Abstract
Environmental issues have become a public discussion in the last two decades since the Brundtland Report in 1987. It is because environmental issues, such as climate change, air pollution, and water crisis, create a significant impact not only for a local but also for a global society. Education is considered as one way to overcome problems in environment. Ironically, in practice, education still emphasizes in economic development (Greenwood, 2014). As a result, many environmental issues are caused by educated people (Orr, 2010). For example, the danger of DDT invented by the winner of Noble Prize for Physiology or Medicine, Paul Hermann Muller. DDT is used as a pesticide to kill insects, weeds or other pests. However, this substance also causes harm to human and other animals. Therefore, in the era of environmental crisis, it is time to shift education that is controlled by economic. Early childhood education can be used as a good start to foster environmental awareness to children as early as possible. Also, the definition of sustainability offered by the Brundtland Report mentions that sustainability is needed to ensure the needs of future generation. Therefore, in the discussion that influences their future's life, children need to be seen as an active participant. In addition, in the future, children might face sustainability issues that might be different from now. Consequently, they should be taught with the way of thinking that enable them to solve the issues in the future.
Author Information
Pasiningsih, Monash University, Australia
Paper Information
Conference: ACEID2016
Stream: Education for sustainable development
This paper is part of the ACEID2016 Conference Proceedings (View)
Full Paper
View / Download the full paper in a new tab/window
Comments
Powered by WP LinkPress