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ESD in the Small Island State of Maldives

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Reorienting Educational Efforts for Sustainable Development

Part of the book series: Schooling for Sustainable Development ((SSDE))

Abstract

Subject to changing climatic conditions, the Maldives islands, which are predominantly coastal entities, are amongst the most vulnerable in the world. The Maldives have a narrow economic base that relies on two critical sectors, tourism and fisheries. As these sectors form the main source of employment and livelihood, protecting the Maldives fragile environment is crucial for sustainable development. Environmental education (EE) is an important strategy in addressing environmental problems faced by communities around the world. For this reason the government of the Maldives remains strongly committed to advancing EE through formal and non-formal education and providing children, youth, community members and leaders with the knowledge and skills to govern natural resources (Ministry of Environment, 2006). The government delegates the responsibilities for EE to a range of its agencies. For example the Ministry of Education writes the syllabus for EE followed in schools. The Ministry of Environment has a unit directly responsible for environmental awareness. Unlike in many other countries, Environmental Education is a mandatory subject in the primary school curriculum in the Maldives. It is also worth noting that environment, science and technology is one of the key learning areas of the new curriculum framework developed by the Educational Development Centre of the Maldives. Inquiry- based learning is an approach to teaching and learning about the environment.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Maldives National University, Malé, Maldives

    Mohamed Shareef (Leturer)

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  1. Mohamed Shareef
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Correspondence to Mohamed Shareef .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Environment Education (CEE), Children’s Media Unit, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

    Rajeswari Namagiri Gorana

  2. Centre for Environment Education (CEE), Northern Regional Cell, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Preeti Rawat Kanaujia

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Shareef, M. (2016). ESD in the Small Island State of Maldives. In: Gorana, R., Kanaujia, P. (eds) Reorienting Educational Efforts for Sustainable Development. Schooling for Sustainable Development. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7622-6_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7622-6_8

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-017-7620-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-7622-6

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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