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The State of Environmental Education in the Australian School Curriculum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2015

Debbie Heck
Debbie Heck*
Affiliation:
Griffith University
*
†Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia. Email: d.heck@griffith.edu.au
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Abstract

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The first review of environmental education in Australia was undertaken by Linke (1980) in 1973/4. The Curriculum Corporation on behalf of the Government Department of the Environment and Heritage undertook a second national review in 2002. The purpose of the review was to provide evidence for the development of future national initiatives in environmental education and as advice for environmental education practioners. Curriculum documents were reviewed to identify the existence of 147 indicators of environmental education within outcomes and objectives of curriculum documents in the compulsory years of schooling through to senior secondary. The similarities between the two reviews are evident in the identification of Science and Social Science in the compulsory years of schooling as having. direct references to environmental education. Geography at the senior secondary level also had significant explicit reference to environmental education. However, there were differences. The 2003 review identified environmental studies as a new secondary level subject that has environmental education objectives. It also identified a broader range of learning areas including Arts, Health and Physical Education, English and Technology which provided opportunities for the development of environmental education.

Type
Reports
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 19 , 2003 , pp. 115 - 124
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

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