Guest editorial: Global science literacy: An earth system view

Abstract

During the summer of 1996, China, Korea, Bangladesh, India, and other Asian countries experienced very serious and deadly flooding. Over the past several years, the U.S. also has had extensive flooding around the Mississippi River and its tributaries as well as excessive summer temperatures, wild fires, and other destructive weather-related phenomena. In its report submitted in December 1995, the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) declared for the first time that "the balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on the climate" (see IPCC homepage on the Internet, http://www.unep.ch/ipcc/ipcc95.html). The analysis of data being collected by scientists now indicates that humans are almost certainly influencing the frequency and intensity of such weather phenomena. The IPCC report goes on to make predictions of the effects of climate change on different areas of the world. Most of the predictions are disruptive of the economic and social conditions of the world's countries. Responsibilities of Scientists and Science Educators Changes in our climate system are being brought about by a science our profession has participated in since at least the beginning of the First World War (Kevles, 1987). This science, as a matter of national priorities, has focused on the provision of knowledge that provided the basis for developing technology employed in combat between nations. Until the end of the Cold War, much of this was physical combat. Now the confrontation continues, under the guise of economic conflict between and among the major developed and developing countries. As science educators, we bear some of the responsibility for causing changes in our habitat because of our efforts to develop science curricula that would educate and enlist talented workers in the physical and biological sciences to discover the fundamental physical and chemical processes that have provided the basis for the technological "advances." With the end of the Cold War, the need for weapons of defense and offense ought to be di-JOURNAL

Linking the components of a university program to the qualification profile of graduates: The case of a sustainability‐oriented environmental science curriculum

“…The goals of educating students for both environmental research and real-world problem solving are considered equally important and closely interconnected. Environmental research for sustainability is strongly problem driven and, therefore, not restricted to scientific inquiry and analysis; it has practical applications and is intended to serve society in solving real-world problems (Mayer, 1997). In particular, for urgent problems like climate change, ozone depletion, water scarcity, deforestation, and desertification, scientific research and mitigation efforts need to occur simultaneously.…”

“…Solving complex environmental problems requires a coherent and in-depth understanding of diverse natural systems and their interrelationships with each other and the anthroposphere. Mayer (1995Mayer ( , 1997 therefore suggests orienting environmental science education toward an Earth system approach that promotes an understanding of the whole world as one system and providing a system-oriented education in Earth's central subsystems-geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere (Ben-Zvi Assaraf & Orion, 2005). The myriad interactions between these spheres and human activities involve decision making related to human values and therefore require that the sociocultural and ethical context of environmental problems be considered.…”

Geoscience education: an overview

“…This was expanded into a proposal for a 'global science literacy' approach to the curriculum, based on the Earth system science (Mayer, 1995(Mayer, , 1997Mayer & Kumano, 1999;Mayer & Tokuyama, 2002). Strong arguments in support of this approach, used by Mayer and Kumano (1999), include: Figure 1.…”

Understanding the earth systems of Malawi: Ecological sustainability, culture, and place‐based education

“…According to Mayer (1995), an earth systems science curricula requires that natural cycles and biogeochemical processes be studied in the context of environmental problems that affect students' everyday lives. Mayer (1997) later suggested that earth systems approach may provide a unifying framework for achieving global science literacy by encouraging "dialogue among peoples of different languages and different cultures" and a "sustainable lifestyle for all the world's citizens" (Mayer, 1997, p. 104). Investigating the role of humans in the earth systems requires an analysis of how people from different cultures understand and relate to nature.…”