How Teachers can Develop Environmentally Literate Students

Introduction

Education is an effective way of enabling society to confront future challenges. Schools allow young people to acquire the skills, values, and knowledge that empowers them to lead informed lives and contribute to society. Environmental literacy is one of the skills that young people can develop in school to ensure a sustainable future. Most schools today integrate different practices directed at enhancing the environmental knowledge of students into their curricula. Nevertheless, many of the practices focused on promoting sustainability and protecting the environment mainly apply to early childhood and primary education levels where stakeholders find it easy to integrate the practices into the curriculum (Hardy et al., 2015). Thus, there are less visible environmental-based programs in secondary schools.

Consequently, this research paper intends to examine the way teachers can develop environmentally literate students in the Australian context with a focus on the way teachers can use place-based education to develop environmentally literate students in a secondary school setting. The paper answers the following research question:

How can we, as teachers, develop environmentally literate students in the Australian context?

How can we as teachers use place-based education to develop environmentally literate students in a secondary setting?

The study begins by briefly examining the definitions of various terminologies before conducting a literature review to identify themes related to the research question.

Scholarly Definitions

Environmental literacy

Debates still exist regarding the meaning of the term environmental literacy in educational settings. The relevant conceptions of the terminology differ across educational systems in the world. However, Environmental literacy (EL) mainly emphasizes environmental protection even though some jurisdictions have expanded the meaning to include economic and social components of sustainable environments based on the United Nations Education for Sustainable Development initiative (Aguilar, 2016). In Australia and most other countries across the world, the focus is on educating young people to enhance future sustainability in which the emphasis is on action-oriented and socially critical approaches (Aguilar, 2016). Owing to the different meanings and use of the terminology, the current study considers all the major conceptions featuring education for sustainable development, environmental education, and education for sustainability. The study prefers environmental literacy because the term conveys the idea of education with an emphasis on dealing with effective issues, skills, and knowledge for a changing future without ignoring the importance of conserving the environment. The study defines EL as education that critically examines existing social practices to advocate for an education style in which students acquire critical social analysis, change, and consensual planning skills to ensure a sustainable future (Hardy et al., 2015).

Place-Based education

Place-based education (PBE) refers to a teaching approach in which teachers use the local community as a teaching context and that relies on the values, issues, and resources of the surrounding community (Gallay et al., 2016). Researchers sometimes swap the idea with identical terms such as project-based learning, an integrated environment, service-learning, and community-based learning. PBE applies both to urban and rural settings because of its focus on dealing with issues shaping the local community (Sedawi et al., 2019). The environment is a vital component of PBE since teachers use it as an integrating setting across subjects. Learning under PBE occurs through exploring the natural environment and surrounding community, practical experience involving environmental discovery, learning, group teaching, and problem-solving (Sedawi et al., 2019). Students need PBE because PBE enables students to experience the importance of their knowledge, which motivates them to engage more in the learning process (Gallay et al., 2016).

Education for sustainability

Education for sustainability means an integrated and holistic environmental education that intends to equip and motivate people and groups based on learning for change. It involves mechanisms such as a reflection of the way people work and live, the importance of reaching informed decisions, collective actions to address issues, and developing ways of achieving a sustainable world (Bell, 2016). The concept also focuses on developing the required competencies to deal with sustainability matters such as creativity, critical thinking, and systematic thinking.

Education for sustainable development

The concept is a recent development in environmental education practice and theory (Bonal & Fontdevila, 2017). The idea challenges existing practices in different ways to promote a systemic transformation towards sustainability.

Environmental education 

The concept includes the general education field that supports the engagement of students with their surroundings. It also involve activities or processes that allow students to develop attitudes, skills, knowledge, and awareness to engage in responsible behavior and practices concerning the environment (Kodama, 2017). 

Literature Review

This section involves a synthesis of recent literature that demonstrate teaching practices in EL in secondary school settings to investigate the way teachers can develop environmentally literate students including the way teachers use place-based education to develop environmentally literate students. Scholarly articles were searched in scholarly databases including EBSCO, ERIC, and ScienceDirect. The search focused on articles published within the last eight years and articles written in English only. The researcher used search terms such as environment literacy teaching in secondary schools, environmental education in secondary school settings, and environment and sustainable development in secondary school teaching. The selection of the articles involved reading their abstracts and titles in addition to considering their year of publication. Following a detailed selection process, the researcher selected relevant articles and summarized them.

Definition of the Topic 

Major environmental disruptions can be observed across the world in which events such as significant weather and climate patterns, availability of resources, changing ocean temperatures, and increased levels of flooding occur regularly (Dobson BS, 2018). Most scientists agree that it is highly likely that human activities cause these changes (Dobson BS, 2018). Owing to these events and their human link, there are growing needs to use education to enhance the capacity of people to address environmental challenges through developing environmental literacy. The required education must be based on place and environment. The education should also cultivate the necessary knowledge and skills to motivate students to develop instead of destroying the environment. With an urgent need to include environmental education in schools, teachers are responsible for providing the required education because of their closeness to students. However, the major hindrance against the provision of environmental education concerns the way teachers can develop environmentally literate students. The challenge entails selecting the appropriate teaching practices that align with the current needs of environmental education. The challenge worsens because the secondary school settings lack adequate experiences with environmental education compared to primary school settings. Therefore, the current study explores the various practices that teachers can use to develop environmentally literate students in a secondary school setting. 

Justification of the Research Project 

There are currently no standardized practices for improving the environmental literacy of students at the secondary level. By identifying best practices for teaching environmental education to secondary school students, the current paper contributes to the literature regarding teacher-related determinants of environmental literacy. The findings of the study also contribute to the field by adding to the wider knowledge domain regarding issues related to teaching environmental issues. Secondary school students are at a critical stage of their lives as they are nearly reaching the adult stage in which they are expected to make independent decisions and engage in voting. Thus, teachers should engage them critically in learning experiences and connect the experiences to real-world practices such as community and civic engagement, voting, and making choices (Ferkany & Whyte, 2013). Secondary school students should also understand environmental issues including sustainability. 

As future citizens, the students should develop the confidence to initiate changes including environmental, social, and economic justice changes that enhance the common good. EL enhances the skills and knowledge of students at the secondary level, which can result the changes (Marcinkowski & Reid, 2019). Students at this level require salient skills such as complex problem solving including collective action, decision-making, collaboration, and critical thinking (Di Chiro, 2014). Enhancing the competency of the students to make key decisions concerning the environment, economy, society, and politics in the future requires that instructors teach the aforementioned skills and encourage students to practice within the school settings (Hardy et al., 2015). EL allows students to develop and examine approaches that enhance their skills and knowledge with democratic principles and values, which enable them to own the issues that they may face in the future and gain the confidence to confront those issues based on collective actions (Hardy et al., 2015). Thus, the current study will contribute to the body of knowledge regarding sustainable development and environment protection by identifying ways in which teachers can enhance the environmental literacy of young people at the secondary school level to empower them to make sustainable and environmentally friendly decisions. 

EL connects students to environmental issues and the involved decision-making mechanisms to increase their motivation, critical thinking competencies, and self-esteem to deal with current and future environmental issues. Utilizing effective and evidence-based teaching practices offer students the opportunity to reflect critically on their learning experiences, which influences them to transform their behaviors and attitudes towards sustainable and environmentally friendly choices.

Major Themes

The Role of Teaching Techniques

The secondary school settings and the available activities for students influence student achievement. Thus, teachers must use various and relevant teaching techniques to develop the required EL skills. Examples of varied teaching techniques include project-based learning, inquiry-based learning, varied discussion techniques, and cooperative learning (Ergül & Kargın, 2014). Teachers should also focus on extra-curricular activities to offer students opportunities to gain motivations and competencies in addition to communicating and collaborating with colleagues (Kaya & Elster, 2019). Student participation in the activities enables them to gain independence and self-confidence, which affect environmental literacy positively (Kaya & Elster, 2019). Consequently, teachers should consider extra-curricular activities as major components of EL education (Kaya & Elster, 2019). Activities such as field trips, visiting art and science museums, engaging in environmental clubs, and visiting websites of organizations focused on environmental issues are encouraged. 

However, not all activities are relevant to EL education or benefit students. Therefore, the selection of the activities must consider all the stakeholders to ensure that only beneficial ones are included. Besides, studies demonstrate the role of teacher disposition and teaching skills in developing EL among students in a secondary school setting (Kaya & Elster, 2019). The focus is mainly on effective teaching techniques and the integration of environmental matters into the curricula in which teachers are encouraged to emphasize predicted future and concrete examples of environmental issues rather than focusing more on theoretical ideas related to science subjects.

Another effective EL teaching technique concerns community-based learning. Studies show that community-based teaching methods influence the environmental attitudes of students. The ability to work in specific sites increase the commitment of students to engage in programs aiming to improve the environment (Hossain & Tarmizi, 2013). Civic responsibility entail attitudes such as environmental accountability. Research shows that students who participate in activities in the community develop a better sense of social and civic responsibilities, which increases their commitment to serve the community and help others (Hossain & Tarmizi, 2013). Community-based activities reinforce the knowledge learned in the classroom and support the development of academic and intellectual abilities of students by focusing the cognition of students on the major ideas discussed in the classroom. Besides, Bilir and Özkan (2018) demonstrates that activities in the community assist students to establish associations with community members and interact with others positively, which in turn allows them to develop social connections. 

Students also get the opportunity to contribute through individual visions of the welfare of the community. The engagement of students with services related to their academic knowledge enables them to identify community needs and develop a deeper knowledge about environmental issues, a wider sense of the importance of issues, and a better understanding of social responsibility and personal values (Bilir & Özkan, 2018). The students develop care for their environment in the affective domain as their awareness of the real environmental matters increases (Hossain & Tarmizi, 2013). Additionally, community-based activities enable students to engage in concrete actions to deal with environmental matters in the community while the experiences in the field offer them meaningful learning through connecting theoretical knowledge with real-life issues. 

Community-based activities can also be regarded as place-based techniques that allow students to form identities and make meanings through connecting to the community and the environment (Bølling et al., 2017). The critical elements in community-based learning entail increasing the consciousness of student regarding human culture within ecological systems and power structures (Bølling et al., 2017). These processes enhance literacy development because students view places as learning environments. Community-based settings enable students to generate their knowledge by giving them a sense of agency and offering them an opportunity to engage in real-life process such as sustainability issues and environmental encounters (McInerney et al., 2011). The setting also emphasizes collaboration and inquiry as students question themselves and the existing power associations (Bølling et al., 2017). Consequently, students open opportunities for improvement by questioning the existing relations in the community. Critical questioning and critical thinking require literacy skills, which are vital to human behavior and sustainability. 

Places are crucial because they support tangible learning experiences in interactive settings, which highlights the role of place-based education in encouraging socio-cultural exploration, active participation, and making decisions in the community (Di Chiro, 2014). However, it is challenging to implement place-based learning because the place may evoke negative emotions or teachers may focus on approaches that do not support critical thinking (McInerney et al., 2011). One way of addressing the challenge entails embodying literacy through a holistic teaching technique (Enriquez, 2016). Embodied literacy views can motivate students to engage in innovative practices by re-orienting their concentration towards interactive process involving bodily mechanisms (Leander & Boldt, 2012). Thus, communication is vital because it allows students to develop an understanding of the world around them. Literacy is developed through interaction with others in which individuals communicate with each other to make meanings. Communicating and making meaning in environmental contexts is mediated both through places such as a nearby river and written texts. 

Thus, teachers can develop EL in students by encouraging them to think and ask authentic questions regarding locations in the surrounding areas as this allows the students to understand the world around them (Schmidt, 2017). Place-based learning unites teachers and students in specific spaces and places them within the surroundings in which they engage in communicative and negotiation activities. In turn, this allows students to critically assess, question, and redesign places (Schmidt, 2017). Here, students draw education from both unfamiliar and familiar conditions in various places. Place-based practices outdoors enable students to encounter the natural environment, reconnect, and interact with other worlds besides the human world (Lloyd et al., 2018), which enhances their environmental connectedness and awareness.

Teachers should also engage in outdoor teaching practices to promote environmental literacy. Blenkinsop et al. (2016) highlight the need for teachers to be environmental, emergent, place-based, and experiential in their practices. Experiential learning is particularly a useful teaching practice as it considers place-based learning outdoors. The place-based approach for teaching is experiential and interdisciplinary as it uses the surrounding society and the environment (Kuwahara, 2012). Nevertheless, outdoor teaching practices must focus on a holistic and experiential learning approach through integrating skills and knowledge across subjects (Dyment & Potter, 2014). Thus, outdoor learning applies to all subjects including environmental literacy as it supports the social and personal development of students (Palmberg et al., 2019). Additionally, outdoor learning improves the emotional, social, and physical well-being of the students besides supporting deeper learning levels (Dyment & Potter, 2014). According to Blenkinsop et al. (2016), teaching students in the natural environment improves their knowledge of environmental matters, develops their environmental sensitivity, and engages them actively with environmental matters.

Aligning Teaching Practices with the Other Course Components

Studies highlight issues about non-alignment of teaching, evaluation, resources, or curricula. It is challenging to integrate EL into the teaching practice effectively if these educational elements are not related coherently with the EL learning outcomes. Teachers using the top-down approach to teach environmental knowledge are ineffective (Tian & Wang, 2015). The reason for this is that the teachers consider EL as an additional subject, not a core subject that can be tested. Thus, most teachers focus on preparing students for examinations only (Tian & Wang, 2015). Even if teachers integrate EL into the curriculum and focus on encouraging action among students, teacher-centered programs are ineffective. Teacher-centered practices include teaching through lectures and focusing too much on text-based activities without using the natural environment or offering inadequate evidence of action (Obeng-Odoom, 2020). In turn, this highlights the importance of training teachers to develop the necessary skills and gai the ability to teach environmental education to students effectively. 

Additionally, teaching styles also matter as they must be compatible with the aspirations of the curriculum. Using the term education for sustainable development (ESD) only is ineffective if teachers use a transmissive teaching technique that emphasizes environment rectification (Tian & Wang, 2015). The technique entails considering environmental education as involving both outside activities and outside book knowledge such as collecting used electronics, cleaning public spaces, and planting trees. 

Challenges emerge in teaching because teachers sometimes offer environmental information instead of teaching environmental education (Håkansson et al., 2017). While information can result in factual knowledge, the environmental topic being taught also matter and vary based on geographical location, age, socio-economic status, schooling, and gender in addition to the ability of the teacher (Ferkany & Whyte, 2013). Moreover, factual knowledge may not necessarily result in understanding of environmental topics since the absence of knowledge can cause misunderstandings and fail to influence a change in the environmental attitude as intended by the program. Failure to address these issues can deepen misunderstandings and misconceptions because teaching theoretical ideas without considering student understanding limits the capacity of the student to identify the environmental topic in real life (Ferkany & Whyte, 2013). Consequently, teaching practices must be based on the understanding of students about the environment instead of being based on the assumptions of teachers regarding what students believe and know (Ferkany & Whyte, 2013). Teachers should encourage discussions among students and create opportunities for students to participate in environmental activities to address the issue of student perception limitations. Studies show that teachers must deal with the issue concerning the alignment of environmental education with the realities of student lives, the gap between rhetoric and reality of practices in the class, and the traditional transmissive strategies (Håkansson et al., 2017). Teachers are encouraged to avoid engaging in practices that reveal the causes, the effects, and the possibilities of dealing with adverse environmental issues to develop action-based skills of the students and influence environmental issues (Ferkany & Whyte, 2013). It is worth noting that environmental education represents the first step towards developing EL since EL focuses on transforming the students from becoming aware of specific environmental matters to becoming environmentally literate individuals. Environmentally literate people are motivated, are judicious, and possess strong commitments to environmental matters. EL also includes collective and personal identities, which allow people to establish close associations with the environment and use resources appropriately. In turn, this represents a crucial component of sustainability.

The role of the Learning Environment

Teachers can also develop the learning environment as the foundation of sustainable learning to increase learning pedagogies. They can do this by considering sense-based teaching practices anchored in bodily emotions, the link between place and learning, the interaction between students and places, and the agency, empowerment, and freedom of the student (Bølling et al., 2017). These components matter because they enhance critical thinking among students besides empowering them. Practices based on these components can be based on familiar sites such as the playground or unfamiliar sites such as the forest. Teachers can then design instruction practices to support students in recognizing new or familiar places around them in addition to considering the way people are connected to places and the environment. In turn, this focuses students on environmental behaviors that facilitate sociological inquiries and experiences (Bølling et al., 2017). Reid (2019) argues that education should be based on the knowledge and active participation of students in their learning. 

Valuable experiences in the environment arise when teachers include appropriate activities in their teaching practices across various environments (Reid, 2019). Interactions between places and students generate place meaning in which meaningful learning experiences improve the sense of identity and place among students and arouse their connection to the environment and people (Beames et al., 2012). Studies also demonstrate that teachers can improve the ecological and social justice aspect of PBE by engaging in critical PBE (Schindel Dimick, 2016). The idea entails combining the elements of PBE with the features of critical pedagogy to deal with the demands of the modern world by de-colonization and re-inhabitation. Decolonization refers to the capacity of students to be conscious of and change thinking patterns that damage and exploit places and other people while re-inhabitation concerns the ability of students to develop material places and spaces that teach them to live well in their environment (Schindel Dimick, 2016). Thus, teachers using critical PBE support inquiry into community-based matters such as environmental degradation, deforestation, and pollution to underline and challenge dominant views and practices (Sedawi et al., 2019). Teachers also ensure that students take action to improve their environments and the welfare of their communities (Schindel Dimick, 2016). Research also found that teachers who implement PBE must comply with established standards including tests and accountability, which creates barriers to PBE (Harasymchuk, 2017). Besides, the sense of place of students is connected to their schooling experience. 

PBE acknowledges the unique contexts of students, which influences eight student-learning components positively. PBE improves learning outcomes, learning and thinking skills, socio-emotional learning, student sense of agency, and environmental attitudes (Avery & Hains, 2016; Donovan, 2016; Glassner & Eran-Zoran, 2015; Goralnik & Nelson, 2015; Jagger, 2016).

Barriers

Research investigating barriers to the implementation of EL based curricula in secondary school settings highlight different issues. Some of these challenges are basic issues in the formal education system including teacher doubts regarding their daily practice, inadequate training and knowledge among teachers concerning EL and ways of implementing it, and an already congested curriculum (Dyment & Hill, 2015). Other issues relate to the attitudes of teachers towards EL in which some teachers possess anthropocentric understandings of the environment and specific traditions and values concerning human rights that are inconsistent with the EL articulations (Bruguière et al., 2016). Studies also show that teachers at the secondary school level are inadequately prepared compared to their primary school counterparts regarding the innovation and quantity they demonstrate in EL, an issue that is connected to insufficient professional development in EL (Dyment & Hill, 2015). While teacher preparation programs identify EL as their priority, the programs feature opposing priorities based on pedagogical strategies, compliance, accreditation, course structures, and time (Dyment & Hill, 2015). Thus, only a few teachers end up focusing on matters that they believe highlight EL.

Current gaps in the field 

The reviewed articles expose gaps in the literature regarding EL teaching practices in secondary schools. The first issue concerns the variation of the terminology in which different authors use different terms such as ESD, Educational sustainability, Education for sustainability, and environmental education. The terminologies also lack any specific patterns since individual authors determine the terminology to be used. Teaching practices also vary in which some highlight the importance of embedding EL education in the curriculum. Other studies emphasize the need to consider an interdisciplinary or a cross-curricular strategy. However, most studies support an action-oriented approach that empowers students. Studies that favor an action-based approach argue that the strategy hinders students from feeling powerless and guilty, which can arise when the teaching focuses on environmental issues and their causes. 

Conclusion

The present study examined the various ways in which teachers can develop environmentally literate students in a secondary school setting. The study was based on a review of the literature in which the researcher identified the relevant themes regarding evidence-based teaching practices that can develop environmental literacy among students. Given the increasing need for sustainability across the world, there is an increasing need to ensure that young people gain the necessary skills to address environmental issues in society. The literature review demonstrates that environmental literacy is a vital skill that young people can develop to support a sustainable future. The paper demonstrates the importance of finding ways of teaching secondary students environmental education because of the critical stage of the students as they approach adulthood and independent lives. 

Engaging them at this stage improves their overall skills, capacity, and competence to make informed decisions about the environment in future. However, it is challenging to develop environmentally literate students without using proper teaching techniques. The literature reviewed identified various ways in which teachers can engage students and assist them to acquire the relevant skills. In particular, the literature highlights the importance of selecting an appropriate teaching approach because of the student settings and the available activities. The techniques should be student-centered to ensure that students develop their learning. Examples of the techniques include cooperative learning, inquiry-based learning, and project-based learning. Extra-curricular activities are also emphasized as they convey skills such as collaboration and communication, self-confidence, and independence. 

The literature also identified community-based learning as a suitable teaching technique because of its focus on the local surroundings as the teaching context. The technique strengthens the classroom knowledge and develops the intellectual and academic skills of students. Community-based learning also concerns place-based learning as it offers tangible learning experiences in an interactive context and encourages active student participation. Placed-based learning emphasizes teaching outdoor and features such as experiential experiences. Teachers are also encouraged to align their practices with resources, existing tests, and the curricula to demonstrate the importance of environmental education to students. The reason for this is that most teachers consider environmental education as a less important and separate subject because it lacks standardized tests or assessments. Thus, integrating EE in the curricular will encourage action from students. Another teaching practice is to develop the learning context to ensure it supports sustainable learning through considering sense-based practices. Barriers to effective teaching practices were also identified. For instance, most teachers are inadequately prepared to teach and implement EE. Other barriers related to the congested curriculum without room for expansion and doubts b teachers about the practices.

Gaps in the literature also emerged concerning EE teaching practices. Lack of clarity regarding terms related to EL, absence of clear patterns in the definition of EE, and different teaching practices were identified as the main gaps. The paper recommends that future researchers consider offering a clear definition of environmental literacy to ensure consistency when evaluating the concept. Given that teaching practices play a significant role in developing environmentally literate students, future studies should examine the way the professional development of teachers influences the development of environmentally literate students.

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