Analyzing the Status of Environment-related Teaching in Elementary and Secondary Schools

초.중등학교에서 진행되는 환경 관련 수업의 현황 분석

The purpose of this study was to analyze the status of environment-related teaching in elementary and secondary schools. A questionnaire survey was conducted for the study. Items in the questionnaire were developed based on the theory of environmental education and integrated education. The questionnaire was responded to 501 elementary school teachers, 273 middle school teachers, and 210 high school teachers in the city of Seoul and Kyunggi Province. The survey analysis revealed that elementary and secondary school teachers recognized 'environmental action skills' as the most important objective for school environmental education. Contrary to the teachers' expectations, it was found that there is insufficient teaching and learning materials for teaching in the domain of 'environmental action skills' and they could not confidently teach the skills in environment-related classes. For professional development of teachers in integrated environmental education, pre- and in-service programs will be developed systematically in a workshop to give teachers an opportunity to analyze teaching materials, design instruction plan, perform class trial, and evaluate the class situation for feedback. The results of this study can serve as a basic reference for improvement of environment-related subject education.