Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-m42fx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-23T13:19:18.288Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Australian-ness of Curriculum Jigsaws: Where Does Environmental Education Fit?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2012

Annette Gough
Annette Gough*
Affiliation:
RMIT University
*
†Address for correspondence: Professor Annette Gough, School of Education, RMIT University, Po Box 71, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia. Email: annette.gough@rmit.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper reviews Australian Government actions related to environmental education, particularly in the past decade, and examines the actions forthcoming from two national action plans (Environment Australia, 2000 and DEWHA, 2009), the implementation strategy for the Decade of ESD (DEWHA, 2006) and developments related to the Australian Curriculum. This analysis is inspired by the Australian-ness of the metaphor of the curriculum as a jigsaw puzzle suggested by Robottom (1987), the seemingly constant battle for survival in the formal curriculum that environmental education has faced since the 1970s (Fensham, 1990; Gough, 1997), and the ongoing tensions between science education and environmental education in Australia's formal school curriculum.

Keywords

curriculumpolicyenvironmental educationeducation for sustainabilityaction plannational goals
Type
Feature Articles
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 27 , Issue 1: Special Issue: The “ness” of Environmental Education , 2011 , pp. 9 - 23
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) (2011). The National Curriculum: Science. Retrieved from www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Science/RationaleGoogle Scholar
Beeton, R. J. S., Buckley, K. I., Jones, G. J., Morgan, D., Reichelt, R. E., & Trewin, D. (2006 Australian State of the Environment Committee) (2006). Australia State of the Environment 2006. Independent report to the Australian Government Minister for the Environment and Heritage. Canberra: Department of the Environment and Heritage.Google Scholar
Board of Studies. (1994). Environmental Studies VCE Study Design. Carlton, Victoria: Board of Studies.Google Scholar
Board of Studies. (2000a). Environmental Science Study Design. Carlton, Victoria: Board of Studies.Google Scholar
Board of Studies. (2000b). Outdoor and Environmental Studies Study Design. Carlton, Victoria: Board of Studies.Google Scholar
Board of Studies NSW. (2009). Earth and Environmental Science Syllabus. Retrieved from www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/earth-env-science.htmlGoogle Scholar
Bolstad, R., Baker, R., Barker, M. & Keown, P. (2004). Environmental Education in New Zealand Schools: Research into Current Practices and Future Possibilities. Volume 2: A review of national and international research literature on environmental education practices. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education. Retrieved from www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/curriculum/5775Google Scholar
Boyden, S. V. (1970). Environmental change: Perspectives and responsibilities. In Evans, J. & Boyden, S. (Eds.), Education and the Environmental Crisis (pp. 9–22). Canberra: Australian Academy of Science.Google Scholar
Council of Australian Governments (COAG). Early Childhood Development Steering Committee. (2009). National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care and school Age Care. Retrieved from www.deewr.gov.au/Earlychildhood/Policy_Agenda/Quality/Pages/home.aspxGoogle Scholar
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2009). Belonging, Being & Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Retrieved from www.deewr.gov.au/EarlyChildhood/Policy_Agenda/Quality/Pages/EarlyYearsLearningFramework.aspxGoogle Scholar
Department of the Environment and Heritage (DEH) (2005). Educating for a Sustainable Future: A National Statement on Environmental Education for Schools. Carlton South: Curriculum Corporation. Retrieved from www.environment.gov.au/education/publications/pubs/sustainable-future.pdfGoogle Scholar
Department of the Environment and Heritage (DEH) (2006). Caring for Our Future: The Australian Government Strategy for the UNDESD, 2005–2014. Retrieved from www.environment.gov.au/education/publications/caring.htmlGoogle Scholar
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) (2009). Living Sustainably: The Australian Government's National Action Plan for Education for Sustainability. Canberra: DEWHA. Retrieved from www.environment.gov.au/education/publications/pubs/national-action-plan.pdfGoogle Scholar
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) (2010). Sustainability Curriculum Framework: A guide for curriculum developers and policy makers. Retrieved from www.environment.gov.au/education/publications/curriculum-framework.htmlGoogle Scholar
Drabble, M. (2009). The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.Google Scholar
Environment Australia (2000). Today Shapes Tomorrow: Environmental Education for a Sustainable Future: A Discussion Paper. Canberra: Environment Australia.Google Scholar
Fensham, P. J. (1987). A veteran's version. Australian Association for Environmental Education Inc Newsletter, 31, 2.Google Scholar
Fensham, P. J. (1990). Developments and challenges in Australian environmental education. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 6, 15–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frankel, O. (1970). Chairman's remarks. In Evans, J. & Boyden, S. (Eds.), Education and the Environmental Crisis (pp. 7–8). Canberra: Australian Academy of Science.Google Scholar
Garnaut, R. (2008). The Garnaut Climate Change Review: Final Report. Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gough, A. (1997). Education and the Environment: Policy, Trends and the Problems of Marginalisation. Melbourne: ACER Press.Google Scholar
Gough, A. (2007). Outdoor and Environmental Studies: More challenges to its place in the curriculum. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 11(2), 19–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gough, A. (2008). Towards more effective learning for sustainability: Reconceptualising science education. Transnational Curriculum Inquiry, 5(1), 32–50. Retrieved from http://nitinat.library.ubc.ca/ojs/index.php/tci/article/viewFile/90/269Google Scholar
Greenall, A. (1980). Environmental Education for Schools or how to catch environmental education. Canberra: Curriculum Development Centre.Google Scholar
Greenall, A. (1987). A Political History of Environmental Education in Australia: Snakes and Ladders. In Robottom, I. (Ed.), Environmental Education: Practice and Possibility (pp. 3–21). Geelong: Deakin University.Google Scholar
Home Economics Victoria. (2009). Submission to the board of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), September 2009. Retrieved from www.homeeconomics.com.au/news.aspxGoogle Scholar
Martin, P., & Hewison, T. (2010). Outdoor Education and the National Curriculum. Outdoor Education Foundation. Retrieved from www.voea.vic.edu.au/resources/curriculum/nat_curric/Google Scholar
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) (2008). Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. Carlton South: Curriculum Corporation. Retrieved from www.mceetya.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdfGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Education. (1990). Ministerial Policy: Environmental Education. Melbourne: Ministry of Education.Google Scholar
Mitchell, F. (1999, January). Environmental science at Years 11 and 12 - a short history. Paper presented at ‘Southern Crossings’, the international conference of the Australian Association for Environmental Education, Sydney.Google Scholar
National Curriculum Board. (2009). Shape of the Curriculum: Science. Canberra: National Curriculum Board. Retrieved from www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/Australian_Curriculum_-_Science.pdfGoogle Scholar
Robottom, I. (1987). Towards enquiry-based professional development in environmental education. In Robottom, I. (Ed.), Environmental Education: Practice and Possibility (pp. 83–119). Geelong: Deakin University.Google Scholar
Rose, A. (2009). Education for Sustainability in High Schools. Retrieved from http://blogs.crikey.com.au/rooted/2009/04/18/education-for-sustainability-in-high-schools/Google Scholar
Smith, P. (2010a). Australian Association for Environmental Education Comment on Maths in the National Curriculum. Retrieved from www.aaee.org.au/about/papers-submissions.Google Scholar
Smith, P. (2010b). Australian Association for Environmental Education Comment on History in the National Curriculum. Retrieved from www.aaee.org.au/about/papers-submissions/Google Scholar
Smith, P. (2010c). Australian Association for Environmental Education Comment on English in the National Curriculum. Retrieved from http://www.aaee.org.au/about/papers-submissions/Google Scholar
Smith, P. (2010d). Australian Association for Environmental Education Comment on Science in the National Curriculum. Retrieved from www.aaee.org.au/about/papers-submissions/Google Scholar
Stern, N. (2007). The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
UNESCO. (2004). United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005–2014. Draft Implementation Scheme. Retrieved from portal.unesco.org/education/en/file_download.php/03f375b07798a2a55dcdc39db7aa8211Final+IIS.pdfGoogle Scholar
United Nations (1993). Agenda 21: Earth Summit: The United Nations Programme of Action from Rio. New York: United Nations.Google Scholar
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). (2004). Environmental science study design (Revised edition). East Melbourne, Victoria: Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.Google Scholar
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). (2005). Outdoor and Environmental Studies Study Design. Revised edition. East Melbourne, Victoria: Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.Google Scholar
World Commission on Environment and Development (1987). Our Common Future. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar