Influence of Environmental Education Strategies in Curbing Air Pollution for Sustainability Development
CHAPTER ONE
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
- To promote environmental awareness among all sections of the society
- To spread environment education, especially in the non-formal system among different sections of the society
- To facilitate development of education/training materials and aid in the formal education sector
- To promote environment education through existing education/scientific/research Institutions
- To ensure training and manpower development for environment education, awareness and training.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
- INTRODUCTION
The literature on the following subjects was studied in chapter two, including the idea of environmental education, the progress of environmental education worldwide, Environmental education’s current goals and objectives in Nigeria, Environmental education’s difficulties, its delivery strategies, and the inclusion of environmental education in Nigerian curricula, Environmental education (EE) is being infused into the Nigerian educational system as a means of promoting eco-friendly behavior there.
Conceptual Review
Environmental Education
It is a process of transferring consciousness and sufficient knowledge about the functions of the environment, its functions, and contemporary environmental challenges. The notion, according to (Abubakar; 2010), is focused on “analyzing the nature, causes, and consequences of the current environmental issues.” Environmental education is “the expansion of the study of ecology; a branch of biology concerned with the interactions of living organisms with one another and with their surroundings,” according to Akintunde (2008). As a result, environmental education’s (E.E.) primary goal is to raise students’ level of awareness of the environment and how to use it for sustainable development. The following is an outline of what environmental education’s goals are from (Abubakar, 2010):
- Awareness: To help social groups and individuals acquire an awareness and sensibility to the total environment and its allied problems and/or issues.
- Sensitivity: To help social groups and individuals gain a variety of experience in, and acquire a basic understanding of the environment and its associated problems and/or issues.
- Attitude: to help social groups and individuals to acquire a set of values and feeling of concern for the environment and motivation for actively participating in environmental improvement and protection.
- Skills; to help social groups and individuals acquire skills for identifying and solving environmental problems and/or issues.
- Participation: to provide social groups and individual with an opportunity to be actively involved at all levels in working toward, resolution of environmental problems/or issues.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
There is no other strategy that would to a larger extent reduce the damages that have been done to the natural environment apart from embarking on mass environmental awareness programmes throughout the world. (Tilbury; 2005), observes that from global formulation of treaties, it should trickle down to the personal level. Environmental programmes in schools have been active in many countries of the world. The whole idea is to educate the young ones on developing values that would make them appreciate the environment they live in. Hwang-Kim and et al 2002, Tilbury 2005; Marthar 2006; all state that schools in the world should be used to engineer and kick start the gear of programmes that promote Environmental Sustainable Development(ESD).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter consists of research design, population, sample size and sampling techniques, research instruments, validity and reliability of the instruments, data collection and data analysis procedures.
Research design
The study employed both qualitative and quantitative strategies. Qualitative approach allowed the researcher to get in-depth information from respondents using one to one interviews and focus group discussions. Quantitative methods of data collection also made the researcher get data which was presented using frequencies and pie charts.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Introduction
This chapter deals with the presentation of research findings from the field on environmental Education in schools towards sustainable development. Therefore, the researcher presented data using the objectives as well as the corresponding research questions. Diagrams such as pie charts and tables were used to present data especially quantifiable data. Qualitative data however, was presented in prose and verbatim.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary
Environmental education, awareness, knowledge, and attitude at school and community levels, the environment continues to be polluted and degraded. Waste management still remains a challenge in urban areas and deforestation in rural areas continues being rife. Surface and ground waters as well as soils are contaminated and the air is polluted. It is against this background that this study was conceived to produce critical reliable knowledge embodying the clear and better explanation on environmental education as tool for sustainable development. Indeed, environmental awareness programmes in schools although, were to a larger extent found to be there, were not very viable.
Members although indicated they had knowledge of environmental issues, the practical aspect was discovered to be almost absent. This was because most government schools lacked financial resources that would make them be able to undertake excursions for members.
Members’ involvement in outdoor practical activities was poor because of the same issue of lack of funds although that could also be attributed to or blamed on teaching staff. Even if teachers faced many challenges in environmental awareness promotion in schools, there was need for them to be innovative in their quest to promote environmental passion in their members. Interests of members were on trips, outside the school but were reluctant to green and clean their own environment which should be the starting point for their environmental mastery as the saying goes ‘charity begins at home’.
Conclusion
The objectives of this study were to evaluate the members’ understanding of environmental sustainable development in communities, determine the availability and viability of environmental awareness programmes and identify challenges faced by communities in carrying out environmental awareness.
The study revealed that community members’ understanding of environmental issues towards sustainable development was found to be averagely low and that was so because issues of sustainable development were not very well spelt out and encouraged in schools. However, the general understanding of environmental issues was above average because apart from learning about environmental issues from electronic and print media, members also learnt these issues in class in such subjects as Social studies, Basic science and Agricultural Science. However, what was almost absent was intensive integration of the aspect of sustainable development so that members understand why they were learning environmental issues. On the aspect of availability of the programmes to promote environmental awareness in schools, indeed it was revealed that schools did have many programmes and the few programmes that were there were not viable. However, some organisations such as UYO Environmental Enforcement Cadet(AEEC)of Nigeria through the school based jet Clubs and Community Service Clubs were on the ground in schools sensitising members on Natural resources conservation as well as implementing some practical activities.
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