Hey, welcome back!
Last week we discussed about how the pro-environmental mindset of a child can influence a family to be pro-environmental. So now the question is, how do we cultivate environmentalism in children?
When we think of establishing a connection to nature, exposure to nature when young is easily one of the top contributors. A quick survey also showed general consensus that it is easiest to cultivate pro-environmental behaviour in young children (71.4% of respondents).
However, it is interesting to note that the effects on children when exposed to “domesticated nature” and “wild nature” differ (Wells & Kristi, 2006). That is to say, playing in gardens and playing in the forest have different influences in promoting environmentalism in children.
Now, this could be particularly worrying since children in this digital age are increasingly becoming disconnected from nature, both “domesticated” and “wild”. Many are now showered with toys and electronics to play indoors, rather than set loose outdoors. This lack of interaction with nature has led to more children suffering from “nature deficit disorder”, which Wee Meng has touched upon before in his blog.
However, it seems that despite the younger generation not spending as much time in nature as the older generation, they are increasingly advocating for the environment.
Why is this so?
One reason could be globalisation. Individuals are now exposed to global concerns, and our environment certainly is one (Larsson et al, 2010). Through the accessibility of information, they realise that environmental issues are widespread and feel compelled to help those that are most affected by our environmental crises.
Paradoxically, the digital age has both distanced and connected us to nature. However, let’s not forget what we discussed before in a previous blog post, about how pro-environmentalism on social media can be a trap.
Should more be done to teach children to be environmentally conscious?
In the previous post, Kelly raised a great question about the responsibility of educational institutions in environmental education. I believe if schools really aim to give students a holistic development, environmental education should be considered.
Have you heard about the Applied Learning Programme (ALP) by MOE, which includes courses like Environmental Science and Sustainable Living and Environment Science and Technology? Well, nobody in the survey knew and that’s expected since only 16 out of around a 150 secondary schools offer this.
While it is great that we have dedicated environmental education, I wonder why it is so obscure? Subjects like Art, Music, Design & Technology and Food & Consumer Education were introduced to all secondary schools, yet environmental education remains an obscure subject, taught in only a few schools.
Charles Saylan, author of The Failure of Environmental Education (And How We Can Fix It), highlighted issues he saw in environmental education in his book and also interview with Yale Environment 360. He raises some very astute points, and I highly recommend checking out the interview transcript.
In the next post, I will be going through some of his opinions and try to see where psychology plays a role in environmental education, see you then!
Hi Jia Wei,
Another awesome post.
More fundamentally perhaps, do you think the ALP in general should be applied across the board ?
I mean, after all, UNESCO and other major players have called for primary & secondary schools to focus on imparting key 21st century skills, especially creativity, critical-thinking, communication and collaboration as well as a number of social competencies.
I say this because apparently, the goal is to have this be a universal mode of primary education by 2023, but I’m not sure about secondary schools. If the govt waits until 2023, then might many kids be left behind ?
jc
Hi Dr. Coleman,
I do believe that ALP should be included as the standard syllabus for all schools. The focus on applied learning will come in much more useful in cultivating a critical-thinking mind, compared to the current heavy focus on recalling content.
Although we would like to see a better holistic education as soon as possible, it requires many steps before we can accomplish it. From what I know from a friend currently studying in NTU NIE, there is already effort to push towards applied learning and revamping our education system, but it will take a very long time before we can see any big changes. This is because teachers will need to undergo new training to equip themselves with the knowledge and skills needed for a new syllabus, in addition to the time needed to even come up with a whole new system.
Implementing ALP in primary education would be easier, since the depth and scope of the syllabus would not be as resource demanding as the secondary education level. In order for all the secondary schools to included a standard list of ALP would require a lot of investment by the govt and I’m unsure when that will ever happen. I feel that as we wait for our official education system to be updated, we should strive to promote learning outside of school for the young. I do believe there are workshops and facilitators around Singapore but alas they are not very well publicised so most do not even know their existence…
Thanks for this very useful reply – I really didn’t know how this was being rolled out on the ground. And I guess when you say teachers undergoing new training, we’re also talking about the NIE faculty who must train the new teachers. That said, I’m thinking they could theoretically do this within a year or two, but maybe I’m too idealistic.
You are welcomed! I do believe that our government and education system recognises that issues like our environment are becoming increasingly important, but there are many things to change in our education system and perhaps environmental education is not yet the top priority, hence the slow rollout of it.
The biggest change the education system is undergoing now is the revamp of academic grading and academic banding of students (due to many years of feedback). I believe if the public pushes the Ministry of Education to focus more on environmental education, this would hasten the implementation of better environmental education too.