title: Developing Pre-service Teacher Education in Environmental Education for Sustainability in Papua New Guinea

authors: Openg, Asaku Simiong

subjects: Environmental Education for Sustainability, Goals of environmental Education, Education about environment, education in environment, education for environment, Traditional education system, Characteristics of Environmental education for sustainability, History of environmental education for sustainability, environmental education for sustainability in teacher education, Action Competent, Environmental issues in Papua New Guinea, Biological environment issues, Physical environment issues, developmental issues, social issues, Key concepts of environmental education for sustainability, sustainable development, connectedness, Interdependent, diversity, Knowledge, experience, critical thinking, reflection, action, commitment, intervention,

abstract: Government policies in Papua New Guinea (PNG) identify the need for environmental education for sustainability (EEfS) to respond to environmental and sustainability issues faced within the country. However, little has been achieved to develop EEfS in pre-service teacher education. This doctoral study developed an intervention to address this problem in one PNG teachers college. The intervention design was underpinned by a theoretical framework comprising conceptual knowledge and pedagogical ideas from the EEfS literature, conceptions of teacher education and the local traditional knowledge of PNG, and a survey of pre-service teacher students and document analysis. The intervention was delivered to 300 year one pre-service teachers. 

An evaluation of the intervention used pre and post intervention questionnaires, student reflective journals and student work of 81 pre-service teacher participants. The analysis involved simple statistical and thematic analysis, using themes that both were informed by the literature and emerged from the data.

Student perceptions indicate that knowledge, skills and attitudes for EEfS were developed during the intervention. After the intervention, the students identified land problems and biodiversity depletion especially that of endangered species, as important issues for PNG, but their views on poverty as an issue were more complex. The data further suggests that the pre-service teachers were motivated and confident to teach EEfS, using learning approaches that were modelled in the intervention. 

While, it is unclear if the pre-service teachers will take personal action to contribute to future sustainability, it appears that the implementation of the intervention has had some impact on the pre-service teachers’ awareness, interest, and confidence to deliver EEfS in their future classrooms. The study also indicated that further development of an EEfS course in pre-service teacher education in PNG may require changes to current teacher education practice.

text: Developing Pre-service Teacher Education in Environmental Education for Sustainability in Papua New Guinea Government policies in Papua New Guinea (PNG) identify the need for environmental education for sustainability (EEfS) to respond to environmental and sustainability issues faced within the country. However, little has been achieved to develop EEfS in pre-service teacher education. This doctoral study developed an intervention to address this problem in one PNG teachers college. The intervention design was underpinned by a theoretical framework comprising conceptual knowledge and pedagogical ideas from the EEfS literature, conceptions of teacher education and the local traditional knowledge of PNG, and a survey of pre-service teacher students and document analysis. The intervention was delivered to 300 year one pre-service teachers. 

An evaluation of the intervention used pre and post intervention questionnaires, student reflective journals and student work of 81 pre-service teacher participants. The analysis involved simple statistical and thematic analysis, using themes that both were informed by the literature and emerged from the data.

Student perceptions indicate that knowledge, skills and attitudes for EEfS were developed during the intervention. After the intervention, the students identified land problems and biodiversity depletion especially that of endangered species, as important issues for PNG, but their views on poverty as an issue were more complex. The data further suggests that the pre-service teachers were motivated and confident to teach EEfS, using learning approaches that were modelled in the intervention. 

While, it is unclear if the pre-service teachers will take personal action to contribute to future sustainability, it appears that the implementation of the intervention has had some impact on the pre-service teachers’ awareness, interest, and confidence to deliver EEfS in their future classrooms. The study also indicated that further development of an EEfS course in pre-service teacher education in PNG may require changes to current teacher education practice.

year: 2012

title: The Effects of psychiatric status, sex, and concepts rated on semantic differential response style

authors: Priest, Peter Neville

abstract: The psychological literature contains evidence that the Semantic Differential (SD) (Osgood, Suci and Tannenbaum, 1957) is capable of differentiating psychiatric groups from normal controls on the basis of checking style. There were three specific aims of this present study. The first was to gain further confirmation of the ability of the SD to distinguish psychiatric patients from normal subjects. The second was to see whether the sex of the subject affected his checking style and thirdly, the writer wished to see whether the actual concepts used with the SD affected response tendency. However, before these three hypotheses are discussed in detail an introduction to the SD and a review of the important literature on the instrument are in order.

text: The Effects of psychiatric status, sex, and concepts rated on semantic differential response style The psychological literature contains evidence that the Semantic Differential (SD) (Osgood, Suci and Tannenbaum, 1957) is capable of differentiating psychiatric groups from normal controls on the basis of checking style. There were three specific aims of this present study. The first was to gain further confirmation of the ability of the SD to distinguish psychiatric patients from normal subjects. The second was to see whether the sex of the subject affected his checking style and thirdly, the writer wished to see whether the actual concepts used with the SD affected response tendency. However, before these three hypotheses are discussed in detail an introduction to the SD and a review of the important literature on the instrument are in order.

year: 1969

title: Proposing an indigenous power of veto in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Te Aho, Linda

abstract: Tom Fookes was an architect of New Zealand's Resource Management Act passed in 1991 (RMA). When interviewed about his life's work, Tom responded that he had sought to create a 'fair, integrated consideration of the decisions and policy to do with the social, economic and environmental conditions of our people'. I am told that he worked hard to provide a fair opportunity for all people to have a voice in decisions that affect them and places they care about. Processes were included in the RMA to allow this to occur, with particular provisions for a distinctive Maori voice. Because of these provisions, and the Act's lodestar of sustainable resource management, the RMA was promoted as one of the 'world's finest national environmental policies'.

text: Proposing an indigenous power of veto in Aotearoa New Zealand Tom Fookes was an architect of New Zealand's Resource Management Act passed in 1991 (RMA). When interviewed about his life's work, Tom responded that he had sought to create a 'fair, integrated consideration of the decisions and policy to do with the social, economic and environmental conditions of our people'. I am told that he worked hard to provide a fair opportunity for all people to have a voice in decisions that affect them and places they care about. Processes were included in the RMA to allow this to occur, with particular provisions for a distinctive Maori voice. Because of these provisions, and the Act's lodestar of sustainable resource management, the RMA was promoted as one of the 'world's finest national environmental policies'.

year: 2015