Ecological Environmental Education Research Articles

Natural Scientific and Ecological Environmental Education in the Training of Kindergarten Teacher Students at the University of Sopron, Hungary

Abstract The greatest challenge of the 21st century is to recreate the disturbed balance between people and their environment. The functioning of the changed global system warns us about the multiplying of today’s global and local problems, which are affecting the world’s population. International organizations deal with this issue. In their opinion, environmental education and environmentally conscious thinking can be a way out of the crisis. The efficiency of environmental education is influenced by the ratio of theory and practice as well as the appropriately applied teaching methods, which is confirmed by the experience of the Ecology and Environmental Protection in Kindergarten course of the Benedek Elek Faculty of Pedagogy at the University of Sopron, Hungary.

Creation of Ecological Environment in Kindergartens in China

For kindergartens, ecological environment provides an inclusive space and plays an important role in the development of young children. Chen Heqin was a prominent Chinese educator who proposed the creation of aesthetic environment, scientific environment and psychological environment in kindergartens and laid scientific groundwork for the creation of ecological environment in kindergartens in China. For kindergartens, ecological environmental education should enable young children to achieve natural, social, and psychological harmony and unity. The creation of ecological environment in kindergartens should therefore involve the creation of natural ecological environment, of social ecological environment and of psychological ecological environment.

THE ORGANIZING OF ECOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES IN THE PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

The effects of human for nature environment affects through activities and behavior, that is why the knowing how to act is one of the competencies, and emphasized in harmonious developments education. That is why and scientists and educators practices, which analyses harmonious developments ideas, ecological environmental and environment protections educations areas opinion, humans provision, in aspect of behavior natures and environments must be formed targeted already in the pre-schools educations stage. In the structure of ecological culture are excreted and emphasized practical component of childs relationships with nature, which causes ecological knowing, habits and with it related actvities motives. It is necessary to organize various ecological environmental activities, which has specific content because it is directly related to nature, our environment, which determines its quality and survivor. This activity is organized by principle of activites, using childs experience, available for them activities, including various areas of activities. The planning and organising of ecological environmental activities is a very important assumption for the expierence of childs ecological environment to pile it up and to educate competencies. While we are forming childs ecological consciousness it is huge responsibility for institution and educator. During empirical research, in which participated 86 pre-schools educators, highlighted, that many participants organises ecological environmental activities often andvery often in the group and in the institution. In the institution and group very rarely, and very rarely in the institution is organised of those field activities are based on institution level which is not enough actualized attitude to ecological environmental education. In the pedagogical layer the results of the research revealed that pre-school teachers ecological envirenmental activities organizes by using various education forms, which the most popular ar converstions, discussions, the solutions of problematical questions, projects, events, trips, ecological games, fairy-tales, child artistic and creative activities. Not very highly evaluated ecological environmental activities for organising were observation, researches and experiments by participants. Doing ecological envirenmantal activities, in educators opinion, childrens are educating various competencies, in that way emphasizing ecological environmental activities integrational nature. The problematical aspects of ecological environmental activities according to participants are related with the lack of measures for those activities, lack of experience and preparation, and institutional layer provision towards ecological environmental education. Key words: practical childs relationship with nature, ecological environmental activities, childs competencies, the organising of ecological environment activities.