Environmental Literacy in the Education System in Israel
Prof. Alon Tal, Dr. Yaakov Garb, Maya Negev, Gonen Sagy, Dr. Alan Salzberg
Ben Gurion University and the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies.
Environmental literacy is defined world-wide as the primary goal of environmental education. Environmental literacy includes knowledge of ecology and the environment, attitudes regarding environmental issues, and behavior that is consistent with environmental protection ('eco-friendly').
The significance of environmental literacy as an element of a national environmental strategy is recognized world-wide. In Israel, in spite of the government's 2003 decision to promote sustainable development principles, no national policies in the field of environmental education have been implemented. Extensive private funding, some from special interest groups such as private corporations, has been invested in environmental education. In light of the ongoing environmental crisis in Israel and around the world, and given the rapid development of the field of non-governmentally funded environmental education, there is a need to assess the environmental literacy of Israeli pupils in the educational system, both in a national sample, and among the various supplementary environmental education programs.
This report presents a study of the environmental literacy in Israel's primary and secondary education system, carried out by a team of researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies from 2004 through 2007. The study assessed the knowledge, perceptions, and actions of 7,635 sixth and twelfth grade pupils from 182 schools all over Israel. The results presented in this report are the product of the analysis of a questionnaire developed with the help of a steering committee and completed by the pupils between February and June 2006.
1. Assessment of the environmental literacy of pupils upon the completion of their primary and secondary school education in Israel.
2. Assessment of the environmental literacy of pupils participating in special environmental education programs in Israel.
1. Israeli pupils today have very little exposure to environmental issues and the studies they do have focuses on environmental sciences. There is a lack of activities outside the classroom and of updated teaching materials. A new management circular recently issued by the Director General of the Ministry of Education calls for improvement in the coming school year, including training sixty teachers and upgrading learning materials.
2. There is a gap between the recommendations of the Ministry of Education for environmental education in the schools and what actually takes place in the classroom. Learning materials are inadequate or unavailable, as are trained teachers. Moreover, compliance with the number of recommended hours devoted to the subject is inadequate.
3. Unsatisfactory "environmental behavior". Environmental behavior, as reflected in the results reported by pupils' in the questionnaires , shows that specific actions, such as conserving water and electricity, are performed frequently, whereas other behaviors, including recycling, environmental consumerism, and civic environmental activism within the local community are carried out infrequently or not at all.
4. Inadequate environmental knowledge. Results the educational system does not convey environmental knowledge effectively to a majority of public school pupils.
5. Pupils' attitudes towards the environment are positive. The respondents in both sixth and twelfth grades expressed positive attitudes regarding the environment and environmental awareness in Israel. They identify with environmental values related to nature conservation and public health, but related less positively to environmental consumerism.
6. Greater familiarity with environmental subjects does not necessarily lead to environmental behavior. The results of the study show that a pupil with more environmental knowledge is not necessarily the pupil who will undertake environmental initiatives or behaviors. Further research is needed to identify methods to improve environmental behavior among pupils.
7. There is a disparity between attitudes and pupils' reported actions. While pupils' attitude regarding the environment was positive in general, they reported that they tend to refrain from environmentally friendly behaviors.
8. The association between environmental literacy and demographic characteristics is minimal. Environmental knowledge appears higher among Jewish pupils from especially in schools with high academic achievement levels. In the area of behavior, there was little significant difference according different ethnic and socio-economic sectors.
9. Hands-on outdoor activities are linked to high environmental literacy. Pupils who enjoy spending time outdoors with someone or learning about nature and the environment from someone, tend to exhibit better environmental behaviors and express more committed attitudes, while to some extent, displaying a higher level of environmental knowledge.
10. The Israeli supplementary environmental education programs in elementary schools that were surveyed appeared to affect environmental literacy in relatively few schools. In most cases, no significant improvement was found in primary schools who have adopted special environmental education programs. It should be noted that this study assessed general environmental literacy, and was not designed to evaluate goals defined for these programs. Among secondary school pupils studying for environmental science graduation (Bagrut) exams, a relatively high level of environmental literacy was assessed relative to the control groups but this level was still deemed to be inadequate.
1. Implementation of sustainable policies throughout the educational system. According to the government decision on the subject of a national strategy for sustainable development, taken in May 2003, all government ministries must operate according to sustainable policies. This decision must be implemented in the Israeli school system as well, both in educational programming and in infrastructure; the system's commitment to environmental education must be strengthened.
2. Implementation of Ministry of Education recommendations regarding environmental studies. The Ministry of Education has already distributed recommendations regarding the environment, in both educational programming and infrastructure in school buildings, although there seems to be no follow-up on the implementation of these recommendations. It is hoped that the publication of the recent management circular from June 4, 2007 may signal a change in this situation.
3. Pedagogic infrastructure. Updated learning materials must be prepared and be available, while continuing education courses about the environment for teachers must be included in their enrichment program. Since environmental literacy includes attitudes and behaviors, practical work must be included as an integral part of education programs in order to affect these indicators.
4. Increase pupils' exposure to environmental education. All pupils need to be exposed to environmental issues, for example, by insistence on the recommended hours in primary school programs, and the integration of the subject into other subjects studied by secondary school pupils.
5. Continued research. To date, the number of research initiatives concerning environmental education in Israel carried out on a national level has been negligible, and there is a need for more research in this field. These additional studies should include qualitative elements, more precise and longer-term assessments of the supplementary environmental education programs (for example, in schools that were identified as outstanding in this study), a definition of what is wanted in Israel as far as environmental literacy and pinpointing successes in the field of environmental education in order to learn from them.
The research was funded by The GM foundation, The Freidman Foundation, and Middle East Environmental Futures (MEEF), Brown University.
Ben Gurion University and the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies.
Executive Summary
Environmental literacy is defined world-wide as the primary goal of environmental education. Environmental literacy includes knowledge of ecology and the environment, attitudes regarding environmental issues, and behavior that is consistent with environmental protection ('eco-friendly').
The significance of environmental literacy as an element of a national environmental strategy is recognized world-wide. In Israel, in spite of the government's 2003 decision to promote sustainable development principles, no national policies in the field of environmental education have been implemented. Extensive private funding, some from special interest groups such as private corporations, has been invested in environmental education. In light of the ongoing environmental crisis in Israel and around the world, and given the rapid development of the field of non-governmentally funded environmental education, there is a need to assess the environmental literacy of Israeli pupils in the educational system, both in a national sample, and among the various supplementary environmental education programs.
This report presents a study of the environmental literacy in Israel's primary and secondary education system, carried out by a team of researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies from 2004 through 2007. The study assessed the knowledge, perceptions, and actions of 7,635 sixth and twelfth grade pupils from 182 schools all over Israel. The results presented in this report are the product of the analysis of a questionnaire developed with the help of a steering committee and completed by the pupils between February and June 2006.
The study had two key objectives:
1. Assessment of the environmental literacy of pupils upon the completion of their primary and secondary school education in Israel.
2. Assessment of the environmental literacy of pupils participating in special environmental education programs in Israel.
The major conclusions of the study are:
1. Israeli pupils today have very little exposure to environmental issues and the studies they do have focuses on environmental sciences. There is a lack of activities outside the classroom and of updated teaching materials. A new management circular recently issued by the Director General of the Ministry of Education calls for improvement in the coming school year, including training sixty teachers and upgrading learning materials.
2. There is a gap between the recommendations of the Ministry of Education for environmental education in the schools and what actually takes place in the classroom. Learning materials are inadequate or unavailable, as are trained teachers. Moreover, compliance with the number of recommended hours devoted to the subject is inadequate.
3. Unsatisfactory "environmental behavior". Environmental behavior, as reflected in the results reported by pupils' in the questionnaires , shows that specific actions, such as conserving water and electricity, are performed frequently, whereas other behaviors, including recycling, environmental consumerism, and civic environmental activism within the local community are carried out infrequently or not at all.
4. Inadequate environmental knowledge. Results the educational system does not convey environmental knowledge effectively to a majority of public school pupils.
5. Pupils' attitudes towards the environment are positive. The respondents in both sixth and twelfth grades expressed positive attitudes regarding the environment and environmental awareness in Israel. They identify with environmental values related to nature conservation and public health, but related less positively to environmental consumerism.
6. Greater familiarity with environmental subjects does not necessarily lead to environmental behavior. The results of the study show that a pupil with more environmental knowledge is not necessarily the pupil who will undertake environmental initiatives or behaviors. Further research is needed to identify methods to improve environmental behavior among pupils.
7. There is a disparity between attitudes and pupils' reported actions. While pupils' attitude regarding the environment was positive in general, they reported that they tend to refrain from environmentally friendly behaviors.
8. The association between environmental literacy and demographic characteristics is minimal. Environmental knowledge appears higher among Jewish pupils from especially in schools with high academic achievement levels. In the area of behavior, there was little significant difference according different ethnic and socio-economic sectors.
9. Hands-on outdoor activities are linked to high environmental literacy. Pupils who enjoy spending time outdoors with someone or learning about nature and the environment from someone, tend to exhibit better environmental behaviors and express more committed attitudes, while to some extent, displaying a higher level of environmental knowledge.
10. The Israeli supplementary environmental education programs in elementary schools that were surveyed appeared to affect environmental literacy in relatively few schools. In most cases, no significant improvement was found in primary schools who have adopted special environmental education programs. It should be noted that this study assessed general environmental literacy, and was not designed to evaluate goals defined for these programs. Among secondary school pupils studying for environmental science graduation (Bagrut) exams, a relatively high level of environmental literacy was assessed relative to the control groups but this level was still deemed to be inadequate.
The main conclusions of the research are:
1. Implementation of sustainable policies throughout the educational system. According to the government decision on the subject of a national strategy for sustainable development, taken in May 2003, all government ministries must operate according to sustainable policies. This decision must be implemented in the Israeli school system as well, both in educational programming and in infrastructure; the system's commitment to environmental education must be strengthened.
2. Implementation of Ministry of Education recommendations regarding environmental studies. The Ministry of Education has already distributed recommendations regarding the environment, in both educational programming and infrastructure in school buildings, although there seems to be no follow-up on the implementation of these recommendations. It is hoped that the publication of the recent management circular from June 4, 2007 may signal a change in this situation.
3. Pedagogic infrastructure. Updated learning materials must be prepared and be available, while continuing education courses about the environment for teachers must be included in their enrichment program. Since environmental literacy includes attitudes and behaviors, practical work must be included as an integral part of education programs in order to affect these indicators.
4. Increase pupils' exposure to environmental education. All pupils need to be exposed to environmental issues, for example, by insistence on the recommended hours in primary school programs, and the integration of the subject into other subjects studied by secondary school pupils.
5. Continued research. To date, the number of research initiatives concerning environmental education in Israel carried out on a national level has been negligible, and there is a need for more research in this field. These additional studies should include qualitative elements, more precise and longer-term assessments of the supplementary environmental education programs (for example, in schools that were identified as outstanding in this study), a definition of what is wanted in Israel as far as environmental literacy and pinpointing successes in the field of environmental education in order to learn from them.
The research was funded by The GM foundation, The Freidman Foundation, and Middle East Environmental Futures (MEEF), Brown University.