Abstract
In this chapter, we describe the efforts of three faculties of education in Ontario, Canada, in addressing Environmental Education (EE) in their Preservice Teacher Education (PTE) programmes. We also discuss the tensions inherent in designing and implementing EE programmes in educational environments where EE continues to be marginalised. Beginning with a brief overview of Earth’s environmental degradation and the state of well-being of Canadian children, we suggest that formal education systems—especially faculties of education—have a critical role to play in promoting and supporting the health of the planet and the children who inhabit it. We discuss the impact of government-mandated EE policy and the subsequent potential of PTE programmes to effect change within the education system. We ask the question: How can a faculty of education effectively prepare teachers to embed studies in, about, and for the environment in their teaching practice? To help us understand this question from a pedagogical and curricular perspective, we outline the characteristics of various theoretical frameworks such as inquiry-based learning, experiential and place-based education, and a range of integrated curriculum models. Three field narratives are presented from three different faculties of education. Despite the unique nature of each, the narratives demonstrate strong commonalities in the approaches taken to address EE and the challenges associated with programme implementation.
Résumé
Dans ce chapitre, nous décrivons les efforts déployés par 3 facultés d’éducation de l’Ontario (Canada) pour intégrer l’éducation relative à l’environnement (EE) dans leurs programmes de formation initiale des enseignants (FIE). Nous discutons également des tensions inhérentes à la conception et à la mise en œuvre de programmes d’EE dans des environnements éducatifs où l’EE continue d’être marginalisé. En commençant par un bref aperçu de la dégradation de l’environnement sur la Terre et de l’état du bien-être des enfants canadiens, nous suggérons que les systèmes d’éducation formels, en particulier les facultés d’éducation, jouent un rôle essentiel dans la promotion et le soutien de la santé de la planète et des enfants qui l’habitent. Nous discutons de l’impact de la politique d’EE prescrite par le gouvernement et du potentiel des programmes de FIE à produire des changements au sein du système éducatif. Nous posons la question suivante : Comment une faculté d’éducation peut-elle préparer efficacement les enseignants à intégrer les études dans, au sujet de, et pour l’environnement à leur pratique d’enseignement? Pour nous aider à comprendre cette question d’un point de vue pédagogique et curriculaire, nous décrivons les caractéristiques de différents cadres théoriques tels que l’apprentissage basé sur l’investigation, l’éducation expérientielle et basée sur le lieu et une gamme de modèles de curriculum intégrés. Trois récits de terrain sont présentés par 3 facultés d’éducation différentes. Malgré la nature unique de chacun, les récits démontrent de fortes similitudes dans les approches adoptées pour traiter de l’EE et les défis associés à la mise en œuvre du programme.
Permission to re-publish this manuscript has been granted by the Canadian Association for Teacher Education (CATE).
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Notes
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Pukak is an Inuit word for the space between ground cover (grasses and herbs) and the snow layer where temperatures hover around 0 °C; in the winter, various animals like shrews and voles are active foragers in this layer (Nelson 2003).
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DiGiuseppe, M., Elliott, P., Ibrahim Khan, S., Rhodes, S., Scott, J., Steele, A. (2019). Rising to the Challenge: Promoting Environmental Education in Three Ontario Faculties of Education. In: Karrow, D., DiGiuseppe, M. (eds) Environmental and Sustainability Education in Teacher Education. International Explorations in Outdoor and Environmental Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25016-4_9
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