December 7th, 2015

Term Paper: “The Importance of Environmental Education in Multicultural

Contexts”

EDCI 644-600: Curriculum Development

Dr. Bugrahan Yalvac & Mrs. Antonia Ketsetzi

Jihye Lee & Stavroula Karmaniolou

 The research paper is related to chapter 6 of our textbook “Gender, Sexuality,

Race, and Ethnicity in a Multicultural and Diverse Milieu”, by Slattery (2013).

Studies on gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and environmental awareness seem to

preoccupy the U.S.’s educators but Asia’s, Africa’s, and Europe’s educators as well. The

aim of multicultural environmental education (MEE) “is to rekindle the relationship

between humans and the Earth” (Martin, 2007). “MEE bridges disjoints between global

and local environmental issues, between students, teachers and communities, and

between knowledge and action by adding the element of cultural consciousness to the

education process. The addition of cultural and experiential dimensions facilitates the

development of a more eco-conscious and holistic worldview and promotes more

widespread participation in environmental conservation” (Martin, 2007, p. 16). MEE is

“a new field of theory and practice for environmental education where content is

influenced by and taught from multiple cultural perspectives. It is conscious of its own

cultural perspectives and of the function that it has in the world and in the lives of diverse

students and communities” (Running-Grass, 1996).

This paper will focus on environmental education; how class, race and status

relate to environmental and human health, it will also present the benefits of integrating

courses of environmental awareness in classrooms, and techniques that show how

educators can introduce this topic. Environmental education “is a process that aims to

develop an environmentally literate citizenry” (NAAEE 2004). It is an effective way to

engage students of all levels and has improved learning outcomes and achievement in

science and other subjects (Lieberman & Hoody, 1998). Worldwide, students report that
schools are a key place for learning about environmental issues (PISA 2009), (as cited by

Griset, 2010).

Griset (2010), introduces some successful activities and/or considerations for

educators interested in designing a science course or integrating fieldwork in one of their

existing courses. From her experience, students “become involved in long-term scientific

research, policy-based role playing, and service-learning projects” (Griset, 2010, p.40).

One class period could be spend preparing students for an out-door project; for example,

when examining a forest ecosystem, ask students which components are essential to

measure and have them list them, divide the class into groups of four to eight people and

assign them with different responsibilities of measurements and observations that they

can later combine together when in class. To be more specific this can include, trees

species, diameter and height of tress, tree regeneration, tree damage and signs of

disturbance, as well as soils, including litter or organic layers. Even though, the next few

classes will take place outdoors, students will return in their classrooms to discuss and

analyze data, write lab reports, and take tests/quizzes. Historical and aerial photographs

with modern photographs could be compared in order to see the land changes over time.

“In an experiential EE (Environmental Education) course, students never have to

ask why we are doing something: Everything is applied and relevant. This type of

learning builds self- esteem and encourages students to recognize that they are part of

something bigger than themselves” (Griset, 2010). Moreover, students have the

opportunity to see through environmental education future career opportunities in nature

study or in the global green sector. By the end of this course, students become more

curious of the natural world, more aware of the global environmental changes and
damages, and most importantly many comment that their worldview changed from

apathy to action (Griset, 2010).

Another impressive paper by Blanchet-Cohen and Reilly (2013) develops an

environmental education curriculum with culturally diverse teachers. The paper examined

teachers from three elementary schools who discussed their experiences incorporating

environmental education in Quebec City, Canada. Students in each school comprised of

close to 70% immigrants and nonpermanent residents. The research stated “These schools

were made of student populations with a high degree of linguistic and ethnic diversity,

and these teachers were interested in adapting environmental education to their diverse

classrooms” (Blanchet-Cohen & Reilly, 2013 p. 13). To explore and elucidate teachers’

views and experiences, researchers asked questions to those who self-identified as being

active in implementing environmental activities in their culturally diverse classrooms.

These questions involved topics such as activities used to teach environmental education,

conclusions of teaching it, and difficulties in its application. The paper especially

attempts to understand the strategies employed by the teachers in adapting environmental

education to their multicultural climate. It also emphasizes views on enacting an

environmental education curriculum in the highly diverse classrooms as teachers

participated in a project to create a curriculum website for conducting environmental

education in a multicultural context.

The research revealed that a coherent curriculum which enacts culturally

responsive environmental education was able to enhance effectively students’ learning.

Consequently, it was found that “teaching environmental education requires teachers to

be creative with, and responsive to the social and environmental diversity in their
particular local community” (Blanchet-Cohen & Reilly, 2013 p. 20). Situating

environmental education in multicultural diverse contexts is a very interesting topic as

environmental education enhances young immigrants’ own development and integration.

This enhancement serves to reconnect people to their environment and to each other,

creating a community, and a sense of belongingness (Sauvé, 2009b). In summary, the

authors’ findings suggest that teaching environmental education requires teachers to be

creative with, and responsive to, the social and environmental diversity in their particular

local community.

Educators need to be better equipped to incorporate ethnic and linguistic diversity

in teaching and to upgrade environmental education in their classrooms, which in this

case implies avoiding politically charged and ambiguous terminology. Environmental

education will benefit the pedagogy of teaching in pluralistic societies. Educators in the

inner city will be able to adopt environmental education, which is most beneficial to

students’ learning because it fosters academic achievement, self-esteem, confidence,

critical thinking, and decision-making skills. In particular, environmental education that

is culturally responsive to students’ diversity in the classroom is more effective, since it

integrates multicultural knowledge and perspectives (Entwistle & Smith, 2002). It seems

that in order for student diversity to exist in a multicultural context, educators should not

have a limited understanding of openness to other cultures.

Throughout several multicultural studies, the capacity of teachers to co-create

curriculum in order to accomplish inclusion of family and community in curriculum

development seems to be crucial. According to Grass (1995), teaching culturally diverse

classrooms plays an important role. For example, teachers can use the inclusion of
parents in the environmental education program. A strategy is that parents can be asked

to participate during their vacation. When someone is in the field of physical education,

s/he could ask parents to participate in the practical sessions of physical education along

with the students. From personal experience (Jihye Lee), when at school there was a field

day every year, it was a great way to spend time with my parents. When my parents

participated in the field day, they especially shared information on my school life,

relation with friends, and grade-level learning goal with my teacher. This will help make

parents aware of what is imparted to their children in the form of practical knowledge.

This will also help develop an interest in students as they see their parents doing the same

thing. It plays an essential role in bridging the gap between school and home.

In another example, parents from different races may participate in class as a one-

day teacher in order to introduce their culture and teach multiple approaches. Therefore,

parent involvement is as important for getting a feel for students’ home lives, as peer

interaction is for development of social skill in multicultural classrooms. That is because,

students with differences in characteristics, such as family income, ethical background,

parents’ education level, parents’ working, and cultural status can learn to overcome their

problems through interchange opinions with their peers. It seems that two-way informal

exchanges between teachers and parents are much more effective than one-way

communication from the teachers.

Another diverse aspect connects environmental education with class, race and

status. These three elements relate to environmental and human health. Research shows

that minority populations are most at risk and seem more excluded. “Poor people, people

of colour, immigrants, and aboriginal people are more likely to live in hazardous
environments than affluent white Westerners (Thompson, 2002, as cited by Martin,

2007). According to Jarrett (2002), a Hamilton study found that acute health effects form

air pollution in area with low-income population was more than double the topical or

citywide average. He continues by stating that the highest socioeconomic characteristics

didn’t show major health effects, in contrast to the zones with low education and high

manufacturing where they had the largest impact of health related effects (Jarrett, 2002;

as cited by Martin, 2007). In another countrywide study from the University of Manitoba,

discovered that “abandoned waste disposal sites, hazardous facilities and toxic emission

scores, were statistically significantly greater for First Nations reserves and poor

communities (Thompson 2002; as cited by Martin, 2007). Unfortunately, the

demographics of poor communities show bigger inequalities and environmental

injustices; immigrants are 3.2 times more likely (Yelaja, 2007), and aboriginal people are

2.3 times more likely (Carter, 2004) to live in poor communities (as cited by Martin,

2007). All these facts make integration of environmental education essential to be

integrated in the educational curriculum. “Because a high proportion of people with

alternative cultural perspectives live in environmentally hazardous areas, there is an

urgency to provide environmental education that considers these perspectives as a means

of informing and empowering everyone — including those who are most at risk — to

identify and to resolve injustice” (Martin, 2007, p.17).

All in all, the responsibility and awareness comes once more to the “hands” of

educators, who are urged to put much thought about differentiated instructions for

students with multicultural families. Conducting environmental education to culturally

diverse classrooms is beneficial for improving not only students’ learning but also
student’s life. It is also a key factor for nurturing students in the present world of

globalization and environmental crises. The diverse voices can help develop a healthy

relationship between the humans and the Earth. If people do not realize the importance of

keeping our environment safe and healthy, sooner or later everyone will be a victim to the

environment that the industrialized world keeps irresponsibly attacking (Martin, 2007).
 References

Blanchet-Cohen, N., & Reilly, R. C. (2013). Teachers’ perspectives on environmental

education in multicultural contexts: Towards culturally-responsive environmental

education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 36, 12-22.

Entwistle, N., & Smith, C. (2002). Personal understanding and target understanding:

mapping influences on the outcome of learning. British Journal of Educational

Psychology, 72, 321-342.

Griset, O. L. (2010). Meet us outside!. The Science Teacher, 77(2), 40-46.

Martin, K. (2007). Multicultural Environmental Education. Pathways: The Ontario

Journal of Outdoor Education, 19(4), 16-20.

Running Grass. (1995). Environmental education and environmental justice: a three

circles perspective. NYSOEA Pathways, 5(1), 9-13.

Running-Grass. (1996). The four streams of multicultural environmental education. Race,

Poverty and the Environment, 6(2–3).

Sauvé, L. (2009b). Vivre ensemble, sur Terre: Enjeux contemporains d’une éducation

relative à l’environnement. Éducation et Francophonie, 37(2), 1-10.

Slattery, P. (2013). Curriculum Development in the Postmodern Era: Teaching and

Learning in an Age of Accountability (3rd Edition). New York: Taylor & Francis.

ISBN # 978-0-415-80856-9.