National policy, local awareness: implementing environmental education in the primary schools of northern Greece

Abstract

In this essay the author uses a sample of Greek primary school teachers to investigate environmental education awareness in three counties of northern Greece. The author begins by outlining the status of environmental education in Greek primary schools. The author then states the study’s rationale by defining the term ‘awareness’ and moves on to discuss the methodological considerations that guided the project. This is followed by a presentation of the study’s findings. Here the author shows that environmental education awareness is influenced by several philosophical notions about nature and that its implementation is mediated by both local and state factors. This then allows the author to offer recommendations for enhancing the current practices of environmental education and discuss future perspectives for it in Greece.