukui, Keiko

Katayama, Nobuyasu

Fukuoka, Kouhei

Kato, Koko

Fukuzawa, Hayato

Kawagoe, Seishi

Gao, Yanping

Kawamura, Toshio

Goto, Kunihiko

Kawano, Kazuhiro

Gouke, Yuji

Kawasaki, Risa

Hagiwara, Natsuko

Kazumi, Takao

Hanaya, Kaoru

Kazumoto, Yoshiyuki

Hasegawa, Takumi

Keliher, Vicki

Hasemi, Ryuzo

Kikuchi, Toshiro

Hashizaki, Yoriko

Kim, Su Kyung

Heon, Jeong

Kimura, Michiko

Higuchi, Toshihiko

Kinjo, Hiroshi

Hirabuki, Yoshihiko

Kitagawa, Nagatoshi

Hirayama, Miki

Kiyono, Takuya

Hirono, Ryokichi

Kobayashi, Koutaro

Hongou, Eiji

Kobayashi, Tadao－114 －

Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Kobori, Hiromi

Omura, Hiroshi

Kodama, Shoji

Qiu, Xiaoyun

Koganezawa, Takaaki

Ren, Xiangmei

Komatsu, Naoya

Saichi, Tomomi

Koshido, Toshie

Saijo, Kiyoshi

Kumano, Eri

Saito, Chiemi

Kusakabe, Megumi

Saito, Kichio

Lane, Jennie

Saito, Masaki

Liu, Zhongmin

Saito, Tatsuya

Maeda, Kazuyuki

Saito, Yoshio

Matsuki, Takayuki

Sano, Junji

Matsumoto, Jinichi

Sasaki, Noboru

Meguro, Kikuko

Sasaki, Tsutomu

Meguro, Satoshi

Sasaki, Yuri

Memezawa, Noriko

Sasamura, Kazuo

Mezaki, Motoko

Sato, Hiroshi

Mikami, Kazuyuki

Sato, Juichi

Mizota, Koji

Sato, Keisho

Mori, Sayako

Sato, Koichi

Morone, Akiko

Sato, Masahisa

Moyer, T. JackSato, Masaki

Muramatsu, Takashi

Sato, Masako

Murata, FutoshiSato, Shigeru

Murayama, Takashi

Sato, Shinya

Naganuma, TakatoshiSato, Shoichi

Nakadate, Hidenori

Sato, Taichi

Nakajima, Yuko

Sato, Takeo

Nakazawa, KenichiroSato, Yoshinori

Nemoto, Masayuki

Sawada, Akihiro

Nishibayashi, Kumiko

Sawatari, Hideyuki

Nishimiya, Hiroshi

Seino, Hironori

Nitta, Hideki

Sengoku, Mitsuhiro

Noda, Takahiro

Seto, Yoshietsu

Oda, Takashi

Shibata, Hideki

Ogoshi, Mika

Shibata, Kenzo

Ohashi, Nobuhiko

Shimasaki, Yuko

Oikawa, Yukihiko

Shoji, Akie

Oishi, Yasuhiko

Shoji, Yuta

Okudaira, Yasumasa

Shydo, Aya

Omiya, Hiroko

Sodsuchin－115 －

Song, Yuqin

Yanagawa, Tadashi

Suenaga, Shinichi

Yang, Yuan

Sugai, Yuki

Yasue, Masaharu

Suganami, Kumiko

Yokosuka, Kaoru

Sugawara, Hidenori

Yokoyama, Seizo

Sugawara, Takayuki

Yokoyama, Yuuki

Sugawara, Yasuhisa

Yorozu, Shinsuke

Suhara, Daisuke

Yoshino, Hiroshi

Sumitani, Takashi

Yuguchi, Takashi

Suzuki, Hitoshi
Suzuki, Michiko
Suzuki, Miho
Suzuki, Noriko
Suzuki, Takashi
Suzuki, Zenji
Taga, Ikuno
Taka, Noriko
Takahashi, Hisako
Takahashi, Koji
Takahashi, Naomi
Takahashi, Sachie
Takano, Youhei
Takase, Akiko
Takatori, Tomoo
Takeda, Syuichi
Takemoto, Hideo
Takeuchi, Tadashi
Tamaki, Yoichi
Tamura, Touko
Tanaka, Takeo
Tian, Dexiang
Ugawa, Yoshihiro
Wang, Ning
Wang, Zongmin
Watanabe, Jun
Watanabe, Nobutaka
Watanabe, Takao
Watanabe, Toru
Williams, H. Paul
Yamashita, Mami
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