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Matching the Purposes of Environmental Education with Consistent Approaches to Research and Professional Development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2015

Ian Robottom*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Education, Deakin University, Victoria
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The aim of this paper is to address the issue of the coherence of three dimensions of environmental education activities - its substantive purposes; the research informing its policy, organisation and practices; and the professional development processes supporting its practitioners. It will be argued (i) that the purposes of environmental education are socially transformative, (ii) that the dominant approach to research in the field is behaviourist and deterministic, and (iii) that within a context of socially transformative environmental education, the role that the dominant behaviourist approach to research plays in professional development needs to be critically examined. The paper outlines a current international project in environmental education which includes in its aims an exploration of the relationships among environmental education purposes, research and professional development.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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