Interdisciplinary Strategy to Educate for Environmental Sustainability
Interdisciplinary strategy to educate for environmental sustainability
By
Dr. Sreelaxmi Madhusudan and Ms. Charu Srivastava
IBDP Faculty
Jamnabai Narsee School
India
Introduction:
Today the natural phenomena are exhibiting catastrophic dimensions in their effect on the land and the life of the planet. Consequently, terms like ‘global warming’,
‘climate change’ have become colloquial across the globe. Government organisations, environmentalists, social groups and individuals are forced to act to preserve and conserve nature. Yet there is a huge gap that exists between environmental awareness and environmental consciousness:
Environmental awareness is conceived as the totality of cognitions, attitudes and action. Many studies made in the 1980s and 1990s, had very positive attitudes towards conservation, but when speaking about concrete action and personal sacrifices they have become rather reserved (Sairinen 1996)
1
.
It has also been shown that a high level of environmental knowledge does not necessarily imply environmentally-friendly behaviour (e.g. Poferl et al. 1997; Brand
1997)
1 It is in such a context that we adopt the dimensions of environmental consciousness as psychological acceptance and imbibitions of environmentally sustainable practices which later on become a natural way of life – ‘Sanskar
*
-
(principles imbibed through practice in Sanskrit) rather than working for implementing them under the constant threat of a ‘doomsday.’
The means to achieve an environmentally sustainable society is to breed environmentally-conscious citizens. Universities are centres for developing cultural meccas, innovators, economists (Kogan Linda 2006)
2.
Ignatian Pedagogical
Paradigm (IPP) believes that education alone can sustain moral and ethical values in society by dovetailing these values with every subject we teach.(Vas Jessie 2007)
3
.
Even today, education plays an
By
Dr. Sreelaxmi Madhusudan and Ms. Charu Srivastava
IBDP Faculty
Jamnabai Narsee School
India
Introduction:
Today the natural phenomena are exhibiting catastrophic dimensions in their effect on the land and the life of the planet. Consequently, terms like ‘global warming’,
‘climate change’ have become colloquial across the globe. Government organisations, environmentalists, social groups and individuals are forced to act to preserve and conserve nature. Yet there is a huge gap that exists between environmental awareness and environmental consciousness:
Environmental awareness is conceived as the totality of cognitions, attitudes and action. Many studies made in the 1980s and 1990s, had very positive attitudes towards conservation, but when speaking about concrete action and personal sacrifices they have become rather reserved (Sairinen 1996)
1
.
It has also been shown that a high level of environmental knowledge does not necessarily imply environmentally-friendly behaviour (e.g. Poferl et al. 1997; Brand
1997)
1 It is in such a context that we adopt the dimensions of environmental consciousness as psychological acceptance and imbibitions of environmentally sustainable practices which later on become a natural way of life – ‘Sanskar
*
-
(principles imbibed through practice in Sanskrit) rather than working for implementing them under the constant threat of a ‘doomsday.’
The means to achieve an environmentally sustainable society is to breed environmentally-conscious citizens. Universities are centres for developing cultural meccas, innovators, economists (Kogan Linda 2006)
2.
Ignatian Pedagogical
Paradigm (IPP) believes that education alone can sustain moral and ethical values in society by dovetailing these values with every subject we teach.(Vas Jessie 2007)
3
.
Even today, education plays an
Bibliography: 4. National Association of Independent Schools, NAIS Opinion Leaders Survey: Forecasting Independent Education to 2025, 2005 (NAIS SURVEY 2005) 6. (O. Bartosh et.al.2005) 6 Linda Kogan (2006 Acknowledgements: We sincerely thank the Management, the Principal and the