No abstract

The media, as a source of information, is supposed to have a significant role in effecting peopleís environmental knowledge and attitudes. The purpose of this study was to find studentsí perceptions of environmental issues as presented in the media and how students in Finland, Lithuania and Sweden used these media sources in the matters related to environmental issues. The most important source of environmental knowledge was found to be the Internet, followed by newspapers, television, school and education. In their own lives, students discussed environmental issues every day and, to some extent, in social media, discussion forums and blogs. In Finland, newspapers represented the most important source of environmental knowledge; in Lithuania, environmental organisations were the most prevalent, and, in Sweden, it was in a school or educational context. Based on these results, it was concluded that, in order to reach both genders of students in different countries and to more greatly benefit from all sources of information, a variety of media should be used in education for sustainability.

Alarming trends in science in Nordic schools, indicating a diminishing interest among students, a lack of knowledge and competence among teachers as well as a decreasing amount of science in teacher education sparked this study of student teachers in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. This quantitative and qualitative study of teacher students' views of human biology made it clear that human biology is seen as basic teacher knowledge by a majority of the students, in Finland in particular. The student teachers' level of knowledge in human biology is very low. They have difficulties in explaining basic body functions, for example in relation to the human blood circulation system. They lack understanding of how various body organs work together, a fact that makes teaching and pupil guidance more difficult. Nordic teacher education should provide more time for diagnosing and developing student teachers' critical and scientific thinking skills as well as problem-based science teaching. InledningEnligt de internationella undersökningarna TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) och PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) är nordiska 15-åriga elevers naturvetenskapliga kunnande över eller nära OECD-ländernas medeltal. Finlands resultat i den senaste PISA-undersökningen från 2006 med betoning på naturvetenskaper var betydligt