Tracing Changes in Teacher Environmental Education Understanding

Abstract

AbstractAfter more than twenty years of contemporary environmental education, there is still an inferior representation of it in schools. By 1990, UNESCO recognised that to improve the effectiveness of teacher implementation of environmental education in schools, teachers needed training. To date, there is insufficient research into teacher training in environmental education that could provide insights into teacher understanding and how to positively change teacher understandings about environmental education. The aim of this research was to document and examine the changes in teacher understandings of environmental education during an in-service training program in environmental education.To examine teacher change in detail, this research used a qualitative and naturalistic inquiry methodology while using a case study approach. The case study showed that teacher understanding was complex and affected by many factors that contribute to personal and professional growth, development and learning.