The role of natural science courses to implement the environmental education in elementary school (curriculum 2013)

Abstract

Human behaviour is strongly influenced by prerequisite knowledge, residential, working place, and schools/studying place situation as well as friend or companion’s behaviour. Soldiers have different behaviours compared to educators, doctors, farmers, traders, and so forth. To make students become environmentally friendly-human beings, they need to have knowledge on how to protect the environment. Since 1986, the Republic of Indonesia government has included environmental education into school curriculum; and the end is the 2013 curriculum (C-13). There are eight subject courses in elementary school’s 2013 curriculum. Of the eight subjects, Natural Science is relevant subjects as a means to implement the environmental education (EE) concepts. Natural Science is taught in grades IV, V, and VI using thematic approaches for 9 x 40 minutes a week. However, the implementation of C-13 in elementary schools is still less optimal because there are still many prerequisite factors to be fulfilled, such as: infrastructure, learning resources, teachers’ skills, and assessment systems. In conclusion, Natural Science subjects has a significant role to debrief the environmental education concepts especially in elementary school. Thus, learning model and media of natural science need to be further developed.