The future challenge of Earth science education research

Abstract

This article addresses the question of what the future directions and emphases of the research in the earth science education field ought to be. During the past 30 years, Earth science education research has established a solid theoretical foundation, as well as practical strategies and techniques, for a meaningful teaching of earth science from K-12. However, the quality of this research, and the growing need for knowledge in Earth science, have done little to improve the low profile of ESE in schools worldwide. The article posits that narrowing this disturbing gap between the educational potential of Earth science and its low profile in schools requires a holistic agenda. Such an agenda will encompass the deepening of existing research of the Earth systems approach in areas like the development of environmental insight better understanding the learning process as an embedded human instinct, which will hopefully contribute to changing the current essentialism-based teaching culture. However, it will also include new avenues of research focused on changing the attitudes of geoscientists towards their role in society and the adoption of geoethical values.

Earth Science Education as a Key Component of Education for Sustainability

“…The study of the interacting Earth systems-within the dimension of deep time and the large spatial scale of geological processes-will enable students to appreciate the realistic influence of humans on the Earth in deep time perception. This approach moves students away from the traditional altruistic approach to environmental awareness towards a more egocentric and geocentric perception [40,41].…”

“…Levy and collaborators have shown that environmental behaviour is often driven by "egoistic" concerns rather than by altruistic views and motivations [41]. They claimed that their findings suggest that part of the failure of all these campaigns to establish a significant and sustainable change in the public's environmental behaviour (at least in several countries) may be related to their altruistic approach.…”

Educating for a Holistic View of the Earth System: A Review

“…However, these issues are complex and reflect and result from the Earth's own complexity as a system; to solve them, specific competencies and approaches are required. Thus, educating society about the Earth system is crucial for the daily life and future of humanity given the relationship between the human species and the planet [1,18,19].…”

“…The Earth system is composed of five deeply interdependent and related subsystemsatmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere-with constant trades of matter and energy [18,19]. This systemic notion of the Earth system's behavior is relatively recent, therefore its perception by the majority of citizens may not be a reality as it is not yet an applied approach in schools in many countries [3].…”

“…Investment in geosciences education is required for shifting the way citizens perceive the planet and its dynamics towards sustainability [5]. To this end, it is urgent to (re)think about how to teach and learn the (Earth) sciences and leave multidisciplinary paradigms to embrace inter-or transdisciplinarity-a trend that is already beginning to be observed [18,20]. The change to interor trans-disciplinarity could enrich the knowledge of the planet and shape our behavior towards it.…”