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Introducing Environmental Literacy in the Tertiary Curriculum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2015

Ian Thomas ,
Louise Kyle  and
Amaya Alvarez
Amaya Alvarez
Affiliation:
RMIT University
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Abstract

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There are many examples of environmental courses in tertiary institutions, but the integration of environmental education across the range of courses has generally not occurred. The paper describes a process and strategy to establish environmental literacy in tertiary courses. This strategy was developed from a project to introduce waste minimisation education into four disciplinary based courses. Since waste minimisation was introduced in the context of ecological sustainability, the project provided a framework for the broad principles of environmental literacy. The project began with the assumption that adequate materials were already available, but what was needed was a process that would guide academics in the revision of their course content, and would support them in making changes. The paper reports on the conduct of the project and, based on our experiences, presents a strategy for developing curriculum change. This strategy has been developed to recognise the contexts associated with environmental understanding and tertiary institutions, and the processes needed to facilitate the change.

Type
Research Article
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 15: Volume 15-16 , 1999 , pp. 95 - 101
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1999

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