Developing Teachers’ Environmental Literacy through Inquiry-based Practices

Abstract

This paper is concerned with a gap in the discourse concerning the development of environmental literacy. Much of the research available concerns the development of environmental literacy in students; however, our assertion is that unless the teacher has developed environmental literacy themselves, they cannot develop such literacies in their students. Hence, this paper will consider the development of environmental literacy in teachers as a necessity for enabling the development in students. As environmental education is predominantly delivered through an interdisciplinary infusion model, the recommendation is for a teacher's environmental literacy to be developed alongside their inquiry literacy. This paper uses the Australian Curriculum to explore how a curriculum potentially impacts on the development of environmental literacy, and the synergistic relationship between environmental literacy and inquiry literacy.

Exploring environmental literacy components in promoting sustainable behaviour: a case study of rural primary schools

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Environmental Education: A Correlational Study among Environmental Literacy, Disaster Knowledge, Environmental Sensitivity, and Clean-Living Behavior of Post Tsunami Disaster in Aceh Communities, Indonesia

“…Adequate knowledge about the environment is essential because humans are making a significant contribution to the environmental issues through industrial waste, domestic waste, and vehicles. Therefore, raising awareness among the community is in great need and crucial [23].…”

Analyzing a Human and Environment Unit at the 5th Grade Science Curriculum within the Environmentally Lliterate Citizenship Context

“…In an educational context, developing environmental literacy through school curricula is one way of addressing environmental issues in world education systems (Barraza, 2001;Craig & Allen, 2015;Erdogan et al, 2009;Innes et al, 2018;Gillian & Niranjan, 2019;Klakayan & Singseewo, 2016;Lee, 2000;Negev et al, 2008;Ross, 2007;Srbinovski et al, 2010;Sontay et al, 2015;Yucel-Ozata & Ozkan, 2014). Analyzing environmental literacy and citizenship in educational programs, curricula and textbooks have been a critical issue across many countries (Acuna, 2015;Carvalho et al, 2011;Cheng & So, 2015;Hart, 2002;Lieflander et al, 2015;Srbinovski, 2013).…”