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Connecting Subject Matter, Social Life and Students' Experiences: A Case Study of Curriculum Integration Through Environmental Learning

Integrating environmental learning into mainstream education is an important countermeasure to address the challenges to the sustainability of the earth and children's integrated development. To be effectively integrated into mainstream education, an environmental learning program should be designed in ways that elicit the support of stakeholders, while at the same time without scarifying the environmental learning goals. The purpose of this study therefore is to explore an environmental learning model that meets the above mentioned goal using a case study design.Key principles for designing such environmental learning programs are identified first based on the theoretical framework. Then, the actual enactment of these principles in a practical setting and the effects on students in terms of environmental learning goals and traditional educational goals are explored through a case study of a pilot environmental learning program designed with these guiding principles. It presents a detailed portrait of the design process, the actual enacted curriculum, and the experiences of key stakeholders with this environmental learning program. It also evaluates this program's effects on students in environmental literacy (the environmental learning goal), academic achievement and social development (the traditional educational goals). The enactment of the guiding principles and factors that influence the enactment of this program are discussed thereafter. It concludes with the construction of the curriculum integration through environmental learning model based on the case study and a discussion of the model in light of the curriculum integration framework.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/195230
Date January 2009
CreatorsYan, Baohua
ContributorsJohnson, Bruce, Arenas, Alberto, Doyle, Walter
PublisherThe University of Arizona.
Source SetsUniversity of Arizona
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext, Electronic Dissertation
RightsCopyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.

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