Secondary Science Teachers’ Views on Environmental Citizenship in The Netherlands

Abstract

Environmental Citizenship (EC) is a promising aim for science education. EC enables people not only to responsibly make decisions on sustainability issues—such as use of renewable energy sources—but also to take action individually and collectively. However, studies show that education for EC is challenging. Because our understanding of EC practice remains limited, an in-depth, qualitative view would help us better understand how to support science teachers during EC education. This study aims to describe current EC education practices. What do secondary science teachers think sustainability and citizenship entail? What are their experiences (both positive and negative) with education for EC? A total of 41 Dutch science teachers were interviewed in an individual, face-to-face setting. Analysis of the coded transcripts shows that most teachers see the added value of EC but struggle to fully implement it in their teaching. They think the curriculum is unsuitable to reach EC, and they see activities such as guiding discussions and opinion forming as challenging. Furthermore, science teachers’ interpretation of citizenship education remains narrow, thus making it unlikely that their lessons are successful in fostering EC. Improving EC education therefore may be supported by explicit representation in the curriculum and teacher professional development directed at its implementation.

Evaluating a Novel Learning Intervention Grounded in the Education for Environmental Citizenship Pedagogical Approach: A Case Study from Cyprus

“…Empirical studies for the evaluation of EEC learning interventions in secondary education are lacking in the literature, as are empirically validated tools for the evaluation of secondary education students' environmental citizenship [17]. In fact, prior explorations of EC have been mostly based on the deployment of qualitative approaches [2,13,14,[30][31][32] or partial questionnaire items addressing adults' (i.e., teachers and higher education students) environmental citizenship [33][34][35][36].…”

“…Environmental citizenship (EC) reframes the relationship between humans and nature. It emphasizes that everyone should make responsible decisions about complex socioecological issues and take action, individually as well as collectively, to minimize their ecological impact on the Earth, thus contributing to environmental conservation [1,2]. Environmental citizenship has gained considerable traction in current times, due to the ever-increasing environmental crisis, which requires well-prepared environmental citizens who are able to undertake action to achieve sustainability [3].…”

“…However, despite the rich theoretical discourse on EC, Education for Environmental Citizenship (EEC) is a relatively novel field of study that has not penetrated the core of our educational systems thus far [3,5,6]. According to van Harskamp et al [2], the increased focus on EC in the context of environmental policy does not necessarily imply that an increase in EC-related interventions is taking place in classrooms. Likewise, according to Schild [7], limited attention has been devoted to the implementation of EC in the field of environmental education.…”

“…In a recent review effort, Georgiou et al [8] found, for instance, that teachers manifest a limited and narrow understanding of EC, and, as such, it is challenging for them to integrate the concept into their instruction. This situation deteriorates due to the under-represented role of EC in national curricula, as well as in subject syllabi [2,4]; indeed, previous research has indicated that curriculum is one of the greatest barriers to teaching about sustainability and complex socio-ecological issues [9,10]. Finally, another issue of importance is the lack of educational resources, learning materials and best practices to support the teaching of EC in secondary education [3].…”

Environmental Citizenship of Dutch Lower Secondary Students

“…However, stimulating EC through science education remains challenging for science teachers. For instance, they experience challenges with guiding dialogue, and deem the curricula unsuitable [1]. Understanding current levels of EC among students would help science teachers in developing and teaching effective EC lessons.…”