Thesis (M. Ed. (Education))--Rhodes University, 2006. / Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Environmental Education).

In exercising their professional duties professional planners inevitably impact on the environment. In the past, more often than not, this impact has been allowed to occur without sufficient forethought, and usually to the detriment of the environment. In this research it is proposed that this undesirable state of affairs arises from inadequacies within the professional education of the planners, and that greater emphasis on the environmental education of planners is called for. From the perspective of a participative approach to curriculum development, the opinions of professional planners in the Port Elizabeth area were canvassed to establish baseline data in respect of their environmental education needs. To provide further information and a background against which the perceptions of the professional planners could be assessed, the opinions of the learned societies of the planning professions and of key environmentalists were also sought. In all these opinion surveys postal questionnaires formed the basis of the methodology employed. The extent of environmental education presently available to professional planners at tertiary institutions in South Africa and overseas, with particular emphasis on that available in the civil engineering discipline, was also investigated. The surveys revealed a strongly felt need for environmental education within the planning professions. The natural environment, the social environment, environmental ethics and interdisciplinary action all emerged as acceptable themes of the said education. A number of environmental topics to be covered were also identified. Block-release and part-time courses emerged as the most popular format for such environmental education offerings. The limited environmental education practice within the civil engineering discipline at South African tertiary institutions was noted, and the overseas practice in this regard provided useful insights. The data gathered as outlined above, formed the basis from which proposals towards an environmental curriculum for professional planners were made. Although these proposals focused primarily on the civil engineering discipline within the ambit of technikon-based educational programmes, wider multi-disciplinary applications remained an important concern. In the first instance, proposals aimed at expanding the environmental component of the existing first-qualification course were suggested. Secondly, proposals in respect of a post-first qualification, interdisciplinary, environmental study programme leading to a technikon degree were formulated.

This thesis focuses on linking environmental education and the teaching of physics in elementary school. Describes the theory of environmental education and access RVP, discusses the different types of textbooks and evaluated in terms of environmental education. It also suggests the physical component of environmental projects for different school years of primary school and describes their implementation. Finally, information on pupils attitudes to link environmental education and physics through a questionnaire survey and draw conclusions and recommendations for better coordination of these topics.

<p> This is a quantitative non-random experimental study involving two ninth grade Art I classes at a California charter high school. One class is the control group while the other class is the experimental group. The control group will be taught an Everyday Aesthetics unit (EAU) of instruction focusing on traditional art vocabulary and themes. The experimental group will be taught the Environmental Significance of Everyday Aesthetics (ESOEA) using elements of a critical pedagogical teaching approach. </p><p> This initial experimental study includes three hypotheses. Hypothesis 1 is an experimental group of high school Art I students participating in the ESOEA unit and hypothesized to demonstrate a significant increase in environmental consciousness between pretest and posttest. Hypothesis 2 is a control group of high school Art I students exposed to the EAU and is predicted to demonstrate no significant increase between pretest and posttest in environmental consciousness. Hypothesis 3 is the experimental group participating in the ESOEA and hypothesized to demonstrate a significant increase between pretest and posttest regarding environmental consciousness in comparison to the control group of students taught with the EAU of instruction.</p><p>

The research question: What do adults understand about the cyclic nature of organic matter and the concepts in decomposition? This study examined the scientific and alternate views on the concept of decomposition in two phases. The first is a constructive phase and dealt with collecting ideas and terminology. The second, the validation phase, determined how many adults shared the ideas collected. The constructive phase involved clinically interviewing 20 adult subjects of various age groups and educational backgrounds using open ended questions and concepts mapping. The validation stage was administering a survey constructed with the ideas found in the clinical interviewing to various people randomly in public places and employment facilities. Additional data was collected regarding the experience of the subjects in composting and gardening or courses in biology or chemistry. This data was examined to identify what ideas are held most often by adults, what ideas are not in conjunction with scientific concepts, and what variables might have produced the factors based on a constructivist approach to educational development. The findings include firmly held ideas about the decomposition of bones and the lack of understanding of the microbial role of decomposition.

The multicultural and environmental education movements have constituted significant political and educational forces over the last several decades. However, there has been little merger of these in terms of constituencies, ideologies and agendas. In schools, environmental and multicultural education are most often considered occasional additives rather than core curriculum, and rarely are they introduced as interconnected. Educational curricula and programs that support young people, particularly in but not limited to urban areas, in exploring connections between social and environmental issues and becoming knowledgable and conscientious decision makers, leaders and activists are urgently needed. Urban youth involved in environmental issues represent a venue for bridging multiculturalism and environmentalism as change agents who bring multiple cultural perspectives, wisdom, and leadership potential to the discourse. This research study explores conditions that promoted environmental activism and leadership among urban youth. An interview-based methodology was used to gain insights into the experiences and perceptions of twelve young people, male and female, who live in urban areas and are of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The analysis explores influences such as family, culture, neighborhood and school in shaping the study participants' perceptions and involvement in environmentalism. Their perspectives challenge limited and sterotypical definitions of environmental issues and support the notion that 'environment' is a socially constructed concept. The youth illustrate this in the examples of urban environmental concerns they identify and discuss as important to their lives and communities. Their experiences as youth activists and the nature of their activism is explored, including the importance of adult support and membership in community to sustaining their involvement. Their perceptions of leadership as a collaborative process, informed visions for rethinking schooling, and clarity in terms of educational and career aspirations reinforce their importance as contributors to the discourse on environmentalism. The lessons learned from this research are translated into recommendations for rethinking curriculum development and teacher education from a multicultural environmental perspective, and building alliances between schools and community and national organizations.

O novo modo de vida criado pela sociedade implica em modificações, tanto na questão urbana, social e ambiental, descrito hoje como problemas ambientais contemporâneos. Mas para que haja compreensão das mudanças ambientais, se faz necessário integrar as diversas ciências, como as ciências naturais e sociais, possibilitando assim o equilíbrio com o desenvolvimento econômico e ambiental. Partindo do pressuposto de que os processos naturais não podem ser dissociados dos processos humanos e a importância de reconhecer na paisagem a população como atores principais e fundamentais para a conservação ambiental e participação na gestão de seu território, pressupõem-se que a percepção da paisagem pode servir como ferramenta de conservação ambiental. Entretanto para conservar é preciso conhecer e compreender o real motivo da conservação ambiental. Compreender o ambiente e seus significados em conjunto com as relações sociais, permite desenvolver a capacidade de pensar o desenvolvimento com liberdade, revelando importância do seu território. Esse novo pensar e as novas práticas sustentáveis, são discutidos na educação ambiental e agora maiormente na educação formal. No âmbito da educação tem se intensificado a formação de um consenso sobre a necessidade de problematizar a questão ambiental em todos os níveis de ensino, a partir disso a educação ambiental vem sendo valorizada como uma ação educativa que deve estar presente de forma transversal e interdisciplinar, permitindo a formação de novas atitudes e sensibilidades. A educação ambiental por ser uma relação humana interdisciplinar permite a utilização de diversas técnicas e métodos de conscientização e aprendizagem. Dentre diferentes métodos utilizados na educação ambiental a percepção da paisagem pode ser um novo caminho para a conscientização ambiental, já que as duas trabalham com a sensibilização, emoção, sentimentos e energias as quais podem influenciar na mudança de comportamento. Desta forma entende-se que compreender o espaço socialmente produzido como lugar de experiências favorece o processo de aprendizagem, possibilitando estabelecer discussões sociais, políticas e ambientais na paisagem. Partindo da importância de utilizar a percepção da paisagem como ferramenta de conservação ambiental dentro da perspectiva da educação ambiental, a presente pesquisa foi realizada na Escola Municipal de Ensino Fundamental Profª Marili Dias, tendo como objetivo geral: Verificar se o estudo da paisagem na EMEF Profª Marili Dias pode contribuir para a conservação ambiental. A pesquisa utilizou a pesquisa participante como metodologia de pesquisa qualitativa durante as atividades realizadas, utilizando-se de um conjunto de procedimentos como questionário estruturado, pesquisa documental, depoimentos e narrativas, contribuindo na construção da Cartografia Social Participativa. / The new way of life created by society implies changes both in urban, social and environmental issues, described today as contemporary environmental problems. To understand the environmental changes, it is necessary to integrate the various sciences, such as the natural and social sciences, allowing the balance to the economic and environmental development. Assuming that natural processes cannot be separated from human processes and the importance of including the population in the landscape as key players in environmental conservation and participation in the management of its territory, it´s assumed that the perception of the landscape can serve as environmental conservation tool. However to preserve you need to know and understand the real motive of environmental conservation. Understanding the environment and their meanings together with social relationships, increases the capability of thinking development with freedom, disclosing the importance of its territory. This new thinking and new sustainable practices, are discussed in environmental education and now in formal education as well. In education it has intensified the formation of a consensus on the need to discuss environmental issues at all educational levels, from that environmental education has been valued as an educational activity that should be present in a comprehensive and interdisciplinary way, allowing the formation of new attitudes and sensibilities. Environmental education is an interdisciplinary human relationship and allows the use of various techniques and methods of awareness and learning. Among the different methods used in environmental education perception of the landscape can be a new path to environmental awareness, since it works with awareness, emotion, feelings and energies which can influence behavior change. Thus it is known that to understand the socially produced space as a place of experience promotes the learning process, allowing establishing social, political and environmental discussions within the landscape. Starting from the importance of using the perception of landscape as a conservation tool from the perspective of environmental education, this research was conducted at the Municipal Elementary School Prof. Marili Dias with the goal: To make sure the landscape study in EMEF Profª marili Dias can contribute to environmental conservation. The research used participatory research as qualitative research methodology during the activities. Considering that, between data production techniques for the development of social research, apply techniques used to both qualitative methods and also quantitative methods. Therefore, we used a set of procedures as structured questionnaire, documentary research, interviews and narratives, contributing to the construction of participative Social Cartography.

The world of today's higher education organizations is characterized by complexities brought about as a result of rapid change, economic and political turbulence, and increasing global interdependence. The complexity of the environment in which colleges and universities operate is also due in part to a need to serve multiple internal and external constituencies. In order to be more responsive to the demands of its numerous constituencies and at the same time preserve their intrinsic values, colleges and universities need to know how effective they are in what they do. This research asked: To what degree does institutional effectiveness allow public colleges and universities to operate in a sustained manner over a long period of time while meeting the needs of their constituencies? The lack of criteria about what constitutes effectiveness in higher education contributes to the lack of research in this area of organizational theory. This research examined organizational effectiveness and its measurement in higher education environment using a survey of multiple internal and external constituencies. The purpose of the survey was to gather information regarding participants' perceptions about educational outcomes, processes, and environment in higher education organizations. In addition, given the changes in how higher education institutions are financed and the potential implications of these changes for effectiveness, this research explored the degree to which resource dependence, primarily dependence on public funding, influences the effectiveness of public colleges and universities. To address these questions the research tested the applicability of the sustainability framework as a model of effectiveness in higher education. The study suggests modification of the elements of the sustainability and extends the use of the concept of environment as it is defined in the sustainability framework to the concept of environment as defined in organizational theory. The sustainability framework has not been tested in this way before. The results indicate that there is promise in using the sustainability framework in this modified form and suggest that this concept is worthy of further exploration. Additionally, the study examined the role of multiple constituencies in defining effectiveness in higher education. The findings indicate that there are significant differences in perceptions of effectiveness among the groups of constituencies examined in the study. Finally, the results suggest that sources of public funding and the amount of money institutions spend per student have an influence on some aspects of effectiveness. To examine this further, the study explores the role of the political and fiscal environment in which institutions of higher education operate and offers institutional theory as a basis to explain resource dependence in public higher education. The findings of this study contribute to the field of organizational effectiveness, aid in understanding the role that public funding plays in higher education effectiveness, and contribute to the field of organizational theory more generally.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 135-139). Also available in print.

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate environmental literacy of 6th, 7th and 8th grades primary school students in public schools of Bodrum, Turkey. The study was carried out during the spring semester of the 2006-2007 academic years. A total of 848 students enrolled in four public primary schools completed the 49-item Environmental Literacy Questionnaire (Kaplowitz &amp / Levine, 2005). The components of environmental literacy which are defined as knowledge, attitude, use and concern of students about environmental issues were examined by means of frequency distributions. Results displayed that although students had low levels of knowledge about the environent, they displayed positive attitudes and high levels of concern toward the environment. They were also aware of the importance of interaction between humans and the environment. Relationships among the components of the ELQ (knowledge, attitudes, uses, and concerns) have been analyzed by means of zero order correlations. The strongest correlation found between &lsquo / attitude and use&rsquo / and &lsquo / use and concern&rsquo / variables among the components of the ELQ indicating that the students with positive attitude towards environmental issues have positive views on environmental uses and service and students concerning about environmental problems have more positive views on environmental use and service. Canonical correlation analysis was used to examine the relationship, if any, between the background characteristics of students and the set of environmental literacy variables in the questionnaire. The results showed that students who were interested in environmental issues, who gave importance to environmental problems, who thought they had good knowledge about environmental issues, whose parents&rsquo / were interested in environmental issues and involved in environmental activities had better knowledge about environmental issues, more positive attitude towards environmental issues, more positive view on environmental uses and service and concern environmental problems. In addition, the results of analysis by means of Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) demonstrated that female students had more positive attitudes towards environmental issues, more positive views on environmental use and more concern about environmental problems than male students&rsquo / had but same level of knowledge on environmental issues.