Reducing Pessimism's Sway in The Environmental Ethics Classroom

2004 ◽  
Vol 8 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 213-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Sheppard
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
William James ◽  
General State ◽  
Environmental Challenges ◽  
The Subject ◽  
State Of The Environment

AbstractIncreased awareness of the breadth and depth of existing environmental challenges is part of an environmental education. One effect of this increased awareness that can manifest itself in the environmental ethics classroom is pessimism. I outline two varieties of pessimism that have a tendency to hold sway in the environmental ethics classroom: 1) pessimism about the general state of the environment; and, 2) pessimism about being able to do anything about the general state of the environment. After outlining a few of the potential educational and vocational consequences of allowing pessimism to take root, I offer a pedagogical method for reducing the sway of pessimism in the classroom. I argue that William James' and John Dewey's writings on the subject of meliorism offer a framework that, when combined with some of the insights of incrementalism theory in environmental policy, can not only help students to reduce the sway of pessimism in the classroom, but also in their chosen career paths by, among other things, highlighting the "possibility of possibility".

scholarly journals Non-Formal Environmental Education in a Vulnerable Region: Insights from a 20-Year Long Engagement in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 4247
Author(s):  
Atila Calvente ◽  
Ali Kharrazi ◽  
Shogo Kudo ◽  
Paulo Savaget
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Education ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Environmental Challenges ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

Environmental education is essential in the diffusion of the ethics, values, and skills that are critical to sustainable transformations. This paper presents the experience of non-formal environmental education approaches held in schools in the Petrópolis region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil between 1997–2016. This paper adds to the literature on the relevant approaches and effectives of non-formal environmental education, especially in the vulnerable areas of low and middle-income regions that face critical environmental challenges. Specifically, to set up the context, this paper intends to firstly convey the commonly identified environmental sustainability challenges that the communities of the Petrópolis region are facing. Secondly, this report aims to convey key insights on how non-formal environmental education practices can strengthen gardening skills, environmental ethics, and sustainable food practices. These approaches have the potential to enhance the capacity of students toward sustainable transformations through encouraging them to be engaged with local social-environmental challenges. This paper adds new insights to the growing literature on non-formal environmental education, and it is hoped to inspire new educational approaches among sustainability educators.

scholarly journals From Environmental Awareness to Environmental Responsibility: Towards a Stewardship Curriculum

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Ajayi C. Omoogun ◽  
Etuki E. Egbonyi ◽  
Usang N. Onnoghen
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Education ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Environmental Awareness ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Ecological Problems ◽  
Environmental Curricula

<p>The period of environmentalism heightened environmental concern and subsequently the emergence of Environmental Education that is anchored on awareness. It is thought that increase in environmental awareness will reverse the misuse of the environment and its resources. Four decades after the international call for Environmental Education, Earth’s degradation is far from abating as it’s pristinity is consistently and irreversibly being eroded by no less than from anthropocentric activities. Humans have seen themselves as the dominant species that is apart and not part of the organisms that constitute the environment. The philosophical value free nature concepts and the theological assumption that human are the ultimate species together with the rise of capitalism and its surrogates consumerism together conspire to diminuate environmental health. To protect the environment therefore, we must refocus EE to change human’s view of the environment and attitude towards the utilization of its resources. Environmental education can become more effective in creating respect for the environment. This paper examined the failure of efforts at addressing environmental issues via environmental education. The paper posits that environmental problems are on the increase due to lack of deliberate responsibility and stewardship, lack of a unique EE curricula and ineffective pedagogy. We suggest therefore that EE can target human perception and attitude and direct then towards biocentric stewardship for the environment. This can be achieved through a deliberate pedagogy of environmental values that promotes sustainable attitude and respect for the environment. Humans must bear the burden of responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of the environment. We must replace the philosophical value free nature concepts that nature is a common commodity and the theological assumption that humans are the ultimate species. We must also rethink our consumerism nature and the endless faith in the efficacy of technology to solve reoccurrence human induced ecological problems. These issues must be embedded in the school curriculum. Pedagogical approach to EE should essentially be the experiential model. The school curriculum must be the carrier and doer of these values that are crucial to the sustainability of the environment. Environmental ethics, environmental code of conduct, environmental nationalism, nature as manifestation of God, ascetic consumerism are recommended as key component of environmental curricula and pedagogy.<strong> </strong></p>

scholarly journals To the Question of the Relevance of Updating School Environmental Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-120
Author(s):  
Sabrekova Maria S. ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
General Education ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Education Development ◽  
School Subjects ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Ecological Culture

The article is devoted to the analysis of the scientific and philosophical thought development, which served as a challenge to the renewal of the content of environmental education at the beginning of the XXI century. The analysis of the stages of domestic environmental education development, its content from the point of view of reflection in it of relations between society and nature is carried out. A new stage in the environmental education development in the 21st century is associated with the spread of ideas of sustainable development, which determine the transformation of all spheres of human culture. The article provides examples of tasks that currently exist in the educational literature for one of the primary school subjects, and a variant of their change from the standpoint of environmental education in the interests of sustainable development is proposed. The modern literature on the methodology of teaching the subject “The World Around” in primary school is considered from the point of view of the representation of the content of environmental education in it. The author comes to the conclusion about the insufficiency of the natural science orientation of environmental education for the formation of students’ ideas about the environmental imperative – a key category for understanding the conditions for harmonizing nature, society and the world of things. Based on the analysis performed, a conclusion was made about the relevance of updating the content of school environmental education. It is substantiated that this will contribute to the achievement of its planned result – the formation of a modern ecological culture among students. Keywords: general education, environmental education, educational content, environmental imperative, environmental culture

scholarly journals A Educação Ambiental no Ecoturismo e no Turismo de Aventura: estudo de caso do Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, Núcleo Santa Virgínia (SP)

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renato Bacchi ◽  
Odaléia Telles Marcondes Machado Queiroz ◽  
Zysman Neiman
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Education ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Clear Definition ◽  
Conservation Unit ◽  
Serra Do Mar ◽  
Adventure Tourism ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
The Subject

O presente estudo foi realizado no Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, Núcleo Santa Virgínia (SP), local de grandes atrativos ecoturísticos, sendo sua visitação voltada para as trilhas e o rafting, prática que ocorre no Rio Paraibuna com o uso de botes. Visitantes são acompanhados por monitores, ambiente propício para a realização de um estudo de caso que busca analisar quanti-qualitativamente a Educação Ambiental no ecoturismo e no turismo de aventura. Questionários foram aplicados aos turistas, entrevistas semiestruturadas aos monitores ambientais, à operadora de rafting que atua no local ao gestor da unidade. Foi realizada observação participante nas trilhas e no rafting. Verificou-se que a grande maioria dos visitantes está aberta à Educação Ambiental, a praticar o ecoturismo para ter contato com a natureza e aprender algo novo. Percebeu-se que existe um esforço da gestão do Núcleo Santa Virgínia, e dos monitores para realizar a prática educativa, porém ainda não há uma definição clara por parte destes do que seria a Educação Ambiental. A falta de discussão sobre o tema e a não percepção dos potenciais e limitações da Educação Ambiental no ecoturismo local pode levar a esforços que não gerem as transformações desejadas, apesar do potencial intrínseco do ambiente natural em proporcionar mudanças de visão e atitudes individuais. Environmental Education in Ecotourism and Adventure Tourism: case study of Serra do Mar State Park, Santa Virgínia Nucleus (SP, Brazil) ABSTRACT This study was conducted in Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, Núcleo Santa Virgínia - SP, site of major ecotourism attractions, being the visitation oriented for trekking and rafting, a practice that occurs in Rio Paraibuna, using boats. Visitors are accompanied by monitors, a favorable environment for the conduct of a case study that seeks to analyze quantitative and qualitative the environmental education in ecotourism and adventure tourism. Questionnaires were applied to tourists, semistructured interviews to environmental monitors, rafting operator and the manager of the conservation unit. Participant observations on the trails and rafting were done. The vast majority of visitors is open for environmental education, to practice ecotourism to have contact with nature and learn something new. It was noticed that there is an effort of the management of Santa Virgínia, and monitors to conduct educational practice during the tours, but there is still no clear definition on the part of those about what would be environmental education. The lack of discussion on the subject and the no perception of the potential and the limitations of environmental education in local ecotourism can lead to efforts that do not generate the desired transformations, despite the intrinsic potential of the natural environment to provide changes in view and in individual attitudes. KEYWORDS: Ecotourism; Environmental education; Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar; Núcleo Santa Virgínia; Case Study.

scholarly journals The Environmental Education Dimensions for Sustainable Development

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (30) ◽  
pp. 18-30
Author(s):  
Martian Iovan
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Moral Education ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Civil Values

Abstract Based both on a historical approach regarding the evolution of the environmental education between 1960 and present days, and on empirical research as well, the author proves that the efficiency of the environmental education could be much higher if included within the broader sphere of moral and civic education and if it is driven by a more extensive ideal sprung from the fundamental human right to a clean and well preserved environment, by the contemporary moral and civil values. The author pleads and motivates for an increased capitalization of the humanities and social sciences, of art, of environmental ethics and aesthetics in shaping “the ecological personality” of the tomorrow people. When shaping these personality traits through environmental education activities, one must emphasize the importance of practice and applied actions aimed to protect the environment, and in general, the practice of civic-moral education methods.

Environmental Political Theory, Environmental Ethics, and Political Science

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly Smith
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Considerable Difficulty ◽  
Structural Forces ◽  
Social Structural ◽  
Theories Of Justice ◽  
Policy Problems

Environmental political theory serves as an important bridge between political science and environmental ethics. Environmental ethics has traditionally focused on our duties to non-humans and expanding our conception of the moral community. But that focus on individual ethical choice limits its usefulness in addressing environmental policy problems. Political science, in contrast, is well-suited to analyzing social structural forces that give rise to environmental problems, but political scientists have had considerable difficulty in moving away from the field’s anthropocentric foundations. I argue that environmental political theory, in contrast to traditional political science, embraces the critique of anthropocentrism developed by environmental ethicists. It attempts to build theories of justice, citizenship, and political rights and duties on a more expansive understanding of the community of justice.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “PHENOMENOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CULTURAL CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES” / SOCIALINIŲ POKYČIŲ IR APLINKOS IŠŠŪKIŲ FENOMENOLOGINĖS PERSPEKTYVOS

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-90
Author(s):  
Rimantė Kvašinskaitė
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Change ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Environmental Challenges ◽  
International Conference ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The University ◽  
New Tradition ◽  
Second International

On September 22–24, in 2011, the second international phenomenological conference took place in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was organized together with Antioch University of the USA and it was hosted in Vilnius Gediminas Technical University's Faculty of Architecture. Urbanists, philosophers, educators and other academic scholars had a chance to deepen their knowledge and present the results of their researches on the subject of “Phenomenological Perspectives on Cultural Change and Environmental Challenges”. More than 10 speakers from various countries had presented their speeches and afterwards actively indulged in group discussions on the most problematic issues. Due to a huge success that the event has proven to be, it is expected to be just a beginning of a new tradition to hold such conferences in the university regularly. Santrauka Antroji tarptautinė fenomenologų konferencija Lietuvoje įvyko 2011 m. rugsėjo 22–24 d. Ši konferencija, kitaip nei 2009 m. įvykusi jos pirmtakė, buvo organizuota kartu su JAV Antiocho universitetu. Vilniaus Gedimino technikos universitete, Architektūros rūmuose urbanistai ir architektai turėjo galimybę sužinoti daug naujo ir patys pateikti savo tyrimų rezultatus tema ,,Socialinių pokyčių ir aplinkos iššūkių fenomenologinės perspektyvos“. Daugiau nei 10 pranešėjų iš viso pasaulio parengė kalbas ir po jų aktyviai įsitraukė į diskusijas, kuriose buvo gvildenami problematiškiausi klausimai. Tikėtina, kad tokios konferencijos ateityje taip pat bus organzijuojamos ir pamažu virs pasididžiavimo verta tradicija.

scholarly journals Environmental Education to Change the Consumption Model and Curb Climate Change

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7475
Author(s):  
Leticia-Concepción Velasco-Martínez ◽  
Juan-Jesús Martín-Jaime ◽  
Ligia-Isabel Estrada-Vidal ◽  
Juan-Carlos Tójar-Hurtado
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
Compulsory Education ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Responsible Consumption ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Consumption Model ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change

Environmental education plays a fundamental role in the fight against climate change and the transformation towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly socio-economic model. This study shows how to evaluate the effectiveness of a program for compulsory education students in Spain. The subject of the program focused on the effects of climate change in relation to our consumption model and the generation of waste. A mixed research methodology is proposed that combines a quantitative (10 items on the Likert scale, n = 714) and qualitative approach (category construction and analysis on open-ended questions). A study of the reliability and validity of the measure was carried out through a categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA). The multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) correlates the gender and educational level of the students to the learning acquired in the program. For example, the results show how students are convinced that adopting minimal pro-environmental habits (turning off lights and unplugging electronics, choosing public transport to get around, or using solar and wind power to produce electricity) can help mitigate climate change. The conclusions show the difficulties and challenges of education for responsible consumption, emphasizing the development of environmental education programs for reducing the effects of climate change.

scholarly journals Prediction of changes in the state of the geological environment in the mining region

2019 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
pp. 00009
Author(s):  
Olena Bubnova
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Direct Contact ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
The State ◽  
Geological Environment ◽  
General State ◽  
Mining Region ◽  
Mine Workings ◽  
State Of The Environment ◽  
Hydrological Regimes

The mining industry is fundamental in the violation of the natural environment and the creation of technogenic. Due to the fact that the natural, disturbed and technogenic environments are in direct contact with each other, there are a number of interrelations between them that affect the general state of the environment. It is shown that the interaction of disturbed and technogenic arrays with the natural geological environment leads to the development of negative processes in the form of landslides, flooding and drainage of territories. In turn, these negative processes lead to the formation of secondary disturbances in the natural environment and directly in disturbed and technogenic arrays - additional sedimentation and deformation of rocks, the formation of dips. The main reason for the development of such hazardous processes is the violation of the hydrogeological regime in the vast territories adjacent to the mine workings. Studies of the hydrogeological and hydrological regimes in disturbed and technogenic arrays are given. The processes of landslide formation and their causes in quarries and in dumps of enterprises mining various types of minerals are considered.

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