Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T16:10:12.676Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Successful Environmental Education: Adapting to the Educational Habitat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2015

Janet Buchan
Janet Buchan*
Affiliation:
Charles Sturt University
*
†Educational Designer/Learning Media Laboratory Coordinator, Centre for Enhancing Learning and Teaching (CELT), Charles Sturt University, Albury, Australia. Email: jbuchan@csu.edu.au
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

As a matter of survival, we need to educate current and future generations to live sustainably. We need to ensure that future generations have access to quality environmental education.

This paper provides guidelines for educators and managers to use to better understand and manage the learning environment in which environmental education, particularly sustainability, programs take place. This is done through the introduction of two tools. Firstly, through a model of the learning environment that can be used to understand the educational environment and its various interactions and secondly, through the introduction of an Adaptive Management Conceptual Framework. This framework provides a step by step approach to guide the process of assessing the state of the current learning environment, and to guide the processes of decision making and implementation by educators.

These tools have broad application to a variety of educational environments; schools, universities and community education. A specific case study of the application of these tools in a university environmental science degree is outlined.

Keywords

sustainabilityenvironmental educationlearning environmentadaptive managementaction research.
Type
Research Article
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , 2004 , pp. 45 - 55
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2004

References

Allan, C., & Curtis, A. (2003). Regional scale adaptive management: Lessons from the North East Salinity Strategy (NESS). Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 10, 76–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allan, C., & Curtis, A. (2003a). Learning to implement adaptive management. Natural Resource Management, 6(1), 23–28.Google Scholar
Bates, G. M. (1995). Environmental law in Australia, 4th edn, Australia: Reed International Books.Google Scholar
Beder, S. (2000). Costing the earth: Equity, sustainable development and environmental economics. New Zealand Journal of Environmental Law, 4, 227–243, Retrieved February 11, 2003, from http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/sbeder/esd/equity.htmlGoogle Scholar
Buchan, J.(2004). Successful sustainability education: adapting to the educational habitat. Proceedings of the Effective Sustainability Education Conference, Council on Environmental Education, Retrieved September, 1, 2004, from http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/cee/conferenceproceedings.htm.Google Scholar
Buchan, J., & Buchan, A.(2003). Lessons from nature: Developing an adaptive management model for sustaining quality learning environments. In McLoughlin, C., Le Cornu, P. & Jackson, W. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 16th ODLAA Biennial Forum Sustaining Quality Learning Environments. Canberra: Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (Inc).Google Scholar
Johnson, B. L. (1999). Introduction to the special feature: Adaptive management – scientifically sound, socially challenged? Conservation Ecology 3(1), 10. Retrieved December, 23, 2003, from http://www.consecol.org/vol3/iss1/art10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, K. N. (1999). Appraising adaptive management. Conservation Ecology, 3(2), 3. Retrieved December, 23, 2003, from http://www.consecol.org/vol3/iss2/art3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riley, K. A. (1997). “Quality and equality” competing or complementary objectives? In Preedy, M., Glatter, R. & Levacic, R., (Eds.), Educational management strategy quality, and resources (pp. 26–37). Buckingham UK: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Shindler, B., & Cheek, K. A. (1999). Integrating citizens in adaptive management: A propositional analysis. Conservation Ecology, 3(1), 9. Retrieved December, 23, 2003, from http://www.consecol.org/vol3/iss1/art9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stankey, G. H., Bormann, B. T., Ryan, C., Shindler, B., Sturtevant, V., Clark, R. N., & Philpot, C. (2003). Adaptive management and the Northwest Forest Plan. Journal of Forestry, 101(1), 40–46.Google Scholar
Wiersma, W. (2000). Research methods in education: An introduction. 7th edn, MA: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar