Identifying Environmental Education. Unit 1 of 6.

Overview & Synopsis

The constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania includes a provision mandating a quality education for each child in the Commonwealth. This is the first of six units designed for administrators and teachers to serve the Environmental Goal, one of Pennsylvania's Twelve Goals of Quality Education. The goal states that quality education should help every student acquire the knowledge and attitudes necessary to maintain the quality of life in a balanced environment. The major objective of the unit is to learn about the ideal image of environmental education in terms of major assumptions, values, objectives, and processes. Upon completing the unit, teachers/administrators should have an integrated or composite image of environmental education to provide a working framework for involvement in this area. To meet the unit's objective, background information, rationale for, and goals of environmental education are discussed in the content portion of the unit. The interdisciplinary, holistic, and problem-solving/issue-oriented nature of environmental education is also discussed. (Author/JN)