Environmental science education in a small island state: integrating theory and local experience

Eppinga, Maarten B.; Scisciolo, Tobia de; Mijts, Eric

doi:10.1080/13504622.2018.1552248

Cited by 11 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Previous studies have highlighted the importance of education catalyzing this development by raising awareness (Zelezny, 1999;Stephens et al, 2008). It has also been noted that experiential learning allows students to not only apply knowledge but also enable them to engage emotionally with sustainability issues (Ballantyne et al, 2001;Ballantyne and Packer, 2005;Hiebert, 2013;Eppinga et al, 2019). It can thus be hypothesized that academic courses that focus on sustainability education through experiential learning increase not only students' knowledge but also their awareness and perceptions of sustainable development.…”

Section: Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent research suggests that Aruba experiences the second highest tourism intensity in the world, only exceeded by Macao, China (Manera and Valle, 2018). The increased development related to both tourism [from $185,000 visitors in 1986 to more than 1,000,000 visitors in 2015; CBS (Central Bureau of Statistics) Aruba, 2015] and residential growth [from $60,000 residents in 1986 to $110,000 residents in 2018; CBS (Central Bureau of Statistics) Aruba, 2018] is posing multiple sustainability challenges relating to natural resource management, energy availability and waste management (UN-OHRLLS, 2009;de Scisciolo et al, 2016;Eppinga et al, 2019).…”

Section: Overview Of the Course Module And The Local Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The AFY program was founded in 2016, graduating three annual cohorts so far and the fourth cohort starting in the fall of 2019. Further details about this AFY program are described in Eppinga et al (2019). The course module was designed as a four-week project, intended to become a structural part of the nine-week course "Research Practice," which is an obligatory course for all AFY students.…”

Section: Overview Of the Course Module And The Local Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Education can provide the skills required to cope with complex problems, such as the global sustainability challenges of our time (Stephens et al, 2008). This important and urgent role of education for sustainable development has been widely recognized (Chin and Jacobsson, 2016;Eppinga et al, 2019). For example, the United Nations' Global Action Program on Education for Sustainable Development aims to reorient education and learning toward enabling people to contribute to a sustainable future [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 2015].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Putting sustainability research into practice on the university campus

Eppinga

Lozano-Cosme

Scisciolo

et al. 2020

IJSHE

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Purpose Despite increasing efforts to incorporate sustainability in curricula and practices of institutions of higher education, effective implementation remains challenging. The purpose of this study is to present an approach to incorporate sustainability into a practice-oriented research skills course, which was implemented at a small island state university in the Caribbean. Design/methodology/approach First-year university students followed a four-week course module, starting with the introduction of the sustainable development goals, and culminating in a symposium in which the students present the findings of their research projects to the campus community. Pre-course module and post-course module surveys measured the students’ knowledge and perceptions regarding sustainability. These survey results were also compared with the result of a similar survey held for the university’s employees. Findings The survey results suggested that following the course module increased students’ knowledge about sustainable development, as well as their support for the university campus and its community putting more emphasis on teaching, practicing and encouraging sustainability. Interestingly, university employees scored significantly higher on the latter component than students, suggesting that in this case a lack of interest of the staff is not a barrier toward a sustainable campus. Originality/value The presented course module offers a novel and low-cost approach to introducing sustainability into a broad range of academic curricula, specifically tailored to the needs of institutes of higher education in small island states. The survey results suggest that this type of education may not only ensure reaching academic goals but also increase students’ interest in sustainable development within their local environment.

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Section: Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Overview Of the Course Module And The Local Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Overview Of the Course Module And The Local Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Putting sustainability research into practice on the university campus

Eppinga

Lozano-Cosme

Scisciolo

et al. 2020

IJSHE

Self Cite

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“…Autores como Kusmana (2015) y Vande-Velde et al (2019) recomiendan tener en cuenta en su gestión aspectos como a) la existencia de consideraciones técnicas a la hora de establecer planes regulatorios basados en su aprovechamiento sostenible; b) la colaboración equitativa y armoniosa entre las partes interesadas (gobierno, sector privado, comunidad); c) los científicos no pueden centrarse en la única idea de conservar sin tomar en cuenta los poblados que requieren de los SE de los manglares, estudios han demostrado fracasos en proyectos de este tipo donde la dicotomía naturaleza y pobreza estuvo presente (Soulé, 2013;Miller et al, 2014;Marvier, 2014); d) las prácticas de manejo forestal del mangle deben construirse a partir de las necesidades de las comunidades y tomando en cuenta todo el ecosistema marino del que forma parte (arrecifes coralinos, pastos o estuarios) y e) finalmente, como los manglares están significativamente influenciados por el proceso natural y actividades humanas procedentes de tierras altas es necesarios práctica de manejo desde las cuencas hidrográficas. Eppinga et al (2019) señalan la importancia del involucramiento comunitario por medio de la educación ambiental y el desarrollo de políticas de conservación más amplias que motive a las personas a cuidar de la naturaleza y movilizarlos para actuar sobre esa creencia. Según Glaser et al (2012) aún la educación y concientización no han sido suficientes para que las personas comprendan que proteger el manglar va más allá de los límites de…”

Section: Perspectivas Futurasunclassified

Manglares y sus Servicios Ecosistémicos: hacia un Desarrollo Sostenible

et al. 2020

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Los manglares se extienden a través de las zonas tropicales y sub tropicales del planeta, se han adaptado a sobrevivir a condiciones ambientales adversas por lo tanto, han desarrollado características de supervivencia únicas frente a suelos de alta salinidad, anaerobios, y a un entorno desafiante para la dispersión y propagación de semillas. Estos bosques ofrecen servicios ecosistémicos que han ido disminuyendo en los últimos años por factores principalmente antropogénicos y se prevé que el cambio climático también influirá negativamente; por lo tanto se hace necesario gestionar de manera sostenible el recurso manglar con el que aún se cuenta. En el presente trabajo se realizó una búsqueda bibliográfica que recopiló información entre el período temporal 2009-2020. Se recuperaron 89 artículos científicos de buscadores académicos como Springer Link, Scielo y Dialnet. Los principales tópicos de la búsqueda contemplaron: descripción general de manglares, servicios ecosistémicos, cambio climático, áreas prioritarias de investigación, papel de educación ambiental, gestión comunitaria y perspectivas futuras. Ésta revisión no tiene el propósito de contemplar todo el estado del arte del tema en discusión, sin embargo, realiza un acercamiento a la actualidad de los manglares.

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Ranking the sustainable development goals: perceived sustainability priorities in small island states

2022

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The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to elicit global mobilization to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and are increasingly used in support of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Previous studies have highlighted interdependencies between SDGs, with potential interactions between four Sustainability Domains: Economy, Governance, Planet and Society. This study aimed to assess whether people’s perception of the relative importance of the SDGs reflects recognition of the need to prioritize efforts across Domains, or whether this perception is based on different valuations of the Sustainability Domains themselves. We designed an interactive online tool in which participants used the Q-sort technique to rank the SDGs according to their subjective valuation of importance. We analyzed the rankings of 108 participants, all learners at universities in three Small Island States (SIS): Aruba, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Analysis of the correlation structure among participants’ Q-sorts showed that higher perceived importance of the Society- and Economy-related SDGs 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9 traded off with lower perceived importance of the Planet-related SDGs 13, 14 and 15. Furthermore, SDG rankings of learners from Aruba occurred furthest toward the Planet-based part of this trade-off axis. For ESD programs, our method provides a novel tool to identify key interactions between SDGs that may not yet be recognized by program participants. In this way, communicating the need for simultaneous action and policy development across Sustainability Domains could be specifically tailored to the local context. Such connections may increase the effectiveness of ESD in addressing the substantial sustainability challenges facing SIS.

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Environmental science education in a small island state: integrating theory and local experience

Cited by 11 publications

References 21 publications

Putting sustainability research into practice on the university campus

Putting sustainability research into practice on the university campus

Manglares y sus Servicios Ecosistémicos: hacia un Desarrollo Sostenible

Ranking the sustainable development goals: perceived sustainability priorities in small island states

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