PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS ON ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM: A CASE STUDY OF LIBYAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Abstract

Environmental education like all forms of education is a process of learning that requires an optimally designed teaching curriculum. However, unlike other conventional courses and forms of education, environmental education is not a linear form of learning as it requires complex and place-based designed teaching due to the individuality and diversity of people and their local environment and biodiversity. Libya like most countries of the world has joined the active fight against climate change through the incorporation of environmental education into the traditional system of education and designing a curriculum for the entire school system to ensure uniformity in learning standards. This study carries out an investigation of the efficiency of the Libyan primary school environmental education curriculum from the perspective of primary school teachers. Using open-ended questionnaires designed using an adequate theoretical framework, teachers in Libya were surveyed for their perceptions on satisfaction with the curriculum, their dislikes about the curriculum, what they enjoyed the most in the curriculum, and how they prepared using it and the complementary modifications they carry out on it. The results of this study indicate a finding where the majority of the teachers were happy with its efficiency but have recommended several changes to it to enable it to become optimal.