Abstract
The results of the recent research in the field of environmental education point to the fact that it is not enough to incorporate environmental content in the curricula and expect the students to behave environmentally responsibly. This is only a small step on the long and complex path of developing environmental awareness. Apart from the fact that environmental issues are included in the curricula, it is very important how these environmental issues are conveyed to students. The aim of this paper is to determine the characteristics of the primary school lessons (didactic and methodological characteristics, encouraging critical and divergent thinking, correlation of teaching content, interaction between students and teachers, students' active participation) dealing with environmental content. Fifteen 8th grade classes were observed in three primary schools in Belgrade. The observation included biology, geography, physics and chemistry lessons. A Class Observation Protocol was designed for the purpose of a wider research. The results of the research show that teachers mostly applied frontal teaching and monologic method to teach environmental content to their students. Environmental content is a specific teaching and learning content requiring active learning methods, outdoor activities, encouraging students to explore and analyze, discuss issues, exchange opinions and observe specific issues from multiple perspectives. According to the results, these methods and forms of teaching are not sufficiently represented in our primary schools. The goals of environmental education can be fully realized only if the lessons covering environmental topics include: interactive and interdisciplinary approaches, active learning methods, outdoor classes and activities, classes where students are encouraged to explore and analyze, discuss issues, exchange opinions and observe specific issues from multiple perspectives. These activities are aimed at developing sudents' environmental awareness, acquisition of the environment-related knowledge, and shaping students' attitudes and behaviour.
Highlights
Sustainable development is a complex concept that has many objectives and requires the involvement of individuals from different structures of social life
Within the segment of didactic and methodological characteristics of the lesson, the observers focused on the following indicators: 1) Teacher clearly stated the objective of the lesson; 2) Teacher gives clear instructions and explanations; 3) Teacher points out the key concepts that students have to learn; 4) What forms of teaching were used in the lesson?; 5) What teaching methods were used during the lesson?; 6) Teacher applies teaching methods that are effective relative to the lesson objective; 7) What teaching aids were used during the lesson?; 8) Teacher uses the teaching aids effectively; 9) Teacher prepared the lesson in advance; 10) Who uses teaching aids in the classroom?
The recent changes of education policy and the curricula indicate that the importance of environmental education has been recognised in the Serbian educational system
Summary
Sustainable development is a complex concept that has many objectives and requires the involvement of individuals from different structures of social life. The essence of the concept of sustainable development is to look at the limits of natural resources, the capacity of ecosystems, and interactions between social, economic, political systems and the environmental systems. Sustainable development makes possible the fulfilment of the current needs, without threatening the possibility of meeting the needs of the future generations (WCED, 1987). Sustainable development has adopted the principles of equality and social responsibility. This means that it is necessary to achieve equality among nations, within nations, between humans and other living beings, and between the present and future generations (Conseil des ministres de l’Éducation, Canada, 1999)
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