This article examines the work of pre-service teachers in a new environmental education course at an Egyptian faculty of education, when they are given the assignment to investigate and take action with respect to an environmental issue in their community(s). Their explorations take us from apartment houses, through the farming countryside, past roadside canals and to city store fronts. Using a theoretical framework provided by critical place-based pedagogy, we analyze their work in (re)inhabitation and decolonization to further identify the challenges to, and the supports for environmental citizenship in Egypt. The Arab Spring resonates as the political backdrop for the research.

In a departure from traditional lecture formats, this research examines the effect of using both Facebook and group fieldwork in developing Egyptian pre-service teachers' interdependence, and their awareness of STSE. Group work and fieldwork were found to enhance interdependence/cooperation of participants, as well as strengthen their understanding of STSE issues. Participants found it difficult to find a balance between the different perspectives afforded by STSE studies. A number of recommendations are offered to strengthen teacher preparation in an Egyptian context.

No abstract

No abstract