Building Primary Schools as a Model of Sustainable Communities: Hints for Teachers

2022-01-01
Children seem to be victims of deterioration in ecological systems but might be also actors having roles in shaping the future of our planet when equipped with the necessary skills, worldviews, and values. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been viewed as an approach that may enable future generations engage in pro-sustainable actions within their local environment. This chapter touches upon sustainability practices carried out in Green Schools and Eco-Schools Programme utilizing ‘whole school approach’. Learning outcomes including knowledge, values, value orientations and motivation as precursors of pro-environmental behaviours have been considered while revealing the impacts of these certification programmes. Primary schools that declare their usage of whole school approach succeed in increasing knowledge of children but fail to cultivate non-cognitive constructs. Educators should have in-depth insight into factors acting as barriers and facilitators while transforming primary schools into sustainable communities. For instance, the degree of participation in actions, interaction with nature, and local community involvement are among the issues that we need to evaluate if we intend to observe lifelong impacts of ESD initiations.

Suggestions

Training early childhood teachers for sustainability: towards a "learning experience of a different kind'
Feriver, Sebnem; Teksoz, Gaye (Tuncer); Olgan, Refika; Reid, Alan (Informa UK Limited, 2016-07-01)
In this study, we discuss findings from a small-scale project evaluating an in-service teacher training programme focused on perspective transformation' in early childhood education and education for sustainability (EfS). A bespoke professional development programme was developed for Turkish early childhood teachers, based on a variety of Mezirowian-inspired adult education activities. Data were gathered using a mixed method research design, from 24 early childhood educators, through learning diaries, a Lea...
Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs on Human Population Growth in the Context of Education for Sustainable Development: Development and Validation of an Instrument
Demirci, Sinem; Şahin, Elvan; Teksöz, Gaye; Marcinkowski, Thomas J. (2021-12-01)
The ongoing debates about the effects of human population growth (HPG) is one of the concepts in education for sustainable development (ESD). Beliefs toward HPG are an important construct for teacher education because beliefs potentially interfere with their instructional practices and students' beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. Accordingly, this study focused on developing and validating an instrument to explore pre-service teachers' beliefs toward the effects of HPG. The instrument was piloted, revised, a...
Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs on Human Population Growth in the Context of Education for Sustainable Development: Development and Validation of an Instrument
Demirci, Sinem; Şahin, Elvan; Teksöz, Gaye; Marcinkowski, Thomas J. (2021-12-01)
The ongoing debates about the effects of human population growth (HPG) is one of the concepts in education for sustainable development (ESD). Beliefs toward HPG are an important construct for teacher education because beliefs potentially interfere with their instructional practices and students' beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. Accordingly, this study focused on developing and validating an instrument to explore pre-service teachers' beliefs toward the effects of HPG. The instrument was piloted, revised, a...
Investigating potential of education for sustainable development program on preschool children’s perceptions about human-environment interrelationship
Cengizoğlu, Seçil; Olgan, Refika; Teksöz, Gaye; Department of Early Childhood Education (2013)
The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of developed and implemented education for sustainable development (ESD) program on preschool children’s perceptions about human-environment interrelationship in line with deforestation, biological diversity and climate change which are the basic components of ESD. The sample of the study is comprised a class of 60-66 month-old eco-preschool children (N=18) living in Ankara, Turkey. For this study, a qualitative case study was conducted. The data we...
An Inquiry into the Underlying Reasons for the Impact of Technology Enhanced Problem-Based Learning Activities on Students' Attitudes and Achievement
Cetin, Yucel; MİRASYEDİOĞLU, ŞEREF; Çakıroğlu, Erdinç (Ani Publishing and Consulting Company, 2019-01-01)
Purpose: In the constantly changing and evolving world of today, there is a need to raise individuals who are able to renew themselves, learn autonomously, and have higher order thinking skills such as critical thinking and deducing. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of Technology Enhanced Problem-Based Learning Activities (TEPLA), developed with regard to the aforementioned need, on learners' attitudes towards mathematics and academic achievement in mathematics through qualitat...
Citation Formats
E. Şahin, Building Primary Schools as a Model of Sustainable Communities: Hints for Teachers. 2022.