bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of rearing intensity on body development and milk production
Authors: Hansson Artur
Published: July 2016

The ingenious biochemical system, which we generally call heredity, directs the body development and regulates the reaction of the individual in relation to the environmental conditions. It is this genetically determined adaptiveness of the individual which makes it possible for organic life to survive even when the climatic conditions and the supply of nutriment vary within wide limits in nature.

The interaction of heredity and environment involves several problems of vital importance for animal production. One such problem is the influence of level of nutrition during the rearing period on body development, fertility, milk production and longevity. When investigating the relative importance of heredity and various environmental factors on the production traits in dairy cattle, we have concentrated much of our effort on this special problem.
The influence of seasonal intensity of stocking on the live-weight increase from a sward
Authors: Eyles D. E. , Williams T. E. , Green J. O.
Published: July 2016

The growth of grass varies considerably from month to month. Where stock numbers are constant, as in a dairy herd, it is difficult to use grassland efficiently by grazing alone. But where grassland is used for meat production, livestock numbers may be subject to a considerable fluctuation, and with skilful adjustment of classes of stock this fluctuation can be made to approximate to the seasonal pattern of growth in the pasture.

The adjustment of stock numbers to the quantity of grass present is an art which is part of successful grazing management. Understocking will lead to an accumulation of pasture which will then have to be grazed at a more mature stage, while overstocking will result in a lower plane of nutrition for the animals. The efficiency of equating stocking intensity to the pasture available in a given period will be reflected in the progress of the individual animal (in terms of daily milk yield or live-weight gain) and in the output per acre of pasture.
Aspects of breed structure in pedigree British shorthorn cattle
Authors: Clayton G. A.
Published: July 2016

The objects of this investigation were to discover the amount of current inbreeding, the extent of any genetic divergence between the beef and dairy types, and whether the breed was dominated by an élite group of herds as for example, in the British Friesian (Robertson, 1953). An extensive investigation by Sewall Wright (1923a), (1923b) and McPhee and Wright (1925), (1926) established that there was at that time little current inbreeding and that genetic divergence between Dairy and Beef Shorthorns was negligible. This work adds to and corroborates their findings and throws some light on breed structure.

The sampling technique in this investigation is based upon Wright (1925). If consisted of noting the number, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents of a randomly selected sample of 128 females registered in Coates’ Herd Book, Vol. 94, 1948. Simple random lines were traced back from each great-grandparent as far as 1900, a toss of a coin deciding whether to record a sire or a dam. The information contained in Coates’ Herd Book made it a simple matter to record in addition the mate of the randomly selected ancestor, thus providing 16 random lines behind the eight great-grandparents.
Sleep in sheep
Authors: Munro Joan
Published: July 2016

While there is no exact definition of sleep acceptable by all authorities, it is generally accepted that ordinary sleep is characterised by a loss of critical reactivity to events in the environment, an increased threshold of general sensibility and reflex irritability, and the ability of being aroused or brought back to a state of wakefulness (Kleitman, 1929). There are many physiological changes in sleep such as fall in blood pressure, decrease in heart rate, reduction in pH of the blood, reduction in urine secretion, decrease in metabolic rate, slow and regular breathing, muscular relaxation and the disappearance of deep reflex actions, but almost any of these physiological changes may be absent in a sleep which is normal in all other respects. It is therefore more accurate to refer to the physiological accompaniments than to the physiology of sleep (Gillespie, 1929).
A comparison of whole milk and a milk substitute in the production of veal
Authors: Elliot J.
Published: July 2016

The disposal of the surplus milk produced in the spring and early summer months is becoming a problem. Blaxter (1950) suggested that the conversion of milk protein into meat protein in the form of veal would be an ideal method of dealing with the surplus.

In March 1955, the Fatstock Marketing Corporation and the Milk Marketing Board jointly announced a scheme designed to divert surplus milk from the overloaded butter and cheese manufacturers to veal production at a time when home-killed meat is normally in short supply. From the beginning of April until the end of July, a minimum price of 3s. per lb. dressed carcass weight for Grade I calves in the weight range 60-100 lb. and 2s. 9d. per lb. between 101-125 lb. was offered by the Fatstock Marketing Corporation.
Livestock and agriculture of Northern Ireland
Authors: Morrison James
Published: July 2016

The pattern and character of Northern Ireland farming is to-day very different from what it was a century ago. The farms, although still relatively small, were then very much smaller, and the output of farm products was very low. The changes in farm organisation consequent upon the gradual increase in the size of farms made it possible for the occupiers to keep more stock. Indeed, the tendency to-day for consolidation of holdings into larger units is being accentuated by economic conditions and developments in farm mechanisation.

Climatic conditions have also played a big part in the expansion of stock farming. While the rainfall cannot be regarded as excessive, at least in the east, it tends to be unduly persistent in the harvest months so that crop production, especially of cereals, is a risky business. In the west, with a higher rainfall, it is even more so. This enforced limitation of cropping has induced farmers to concentrate more on the production of livestock and their associated products.
The effect of hexoestrol on nitrogen retention of lambs and on ration digestibility
Authors: Preston T. R. , Rochanasaroj V. , Gee Isoline
Published: July 2016

It is now widely accepted that the subcutaneous implantation of stilboestrol or hexoestrol increases the rate of live-weight gain in lambs and cattle. In sheep it is generally considered that for a feeding period of up to 12 weeks a single implantation of hormone produces an adequate growth response. Perry et al.(1951), Stephens & Thompson (1952) and Bell et al.(1954) reported no advantage from repeated implantations during the experimental period. In a series of experiments at this Institute (Preston & Gee, 1957a) it has been noticed that the major part of the increased weight gain takes place during the first six weeks after hexoestrol implantation.
Experiments in the oral administration of oestrogens to fattening beef stock
Authors: Bindloss A. A.
Published: July 2016

The influence of oestradiol, and of synthetic substitutes for the natural hormones such as stilboestrol and hexoestrol, on growth and fattening in livestock has been investigated by many workers. In particular the emphasis given to work at Iowa State College (Burroughs et al., 1955), led to a very rapid and widespread adoption of the technique of oral administration to fattening beef animals in the U.S.A., and to a resurgence of interest in techniques of administration in other countries. Workers in Great Britain have investigated the results of administration of oestrogens, both orally and by implantation, in beef cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry.
Carcass quality studies in cattle: the measurement of conformation
Authors: Tayler J. C.
Published: July 2016

An objective measure of conformation is desirable in the study of fatstock nutrition and genetics. Conformation of the beef carcass can be defined as the proportions of joints of different tissue composition, food value and meat quality. While these can be judged by eye and measurement both in the live animal and the carcass, the most accurate and objective measure of conformation would be obtained by weighing joints of known quality. To use for this purpose the butcher’s separation of the carcass into wholesale joints, the London and Home Counties cutting system was applied to forty bullocks from experiments at the Grassland Research Institute in 1955 and 1956.
Measuring Environmental Education Program Impacts and Learning in the Field: Using an Action Research Cycle to Develop a Tool for Use with Young Students
Authors: Ballantyne Roy , Packer Jan , Everett Michele
Published: July 2016

Despite the increasing importance of, and interest in, documenting the impact of environmental education programs on students' learning for sustainability, few tools are currently available to measure young students' environmental learning across all the dimensions of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours. This paper reports on the development of such a tool, using an iterative action research process with 134 students, aged six to eleven, attending programs at an Environmental Education Centre in Queensland, Australia. The resulting instrument, the Environmental Learning Outcomes Survey (ELOS) incorporates observations of students' engagement in learning processes as well as measuring learning outcomes, and allows both of these aspects to be linked to particular components of the environmental education program. Test data using the instrument are reported to illustrate its potential usefulness. It is envisaged that the refined instrument (appended) will enable researchers to measure student environmental learning in the field, investigate environmental education program impacts and identify aspects of programs that are most effective in facilitating student learning.
Educating For Sustainability in the Early Years: Creating Cultural Change in a Child Care Setting
Authors: Davis Julie
Published: July 2016

The early childhood education field has been slow to take up the challenge of sustainability. However, Brisbane's Campus Kindergarten is one early education centre that is making serious efforts in this regard. In 1997, Campus Kindergarten initiated its Sustainable Planet Project involving a variety of curriculum and pedagogical activities that have led to enhanced play spaces, reduced waste, lowered water consumption and improved biodiversity. Such changes are not curriculum “add-ons”. A study of curriculum decision-making processes shows that a culture of sustainability permeates the centre. This has been by a process of slowly evolving changes that have led to a reculturation of many social and environmental practices. This study also shows that very young children, in the presence of passionate and committed teachers, are quite capable of engaging in education for sustainability and in “making a difference”.
Constructing Apathy: How Environmentalism and Environmental Education May Be Fostering “Learned Hopelessness” in Children
Authors: Nagel Michael
Published: July 2016

For children, environmental issues have become part of their formal and informal educational lives. The merging of the terms environment and education in the 1970s has also witnessed an emerging degree of pessimism through bringing the plight of the environment to the educational arena of children. Much of the discourse surrounding sustainable development is premised on a negative outlook regarding the state of the environment. It is these types of negative messages on which this article focuses. This paper suggests that while attempting to educate future generations about environmental issues, environmentalism may have also assisted in developing a generation of children who have not only become apathetic to environmental issues but also lost in a confusing muddle of “learned hopelessness’.
Balancing the Disciplines: A Multidisciplinary Perspective on Sustainability Curriculum Content
Authors: Sherren Kate
Published: July 2016

This paper explores appropriate disciplinary content for generalist sustainability degrees, based on two recent surveys. A questionnaire was used to extract from a multidisciplinary, largely academic audience – all of whom share an interest in sustainability – their views as to the disciplinary knowledge that a university-based sustainability education should include. This was undertaken because the current focus in sustainability education literature on generic skills and pedagogical method provides little insight to assist curriculum developers with disciplinary content. While the sample was limited, respondents came from a diverse group of disciplines and thus supply a broad perspective to curriculum design. Recommended teaching methods were also captured, for both undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as the academic backgrounds of the participants for the purposes of investigating bias. The findings were compared with curricula from existing Australian coursework programs and showed that a slight rebalancing towards the human sphere is necessary.
Popular Education for the Environment: Building Interest in the Educational Dimension of Social Action
Authors: Whelan James
Published: July 2016

Community-based environmental education is an important part of the sustainability project. Along with regulation and market-based instruments, adult learning and education in non-formal settings consistently features in the sustainability strategies advocated and implemented by government, community and industry entities.

Community-situated environmental education programs often feature didactic “messaging”™, public awareness and community-based social marketing approaches. Clearly, these approaches have limited capacity to stimulate the social learning necessary to reorient toward sustainability. Popular education provides a framework to break from these dominant modes of environmental communication and education and achieve outcomes of a different order. Popular educators build curriculum from the daily lives of community members, address their social, political and structural change priorities, and emphasise collective rather than individual learning. Their work creates opportunities for education as social action, education for social action, and learning through social action.

Case studies from Australia and the United States highlight opportunities for community educators to draw on the traditions and practices of popular education. Residents of contaminated communities organise “toxic tours”™ to bolster their campaigns for remediation. Residents and conservationists concerned about freeway construction incorporate learning strategies in their campaign plan to enhance peer learning, mentoring and prospects of long-term success. Advocacy organisations and research institutions work together to create formal and informal educational programs to strengthen and learn from social action. The principles derived from these case studies offer a starting point for collaboration and action research.
Exploring the Relationship Between Conservation Agencies and Schools
Authors: Howard Jonathon Leigh
Published: July 2016

This study's primary aim was to address the lack of accessible information about successful government sector programs in environmental education. In doing so it also explored the role of conservation agencies in schools by quantifying the environmental education resources used and preferred by teachers, and by determining the factors that influenced conservation agencies in the developing these preferred resources. Eighty seven percent of teachers stated they used resources from conservation agencies and sixty three percent of these were from government conservation agencies. Teachers were highly selective of the resources used. Interviews with people involved in developing and implementing the programs most often preferred showed a high level of expertise involved developing such programs. However responses also raised questions about the role of conservation agencies in agenda setting, whether conflicts occur between corporatisation and environmental education, and the degree of fragmentation and territoriality between agencies. It is concluded there are limits to the role conservation agencies can play in school environmental education and that there needs to be greater cooperation in providing school environmental education resources.
Environmental Concerns among Tertiary Business School Students
Authors: Schaper Michael
Published: July 2016

This study evaluated the current level of environmental concern amongst business school students, and attempted to determine if the personal characteristics of respondents (namely, their nationality, gender and age) were reliable predictors of scores. Two hundred students in three nations (Australia, France and Singapore) were surveyed, using a modified version of the Environmental Concern Scale originally developed by Weigel and Weigel (1978).

It was found that, in general, students displayed a relatively high level of environmental concern. However, whilst substantial differences in mean scores were not found between all three nationalities, the results did show that statistically significant differences exist between at least two countries – the Australian and Singaporean samples.

There was no statistically significant link between gender and environmental concern. However, the results did indicate a significant correlation with age, with older students displaying higher levels of environmental concern than their younger counterparts.
Towards a New Cosmology of Environment
Authors: May Murray
Published: July 2016

The purpose of this article is to review and integrate a number of concepts and perspectives recently developed or revived which challenge society's current attitudes towards the environment. The concepts discussed include, for example, ecophilosophy and deep ecology, holism, cultural transformation, the Gaia hypothesis, transpersonalism and world, national and state conservation strategies.

It is concluded that the notion of living in harmony with nature is central to any view spirituality. The implications of this view in terms of individual personal action are discussed.
Energy Education for the Environment
Authors: Davis Peter
Published: July 2016

Learning about the utilization, development and perhaps conservation of energy for our expanding world population has long been a part of science curricula. The world “about” is, however, paramount in describing the nature of these courses, and parallels a similar phenomenon observed in numerous so-called environmental education programmes in schools. Despite the close association between energy use expansion and environmental impact, little “energy education for the environment’ has occurred in this country.

This paper examines some of the reasons for this situation and highlights the difficulties facing the environmental education teacher who wishes to lead a valid study of energy sources. External community influences, a lack of breath and problems with information availability are identified as factors which contribute to the present status of energy education. It is perhaps fortunate that the majority of students seem to possess positive attitudes towards energy conservation and the environment, and so, hopefully, remain receptive towards improvements in this aspect of environmental education.
Biodiversity: Who Knows, Who Cares?
Authors: Zemits Birut
Published: July 2016

Biodiversity is an abstract concept, attracting various responses from different people according to where they have come from and what ecosystems they have been closely linked to. In theory, most people would agree that protecting biodiversity is an important process, but in practice, few people commit to actions on a local level. This paper explores a situation faced in the Northern Territory where environmental educators seek to engage hearts, hands and minds to protect biodiversity but it is difficult to gain commitment given a diverse and transient community such as exists in Darwin. The survey of 175 tertiary students at Charles Darwin University develops insights into how individuals perceive and name local mangrove and savanna ecosystems, and which areas they would want to conserve. Results have implications for local environmental education. Suggestions are made about how awareness of and actions for biodiversity in the Top End could be extended.
Learning to Care: Education and Compassion
Authors: Fien John
Published: July 2016

In 1993, John Fien wrote Education for the Environment: Critical Curriculum Theorizing and Environmental Education. Applying a critical perspective to his own ideas, he concluded the book with an examination of three criticisms that deep ecologists would make of critical environmental education. Acknowledging the validity of much of their case, he concluded that the critical curriculum theory of education for the environment proposed in the book was an incomplete one, and that “more theorizing, reflection, action, and more reflection again” would be necessary to develop the ideas more fully than they were. In this paper, which was the Professorial Lecture he presented on 14 May 2003, he returned to this task seeking to broaden the theoretical frameworks of environmental education to encompass deep and wide caring for human and non-human nature.
Measure Twice, Cut Once: Developing a Research-Based Interpretive Signs Checklist
Authors: Ballantyne Roy , Hughes Karen
Published: July 2016

Interpretive signs are used extensively in tourism and leisure settings to convey important messages and concepts to visitors. While the installation of signs ensures information is widely available and can be repeatedly accessed by large numbers of visitors, their static and inflexible nature means interpretive signs have to be particularly well-designed if they are to interpret topics in a manner that visitors find attractive, interesting and meaningful. This paper provides suggestions for how the six key features of interpretation can be successfully incorporated into signs, and arises from research conducted while developing a website to illustrate “best practice” design of signs and exhibits. The paper concludes with the Interpretive Signs Checklist which consists of a set of criteria against which interpretive signs can be judged. This checklist is designed to be used “in situ”, and provides a systematic, objective tool for designing new signs as well as evaluating and improving existing signage.
Implementing an Ecological Simulation: Do Children's Knowledge and Attitudes Change?
Authors: Harrison Terry , Clark Julie
Published: July 2016

Environmental education is concerned with developing both environmental knowledge and positive attitudes towards the environment. An experiential simulation activity about a native Australian bird was designed to develop both these aspects. The simulation was implemented with nine classes of 10-12 year old children. The children completed a survey before and after the simulation and their teachers reported on their responses. The results showed that the children developed additional knowledge of kookaburras and their survival and that their attitudes towards the environment became more positive. Moreover, the children themselves believed they had increased their knowledge and changed their feelings of responsibility towards the environment as a result of the simulation.
Young People and the Environment in Australia: Beliefs, Knowledge, Commitment and Educational Implications
Authors: Connell Sharon , Fien John , Sykes Helen , Yencken David
Published: July 2016

There is a paucity of research in Australia on the nature of young people's attitudes, knowledge and actions. This paper reports on the findings from one such study of Australian high school students. The research was based on a survey of 5688 students from Melbourne and Brisbane. These young people identified protection of the environment as the most important problem In Australia and strongly supported the belief systems characteristic of an ‘environmental paradigm’. Despite this, the majority displayed relatively low levels of knowledge of key environmental concepts, and were involved in little environmental action-taking outside of household activities. Differences are reported between: students from Melbourne and Brisbane; girls and boys; high performing and general schools; and teachers and students. The paper concludes with a discussion of some implications for environmental education in Australia.
Role Playing and Environmental Issues
Authors: Errington Edward
Published: July 2016

I wish to make clear from the outset that I am not an environmental educator and therefore do not claim to be steeped in particular contemporary issues. I am aware of environmental concerns from a generalist viewpoint, one which I share with primary teachers expected to deliver environmental educational policy in practice. As an educator and researcher in the area of arts education, I frequently apply role playing methodologies to a range of curriculum areas focusing on human issues and would like to share some insights into its specific application to environmental education. I also wish to state that I have a particular interest in developing a socially critical approach to educational issues, so that the use of role play is coloured by this stance.

I have examined a number of policy statements which attempt to influence the content and teaching approaches to environmental education in schools. The Victorian Ministry of Education (1990) Environmental Education makes reference to the importance of student/teacher attitudes, beliefs and dispositions in the social construction of environmental education. Role play deals ‘up front’ with the dispositions of all participants, and thus would seem an ideal vehicle for investigating the human aspects of learning for the environment. The Victorian document (1990: p. 11) further makes clear the approaches teachers should adopt when realising environmental education in practice. Approaches to environmental education should be ‘based on real problems’, ‘clarify values’, be ‘socially critical’ and ‘action oriented’, and also ‘involve students working together in groups’. I wish to demonstrate how this cluster of recommended approaches can be met through the use of role play.

The paper has two intentions: The first is to discuss how role play can facilitate recommended environmental education in theory. The second is to show how these ideas may be practically realised during the investigation of a selected issue.
Towards School-level Curriculum Inquiry in Environmental Education
Authors: Fien John
Published: July 2016

This paper is an outgrowth of my work for the Bicentennial Australian Studies Schools Project (BASSP) for which I wrote the booklet, Education for the Australian Environment (Fien 1988). This was one of ten booklets on Australian Studies distributed to every primary and secondary school in Australia early in 1988. The purpose of Education for the Australian Environment was to provide guidelines for injecting an Australian Studies perspective into environmental education. In the final chapter of the first draft of the booklet I sought to provide a framework for the development of an environmental education policy through a process of curriculum inquiry at the individual school level.

In part, I was moved to include a framework for school level curriculum work in environmental education by concerns expressed by Gough (1987) and Robottom (1987a) about the value of centrally-developed policy statements on environmental education. While the 1977 Tbilisi Declaration urged UN member states to prepare policies “to introduce environmental concerns, activities and content into their education systems”, Gough and Robottom urged caution over the use of centralised policies as instruments for educational change. In summary, the reasons for their concern stemmed from the potential danger that centrally developed policies might foreclose debate over the nature, goals and practices of environmental education and, thus, supplant local innovations and variations in environmental education with uniform prescriptions. They also expressed concern that the hierarchical pattern of authority embedded in centralised curriculum decision making was inappropriate to environmental education and that it could easily lead to the deskilling and disempowerment of environmental educators at the grassroot levels.
Encouraging Water Saving: the Role of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Intention
Authors: Murphy Margot , Watson Raymond , Moore Susan
Published: July 2016

Few would doubt the need, in today's world, to promote behaviours that actively conserve environmental resources. At a general level, this often involves encouraging behaviours that involve a short-term cost for the individual in order to avoid a long-term negative outcome for the community. Examples of such behaviour are, taking the trouble to turn off lights to save electricity and fixing leaking taps to conserve water. It is these latter kinds of behaviours, namely those associated with the efficient use of water resources, which are the focus of this paper.

Faced with the high economic and practical costs of attempting to supply unlimited amounts of water for the Melbourne metropolitan area, the Board of Works has sought, by a number of means, to persuade its consumers to use water more efficiently. One aspect of its strategy was to promote water conservation within the educational curriculum by designing various educational materials and programs for different school levels. These and other promotional materials were made available to schools in the Melbourne metropolitan area in 1988. Prior to the distribution of this material, the data reported in this paper were gathered as the first stage of a longitudinal evaluation of the Board's education strategy.

The assumption underlying the Board of Works' educational program was that behaviour change is preceded by changes in knowledge. For example, it was assumed that a person, knowing something about the water cycle, and the system by which water is fed into our taps, would believe that it is important not to waste water. The result would be active water conservation in daily life. Some basis for this assumption has been provided by the report on domestic water use in Perth, Western Australia (Metropolitan Water Authority, 1985), where knowledge and attitudes were found to be predictors of actual water consumption. Such an assumption is based in a general way on a cognitive or information processing model of behaviour change, in which changes in behaviour are seen as proceeding from changes in relevant information or knowledge. This cognitive model is the basis for many social education programs both in schools and in the community. For example, the Quit Campaign and the AIDS campaign have both used strategies that aimed to inform the public about particular health-related behaviours.
Spirituality and Environmental Education
Authors: Skamp Keith
Published: July 2016

Environmental education in Australian schools is generally becoming recognised as education for the environment, as distinct from but usually including education ‘about’ and education ‘in’ the environment (Greenall, 1987). This means that students of environmental education will be encouraged to develop an attitude of caring for the Earth (including the biosphere) and its resources, and to participate actively in maintaining and improving the quality of their environment. What encourages students (and ourselves) to move actively towards these goals?

The desire to ‘act’, it will be argued, comes from within ourselves. Until recently taking action for the environment has been seen as the top of a hierarchy of environmental education objectives. It has been assumed that an awareness of environmental problems leads to the acquisition of knowledge, which contributes to the development of attitudes and values and a feeling of concern for the environment, which then prompts one to take positive actions for the environment (see for example, Carin and Sund, 1985, p.88). However more recent research has attempted to formulate theoretical models identifying the factors (and their possible causal connections) which result in individuals taking responsible environmental action. Hines et al., (1988), for example, hypothesised that personality factors (such as one's ‘locus of concern’), knowledge of issues and action strategies, and action skills were positively correlated with taking responsible environmental action. The causal connections are problematic however and Iozzi(1988) concluded that simply being aware of environmental concerns and knowledgeable about them does not automatically lead to taking action for the environment.
EE in Italy: Mantova's Water Analysis Project (WAP)
Authors: Sutti Sandro
Published: July 2016

The Water Analysis Project (WAP) is an environmental research project conceived in the 70s in Mantova, Italy, as a result of a syllabus revision in the chemistry courses of the Istituto Tecnico Industriale “E. Fermi”. Being restricted only to that school at the beginning, the experience, which was run under the sponsorship of Local Authorities, through improvement and expansion, involved four different schools in a pluri-and interdisciplinary investigation.

This report presents an account of a significant example of an Italian E.E. experience, examining the historical and socioeconomic context in which it grew and developed, its objectives, its processes, and its results.
Emancipatory Health Education & Environmental Education: The Emergence of the New Public Health
Authors: Colquhoun Derek
Published: July 2016

This paper attempts to illustrate the influence of an emerging New Public Health on the relationship between health education and environmental education. This New Public Health places health on the political agenda. In so doing it involves a critical examination of the underlying and pervasive ideology of individualism which is so embedded within conventional health education. Health education tends to focus on individual behavioural factors for health and ignores the wider environmental, social, economic and political factors. However, a new consciousness within health education serves to critique the existing relationship between individualism and health and is essentially concerned with examining the broader influences on health.

The paper concludes optimistically by suggesting that this new consciousness encapsulating the notion of an Emancipatory Health Education in schools has the potential for encouraging emancipatory social change involving a recognition of the social and environmental constraints on health. Because of this there needs to be a rethink and a re-conceptualisation of the relationship between school health education and environmental education.
Environmental Education and Politics: Snakes and Ladders Revisited
Authors: Chapman David
Published: July 2016

This paper revisits the history of environmental education in Australia in the 1970s and 1980s and draws parallels between these and current events in four countries, including Australia. It is argued that little has changed and that few environmental educators confront the inherently political nature of their work. It is concluded that environmental education activity must adopt a wider scope that includes political activity if progress is to be made.
Achieving “Sustainability Education” in Primary Schools as a Result of the Victorian Science in Schools Research Project
Authors: Gough Annette
Published: July 2016

Science education in the Australian primary school curriculum is a relatively rare event. Several studies over the past twenty five years have all reported disappointingly low amounts of science being taught and the reluctance of primary school teachers to make science a priority in their teaching. Similar outcomes have been reported for environmental education. Even though primary aged children are very interested in science and the environment, primary school teachers often struggle to teach science/environmental education because they are not confident and competent in the content, lack curriculum resources and equipment, have inadequate time to prepare, and have difficulty finding a place for science/environmental education in what they perceive as an already overcrowded curriculum. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the experiences of primary schools involved in the Victorian Science in Schools Research Project which was concerned with improving science teaching and learning strategies but which also unexpectedly led to more environmental (“sustainability”) education occurring. The paper will also suggest a curriculum strategy for achieving more widespread acceptance and implementation of “sustainability education” through primary school science curricula.
Sustainable Schools: Making Energy Efficiency a Lifestyle Priority
Authors: Purnell Ken , Sinclair Mark , Gralton Anna
Published: July 2016

Promoting efficient energy use in schools that consequently reduces greenhouse gas emissions is the purpose of a residential Energy Efficiency in Schools (EEIS) program reported on in this paper. Research on this program aligns with one of the “key overarching sustainability issues”, set out in the Learning for Sustainability: NSW Environmental Education Plan 2002-2005: “Sustaining energy use, cutting greenhouse gases”. The EEIS program was sponsored by Queensland EPA, Ergon Energy and Education Queensland. Participants learnt about innovation, leadership, coal mining, greenhouse issues, the “greenhouse challenge”, conducting energy audits, alternative energy and promoting energy efficient practices in school and the community.

Three EEIS models in Queensland that supported change in energy usage behaviours of participants (school students, parents and staff) is examined. In each of the models, interviews were conducted and questionnaires were completed with participants. In Model 1 it was found that, overall; the EEIS program did develop positive energy efficient behaviours in those who participated. In relation to whole school effects, mixed results were obtained. In Model 1 a rural school initially reduced energy consumption by fifty percent and in Model 2 significant changes in energy efficient behaviours in the school communities occurred. In Model 3 one school followed through an action plan and similar positive effects were observed. The development of an action plan that is implemented in the school, the selection of suitable participants, and post-program visits to schools by relevant staff were among the factors that contributed to the overall success. Each model was found to have achieved their aims to varying degrees but had outcomes that are likely to have both lifetime and possibly intergenerational effects.
How Can the VET Sector Drive the Adoption of Sustainable Practices in Industry?
Authors: Kent Jenny
Published: July 2016

Vocational education and training (VET) is often considered the enigma of education. For those that work in or research sustainable education within the schools and higher education sections, VET appears somewhat like the mysterious second cousin: often difficult to access and difficult to understand. VET differs quite markedly from the other education sectors. Its industry, skill and competency foci have been established through a distinct range of national and international drivers. Both the limited understanding of how VET operates and its institutional characteristics has bound the integration of sustainable education practices within the sector. This paper provides a brief overview of the VET sector within Australia and provides some insight into how sustainable education practices are being developed in VET. The recognition of elements of common ground between VET and sustainable education are proposed as an entrée into the sector that can influence the adoption of sustainable practices by industry.
Local Environmental Risk Assessment as a Sustainability Education Tool
Authors: Smith Garry , Koernicke Ingo
Published: July 2016

Experience in Australia has demonstrated that problems arise when sustainability requirements appear to conflict with individual development rights or local lifestyles. Community partnering between government and the public is therefore of fundamental importance in working towards sustainable development. Unfortunately genuine partnering is only rarely achieved today, and consultation is a poor working alternative.

Research at Sutherland Shire Council has concluded that citizens are prepared to undertake genuine partnering, including personal involvement in understanding and initiating lifestyle changes. However such willingness is subject to being provided with adequate information and with a genuine government commitment to take action.

The paper describes a local environmental risk assessment procedure which successfully informs citizens about local risks and which demonstrates government commitment to openness and facts-based sustainability planning.
Perceptions of the Environment among the Gebaliya Bedouin
Authors: Reiss Michael J.
Published: July 2016

This paper provides data about how a people still in close contact with their natural physical environment, yet moving from nomadism to a sedentary (though still largely agricultural) lifestyle, perceive their environment. Drawings were obtained from children, and interviews undertaken with adults among the Gebaliya Bedouin in the Sinai desert. The drawings reveal an abundance of animal and plant life and a relative paucity of human artefacts. Wildlife and landscape evidently constitute a central component of these children's environments. The adult interviews reveal how the relationship of the Bedouin with their physical environment, though still an intimate one, has changed in the last two generations. The results are interpreted in the light of social and cultural changes among the Gebaliya Bedouin. The findings reported here may need to be heeded if attempts to preserve endangered wildlife in the Sinai desert, are to succeed.
Nature-Based Tourism as Education for Sustainability: Possibilities, Limitations, Contradictions
Authors: Brookes Andrew
Published: July 2016

In what sense might nature based tourism be considered education for sustainability? “Educational” confers an implied worthiness which may seem to offset the environmental costs of tourism. Moreover, nature-based tourism may indeed have an important educational role to play. This paper examines the role of “education” in ecotourism discourse, and argues that a predominance in ecotourism of an overly simplified set of educational concepts. These fail to convince that “educational” nature based tourism provides a significant contribution to education for sustainability, and equally fail to establish the necessity for tourism as a means to those educatonal ends which are achieved. The paper concludes with a discussion of some of the considerations which a more serious consideration of nature based tourism as education would have to take into account.
Teaching Responsibility for Climate Change: Three Neglected Issues
Authors: Lenzen Manfred , Smith Syd
Published: July 2016

Based on a review of NSW and Victorian education materials, we conclude that the following three issues are neglected within education about climate change, and should be included in future syllabuses: (1) there are large disparities in per-capita greenhouse gas emissions between industrialised and developing countries. Hence, international equity and its implications for Australians must be addressed. (2) There is a considerable gap between the outcome of Australian emissions abatement, and reductions, which are necessary to achieve an ecologically sustainable and internationally equitable emissions level. Given the absence of adequate technological and political incentives, the potential of individual responses must be further explored. (3) Responsibility for climate change is not restricted to emissions from households and private cars, but must be extended towards emissions associated with the personal consumption of goods and services.
Adult Environmental Education and Ecology
Authors: Slattery Deirdre
Published: July 2016

Land management is often a three-way partnership between management agencies, scientists and community members. Co-operation between these three sectors in working for better environmental outcomes has a long history in Victoria, and nature conservation has often previously been achieved through successful adult environmental education. The recent development of an ecology course on the Box and Ironbark forests continues this tradition. It was organised by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) for community interest groups and was taught by scientists.

This article presents the results of qualitative research into some participants' view of their learning on the course. It suggests significant directions for adult learning in environmental education. An intensive experience of field-based scientific inquiry appeared to prompt not only ecological learning but also development of aesthetic, moral and action dimensions for the interviewees. The article suggests that environmental education needs to embrace fruitful elements of various learning methods for adults, including scientific learning about ecology. The process of enabling people to extend their knowledge of natural settings and processes can also enhance their relationship with and commitment to these places.
Stand Up, Stand Up and Be Counted: Undermining Myths of Environmental Education
Authors: Fien John
Published: July 2016

This paper explores some of the ideas that underlie different conceptions of sustainable development. It suggests the notion of ‘sustainable living’ may provide direction for the role of environmental education in the transition towards a sustainable society. Aspects of the emerging concept of ‘education for sustainable living’ are used to analyse some widely-held assumptions about environmental education practice. In doing so the paper seeks to contribute to the process of identifying a vision and practice appropriate to environmental education for a new millennium.
Ethnography, the Environment and Education—the Rottnest Voluntary Guide Experience
Authors: Ilett Annie
Published: July 2016

This paper was originally written as part of my Masters of Education study of environmental education on Rottnest Island, Western Australia. This paper describes an initial observation exercise employing ethnographic research techniques to reveal the motivations, culture and world view of the Rottnest Voluntary Guides, a group of people who volunteer their time to conduct free environmental tours for the public visiting the Island.

This observation exercise was followed up by an in-depth study, involving interviews with individual Guides, in an attempt to learn: how members of the group construct their world; what assumptions they make; what it is to be a member of that group; and why they chose to spend their time with the group.