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EDA3046 MAY/JUNE 2011

Question 1

1.1 Environment
-our surroundings
-a holistic representation of the environment
-environment is more than just nature; everything around us is part of our
environment.
-example is roads, schools, mines, art festivals, rock formations, human
fellowship

1.2 Environmental education


-is education for the environment
-deals with creating positive attitudes towards the environment
-concerned with actions taken or skills learned to prevent environmental
problems
-Process during which values are discovered and concepts explained in order to
develop skills and attitudes pertaining to appreciation of the relationship
between man culture and environment.
-includes the practise of decision making and the formation of a personal code of
conduct on the matters affecting quality of environment.

1.3 Ecology
-interaction between living organisms and their environment as well as the
interrelationship between living organisms

1.4 Health hazards


-When the community or individual is plagued by diseases some contagious,
epidemic or pandemic.
-when there is a lack of necessities such as sewers or safe water supply
-poor control of workplace environment and overcrowded living conditions

1.5 Biodiversity
-term used to describe the richness and vast variety of forms of life on earth
-it describes the variety of life in an area, including the number of different
species, genetic wealth within each species, the interrelationships between them
and the natural areas where they occur.
-often defined as the variety among living organisms and the ecological
communities.

1.6 Overpopulation
-excessive population of an area to a point of overcrowding, depletion of natural
resources or environmental deterioration
-excessive population creates environmental stress, each person needs water,
food, clothing, shelter and energy which influences ecosystems directly or
indirectly
-countries all over the world are experiencing large-scale destruction of the
natural environment, while poverty and famine abound in developing countries

1.7 Urbanisation
-physical growth of urban areas as a result of rural migration and even suburban
concentration into cities, particularly the very large ones
-described as a specific condition at a set time.
-perception of life in urban centres and the slow rate of development in rural
areas are reasons for urbanisation in the world

1.8 Desertification
-has come about as a result of land deration, whereby the biological potential of
the soil and its ability to support populations is diminished
-caused by combination of natural and human factors
-natural causes are drought and desiccation of vegetation
-human causes are unsustainable land uses like over cropping, overgrazing,
deforestation and poor irrigation practises.

1.9 Deforestation
-occurs when forests are converted to non-forest uses such as agriculture,
grazing, selective timber cutting and fuel wood collection
-can be described as the permanent destruction of indigenous forests and
woodlands

1.10 Pollution
-unwelcome concentration of substance that are beyond the environments
capacity to handle
-pollution is the poisoning of the environment with anything that reduces its
ability to support life
-pollution occurs when the environment becomes overloaded beyond the
capacity of these normal processing systems

Question 2

I do agree with the allegation that peoples faith can have a powerful influence
on their attitudes towards the environment and the way they treat it

2.1 Christianity
-the predominant approach to the environment was that humans had been
placed in the world to rule creation.
Environment place d at the disposal of human beings and it is their right to
utilise and exploit it at their discretion
-Christians believed that human kind was the most important in the entire
universe
-duty of humans to conquer/rule nature
-believed that everything had been created for the sake of human kind
-environment viewed as something that was removed from human beings not as
something which people form a apart

2.2 Islam
-believe that everything has been created in balance
-humans are part of nature and are also subject to the law of nature which are
dictated by God
-God holds dominion over nature
-Muslim scientists do not feel it necessary to investigate the origin of things: this
has already been declared in Gods work.
-water is very important to Muslims because they believe that God created living
beings out of water
-wild herbivores may be hunted but should be killed in a prescribed way and
every part should be utilized
-it is unlawful to catch an animal for purpose of keeping it in a cage as a pet or to
make money
-wild plants are the joint property of all human beings and may be used for food,
animal feed, building material and medicine

2.3 Buddhism
-an environmentally friendly religion that gives clear rules about the way we
should utilize, protect and appreciate environment
-all living things should be treated with love and respect
-belief in reincarnation for this reason is important to be kind to animals and thus
also learn merits for next life.
-correct behaviour towards living creatures is prescribed in the sense that no
beings that breathe may be killed
-believe that humans are not superior beings elevated above nature
-believe in a nonviolent approach, they dont even simply break off branches
from a tree

2.4 Judaism
-believe that creation is good and that it reflects the grandeur of the creator
-all creatures have been created according to their sorts and each has a purpose
on earth
-the living things form a hierarchy from the lowest to the highest, and man as the
crown of creation
-people are responsible for the active preservation of all life
-humans and the earth are dependent on one another
-creation should be respected and no wastage or destruction may be allowed.
-Jews are permitted to eat curtain types of meat as long as animals are killed in
such a way that they do not have to suffer
-Jewish doctrine stipulated that humans are here on earth to guard over nature
not destroy it.
-life of humans take prejudice over animals

2.5 Hinduism
-believe all living beings are interdependent with one another and the actions of
each affect all others
-have a belief in a world forest, they see the whole world as a forest
-to keep the world as it is the world forest should be retained
-the world forest symbolises totality
-to the Hindus the earth is the peoples mother, who gave them life and who still
cares for and maintains them
-although all living things may not have the same material importance they are
on the same spiritual level and are equally important
-animals are not only placed here to provide human needs they are living
expressions of the spirit.

Question 3

3.1 Curriculum development as an open ended process


-notion of the curriculum being an open-ended process allows for reflection and
regular review of the curriculum
-if curriculum development is a process no curriculum can be seen as fixed
-this enables teachers of the curriculum to participate in the curriculum
development process
-it will also allow reflection from a number of role players

3.2 Participation in the curriculum


-the participation notion is curriculum development it derived from the
constructivist theory
-this theory argues that learners have the ability to organize, construct and
structure knowledge in interaction with others.
-environmental education should be grounded in the lives of the students as
active participants in curriculum development.
-critical appraisals of the learners following standardised curricula
The homogenising of the medium of the textbook
Alienating environment of the classroom
-the above sheds some light on the ways that schooling can diminish or detract
from being in a more than human world
-participation in curriculum development can also lead to teachers negotiating
the curriculum

3.3 curriculum development for social change


-many see environmental education as a vehicle towards social change or
reconstruction
-the knowledge that shapes our educational practise and our actions on the
environment is socially constructed and open to review
-economic needs, state of society, self-concepts of young people are all calls for
change addressed by environmental education
-teachers can act as agents for change by adopting a social critical orientation to
the environment and drawing on the idea of critical pedagogy.

3.4 Outcome-based education


=the characteristics of outcome based education that is compatible with
environment education:

Learner-centeredness
-emphasis is on what the learner should be able to know, understand, do and
become
-the learners do not only gain knowledge, they also understand what they
learn and must be able to develop appropriate skills, attitudes and values
-learners become active participants in the learning process and have to take
a measure of responsibility for their own learners
-learners are able to be allowed to work at their own pace and in different
ways

Learning programs
-consists of sets of learning activities in which the learner becomes involved
while working towards the achievement of specific outcomes

Role of teachers
-teachers play a facilitating roll in the learning process
-teachers have the freedom to develop their own learning programmes based
on the guidelines provided by the education department

Learning activities
-more important than teaching activities, god to provide opportunities for
hands on learning

Content
-Little specific content will be prescribed and the focus will be on achieving
learning outcomes

Assessment
-continuous, variety of assessment strategies

Question 4
4.1 Ecological indicators
-people are deeply connected to the place in which they live, its boundaries,
strengths, weaknesses and rhythms and humans live in synchrony and harmony
within the ecological system
-food comes primarily from local/bioregional sources, is organic, free of
contaminants and provides nutritional balance
-structures are designed to blend with and complement natural environment
-consumption and generation of waste are minimised
-clean renewable water supply available
-human waste used or disposed of to the benefit of the environment and
community
-renewable, non-toxic energy sources are used to heat and power the community
-innovative technologies are neither exploited nor suppressed, but applied for
common good

4.2 Social indicators


-sense of social stability and dynamism in community life
-there are adequate opportunities for communication
-talents, skills and other resources of the community are shared freely within the
community
-diversity is honoured as a source of wealth, vitality and creativity
-personal growth, learning and creativity are valued and nurtured
-options for restoring, maintaining or improving health
-flow or resources, giving/receiving of funds, goods, and services is balanced to
meet community needs

4.3 Spiritual indicators


-cultural vitality is sustained though artistic and other cultural activities an
Celebrations
-creativity and arts seen as expression of unity and are encouraged and
supported through various forms of artistic expression
-respect and support for spirituality manifested in many ways
-qualities and commonalities at the heart of a community provide unity and
integrity to community life
-capacity for flexibility and successful responsiveness to difficulties that arise
-community chooses and contributes to creation of a peaceful, loving,
sustainable world.

Question 5
5.1 Active learning
-learners should be active participants in the learning situation in environmental
education
-must be given the opportunity to be critical and creative and to be able to
discover things on their own
-purpose of the learning process must be to enable learners to develop as
individuals and to acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes and values
-projects in which learners are given autonomy and a scenes of ownership
-learners should become good at solving problems confidently and applying
solutions where possible
-active learning requires learners to act on info by transforming it into new
personal meaning
-usually closely associated with constructivist theories
-according to them learning experiences should be designed to facilitate
exploration and elaboration and should be built of experiences

5.2 Authentic learning


-learning in environmental education should have an applied focus and should be
authentic
-learning about real environmental and looking for real solutions
-Active-hands on learning
-educators use local sources of information and indigenous knowledge available
in the community
-learning should consist of authentic tasks and should take place in real life
context
-authentic learning tasks help learners to understand the interaction of
environmental, social and economic process and to cope better with the
complexity of sustainable development
5.3 Problem solving
-problem solving and decision making are critical to ensure meaningful learning
experiences in environmental education
-this approach can be used with great success as long as learners are provided
with a variety of tools they can use to effect change
-with correct guidelines/support learners will make an effort to solve problems if
real and if adults can not
-learners who have succeeded in effecting change through solutions to problems
have a sense of accomplishment

5.4 Critical thinking


-comprises content knowledge, procedural knowledge, ability to use and control
thinking skills
-it develops logical reasoning, creative thinking and problem solving skills
- Environmental learning provides an excellent mechanism for the development
and use of critical thinking skills by providing real problems and issues to
critically examine and reflect
-Environmental learning as seen from a social-critical paradigm consists of four
dimensions- its purpose is to enable learners to construct, critique, emancipate
and transform their environment

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