The History and Development of EE
Environmental education is critical to dealing with the world’s environmental issues. However, we must thoroughly understand the nature of environmental education before we can apply it effectively and attain its goals.
Since the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in the 1960s which showcased various environmental problems, public awareness of environmental protection has been increased. In 1969, Prof. William Stapp published his work ‘The Concept of Environmental Education’ in the first issue of ‘The Journal of Environmental Education’, laying the foundation for environmental education (Stapp, 1969).
In the 1970s, environmental education began to draw widespread attention. According to the Belgrade Charter, the goal of environmental education is “to develop a world population that is aware of, and concerned about, the environment and its associated problems, and which has the knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations and commitment to work individually and collectively toward solutions of current problems and the prevention of new ones”. In 1977, UNESCO held the first Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education in Tbilisi, the Soviet Union. With 66 member states participating, the Tbilisi Declaration signed after the meeting set out the goals and guidelines for environmental education.
In the 1980s, the direction of environmental education had changed after the World Conservation Strategy mentioned that it is important for development to be sustainable to solve the world’s environmental and development problems. This is the first document that directed the focus of Environmental Education to Education for Sustainable Development. Until 1987, the Brundtland Report listed the definition of sustainable development as “development meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. In 1992, at the Earth Summit Conference held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 120 world leaders admitted the importance of education for sustainable development and included it in Agenda 21.
EE & Education for Sustainable Development
Education for sustainable development emphasizes the relationship between environment and development issues while focusing on educating the public to deal with these issues with holistic vision and critical thinking. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that there is no clear separation between environmental education and education for sustainable development. Both are related to one another and situated in the same system. According to the applied nature of environmental education pointed out by Filho (1996) (Figure 1), education for sustainable development is in fact originated from and tends to be incorporated within environmental education. Therefore, environmental education and sustainable development methods are compatible and interchangeable.
Approaches of Environmental Education
Three approaches proposed by Lucas (1979) were considered methods to implement environmental education. They include education about the environment, education in the environment and education for the environment.
Education about the environment focuses on knowledge indoctrination and acquisition, as well as the skills to solve environmental problems. It inclines towards scientific knowledge and technological advancement in solving environmental problems.
Education in the environment is about utilizing the outdoor environment as the place for learning. Being a resource highly familiarized and relevant for education purposes (Gayford, 1991), placing oneself in the environment, especially in the nature, would establish a person’s awareness and concern for the environment along with the sense of place. This approach is centred around personal experience and implemented via outdoor education (Plant, 1998; Tilbury, 1995).
Education for the environment emphasizes the establishment of sense of responsibility among the public for solving the world’s environmental and development problems. This is an action-oriented approach, prioritized the cultivation of pro-environmental behaviour. This approach focuses on the empowerment of different people in society, for changing the existing social power structure to deal with environmental and development issues (Plant, 1998).
All three approaches have their own pros and cons. No matter it is environmental education or education for sustainable development, the three approaches need to be adopted to complement each other (Ballantyne & Packer, 1996; Gayford, 1991; Lee & Williams, 2001; Palmer, 1998; Tilbury, 1995). The incorporation of the three approaches is collectively termed as the Threefold Approach. To date, it is still the most fundamental method for implementing environmental education (Tilbury, 1995).
The Practice of Environmental Education in Hong Kong
Professor Lee Chi Kin John stated in the 1990s that environmental education in Hong Kong remained stagnant in teaching students about the environment (Lee, 1997). My research also found that Hong Kong environmental education had not been modified much over the past two decades, much relying on superficial knowledge (Ma, 2019). Given that environmental education has not been mainstreamed in the formal curriculum in education, it is hard to bring about a complete and fundamental change to the society.
Although many environmental policies have been promulgated and a lot of resources have been allocated for publicity and education, this ‘policy and project-based’ publicity and education work may see changes in a short period of time. Nonetheless, results will not be long-lasting. On the contrary, the effect can be far-reaching, albeit in a slower pace, if education is effectively implemented in schools and society using the Threefold Approach.
Therefore, there are much room for improvement in environmental education in Hong Kong. Being a professional environmental education organization, developing and implementing environmental education in the place is the primary goal of OWLHK. To promote environmental education in Hong Kong, I stress four major aspects: (1) mainstreaming of outdoor environmental education in the formal curriculum, (2) training and professionalization of environmental education talents, (3) constancy of environmental education research, (4) reinforcing exchanges and union in local environmental education.
Apart from striving for excellence in a personal perspective (like perfecting every course and activity), practical suggestions and methods are also needed to promote environmental education, not mentioning the support from various parties. As a result, environmental education initiatives are the focused work of OWLHK. We hope that new ways of doing are raised for different stakeholders to work altogether through multi-faceted aspects, including policy and governance, curriculum, schools, teacher training, research, and external collaboration.
In 2019, OWLHK contributed to the first Joint Statement on Environmental Education in Hong Kong. It was supported by a total of 18 organizations (including a separate letter from the WWF-Hong Kong along with 12 scholars and predecessors. The importance of this joint statement is that it has established a common and clear direction for environmental education, apart from fostering the government’s promotion of environmental education and mainstreaming it into formal education. We look forward to discussing and co-creating, step by step, for the improvement of the status quo and efficiency of environmental education.
References:
- Ballantyne, R., & Packer, J. M. (1996). Teaching and learning in environmental education: Developing environmental conceptions. The Journal of Environmental Education, 27(2), 25-32.
- Filho, W. L. (1996). Furthering Environmental Education. In W. L. Filho, Z. Murphy & K. O'Loan (Eds.), A Sourcebook for Environmental Education: A Practical Review based on the Belgrade Charter (pp. 182-195). New York, N.Y.: Parthenon Pub. Group.
- Gayford, C. (1991). Environmental Education: a question of emphasis in the school curriculum. Cambridge Journal of Education, 21(1), 73-79.
- Lee, J. C. K. (1997). Environmental Education in Schools in Hong Kong. Environmental Education Research, 3(3), 359-371.
- Lee, J. C. K., & Williams, M. (2001). Researching Environmental Education in the School Curriculum: An Introduction for Students and Teacher Researchers. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 10(3), 218-244. doi: 10.1080/10382040108667443
- Lucas, A. M. (1979). Environment and environmental education: Conceptual issues and curriculum implications. Melbourne, Australia: Australian International Press and Publications.
- Ma, K. K. (2019). Proposal for Hong Kong Environmental Education. Hong Kong: Outdoor Wildlife Learning Hong Kong. Available here
- Palmer, J. (1998). Environmental Education in the 21st Cnetury: Theory, Practice, Progress and Promise. London: Routledge.
- Plant, M. (1998). The Challenge for Environmental Education. Dereham, Norfolk: Peter Francis Publishers.
- Tilbury, D. (1995). Environmental Education for Sustainability: defining the new focus of environmental education in the 1990s. Environmental Education Research, 1(2), 195-212.
- Stapp, W. B. (1969). The Concept of Environmental Education. The Journal of Environmental Education, 1(3), 31-36.