Abstract
Teachers’ knowledge and perceptions of bioenergy, and their motivation to teach such a topic, can largely determine the success of implementing bioenergy related education in schools. The study aimed to explore science teachers’ knowledge and perceptions of bioenergy in India. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted among 28 science teachers from four urban schools in India. Results indicated that the science teachers were fairly knowledgeable regarding bioenergy and they also demonstrated positive perceptions of bioenergy. In addition, they were positive towards the prospect of receiving more information to increase their own knowledge of bioenergy. However, the science teachers appeared to have some misconceptions regarding the issue of CO2 emission from using bioenergy. It also emerged that although the existing Science syllabus for Grade X in Indian schools includes a topic on bioenergy, the majority of the science teachers were not aware of it. Policy makers and educators are recommended to provide science teachers more support to improve their capacity for teaching energy and environmental topics in schools in India. In addition, an improvement of the current learning and teaching environment in Indian schools could help teachers to deliver energy and environmental education more effectively to their students.
Highlights
There is a growing consensus among educators and environmental professionals that a solution to the present day environmental crisis will require an enhanced environmental awareness, which should be deeply rooted in the education system at all levels [1]
Item 4 was structured in a way that expected the teachers to have an advanced knowledge on the topic as it was linked to the carbon neutrality of bioenergy
The results showed that the majority of the science teachers knew that bioenergy was a renewable source of energy (Item 1), that it could be used in liquid form in motor vehicles (Item 2), and that it could be used for electricity production (Item 3)
Summary
There is a growing consensus among educators and environmental professionals that a solution to the present day environmental crisis will require an enhanced environmental awareness, which should be deeply rooted in the education system at all levels [1]. In 2002, the United Nations declared the time period 2005–2014 as the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), and since ESD has received an increased political consensus for its integration at all educational levels [2]. School students are the future citizens of a country, and unless they are aware of the pressing environmental and energy related challenges and their relationship with sustainable development, such problems cannot be solved effectively. In this context, the role of school teachers becomes highly significant, as they can play a key role in advancing environmental education (EE). It could be challenging for teachers to teach renewable energy related topics to their students, as such topics are often decontextualized, they could be relevant for young students to obtain a basic awareness at an early stage
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