DIGITIZATION AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN A KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY

Abstract

This article focuses on the study of environmental education as important aspect of the modern society and actively engaged people. Ecological behavior and citizenship become an essential element of social activity and show the involvement of people of different ages in behavioral and intellectual commitment to nature and the protection of the world. The main thesis of the article is that the formation of skills, values and competencies for living in the community and building environmentally responsible behavior are directly related to the process of socialization of the individual and the role of education and digitalization in this process are indisputable. The analysis traces how the education contributes to gaining knowledge about natural and climate change, as well as the pro-ecological behavior of people around the ecosystems. The paper is based on empirical results from qualitative methods on the topic of environmental citizenship. Two main methods are used: document and policy analysis; this method examines the involvement of political actors with the environmental issue and especially of the Ministry of Education in a national context. The other methods used are also qualitative: interviews (19) with educational experts and students, as well as focus groups (3) with students from different universities. The methods used are aimed at showing the state of the environmental topic in education and digitalization. The main conclusion is the explication of environmental responsibility and behavior through the prism of the educational institution as a key actor of educational and training approaches to improve the interaction between people and the environment. Keywords: digitization; environmental education; digitization of education; environmental citizenship.