Environmental Education in Environmental Engineering: Analysis of the Situation in Colombia and Latin America

Abstract

Environmental education (EE) has become the only tool for environmental sustainability in training processes in Colombia, for basic cycles in primary and secondary, as well as university education. EE tends to transform human actions in nature, based on multidisciplinary knowledge that supports decision-making. Its goal is to generate a change in social behavior in order to achieve the recovery, conservation, and preservation of the environment. In Colombia, education for sustainable development (ESD) is embedded in EE. These educational models (EE and ESD) seek to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs), which generally seek the economic and social well-being of nations, both for current and future generations. Environmental engineering is a relatively new degree course in Colombia and Latin America since it appeared in the mid-nineties, and it must involve EE within its curriculum. Students are trained in this trend. This research intends to demonstrate, through a curricular review of the environmental engineering curricula and also surveying students from this degree, the level of inclusion of EE in Latin America. Strengths are identified in the curricula, such as the strong presence of EE in disciplinary subjects and opportunities for improvement based on the needs of the students. The situation in South America is also included in this study.

Inclusion of Education for Sustainable Development in Environmental Engineering. A Systematic Review

“…These together with the use of basic science and engineering allow solving social problems [36]. The execution of the study plan allows carrying out the systematic evaluation of each of the curricular contents, which provides an opportunity to improve it [5].…”

“…In the same way, some developed societies generate high rates of consumption and environmental depredation [3]. It has been recognized that these crises are not only problems of innovative development, but are also the product of a lack of environmental knowledge and behavior [5]. The only viable solution to face and overcome difficulties is governed by a challenge of optimization and adjustment of a better quality of education in environmental terms [6].…”

Revisión sistemática: educación ambiental en la ciudadanía latinoamericana durante la covid 19

“…El objetivo del artículo es analizar las premisas conceptuales de la educación ambiental, explicar el enfoque de las investigaciones revisadas, describir el comportamiento de la ciudadanía y analizar las conclusiones de las pesquisas. Se debe identificar conciencia ambiental producto de medición de educación ambiental en la ciudadanía latinoamericana (Acosta et al, 2020).…”

“…Calderón y Caicedo (2019) dicen: Es importante considerar criterios y variables para identificar información primaria a lo que complementan Alvarado y Méndez (2021), quienes entienden la metodología de una investigación, en el fortalecimiento con fuentes oficiales de indicadores de impacto. La educación ambiental es transformadora de acciones humanas que busca un cambio de comportamiento para alcanzar los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible, donde la metodología de estudio es el aporte de consistencia del investigador (Acosta et al, 2020).…”

Sustainability of Wetlands in the Eyes of the New Generation of Environmental Engineering Students

“…Environmental science and the engineering discipline are greatly intertwined with challenging social and humanistic issues in the real world [17] and, thus, inherit much more complexity, ambiguity, and difficulty. Students must acquire various areas of knowledge and skills in a diverse range of primary and applied sciences to face global, regional, national and local uncertainties.…”