Author

  • Sultan Alam

    • The Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development, Professional Development Centre North (AKUIED-PDCN), Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
    • Pakistan

Abstract

This study describes an action research report carried out in one of the community-managed schools in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan. The purpose of the study is to explore the effects of the activities to create environmental awareness by paying prime focus on physical environmental conditions. It was observed that school-based smaller activities show a greater change among students, teachers and community members. These include celebration of environmental day, plantation day; quiz competitions, sharing information through notice boards and awareness campaigns to adjacent communities. These smaller activities helped them to realize the importance of environmental education particularly in learning process. The attitudinal change among students, teachers and community members was quite evident. They have shown a natural attachment with the school and its surrounding. Since the success and sustainability of such small-scale interventions are directly associated with active involvement of all the stakeholders of a school community, therefore, the study recommends that this important aspect must be given considerate attention to further augment the natural environment and to maximize the learning processes in schools.

Keywords

References

  • Ahman, M. Lundin, A. Musabasic, V. & Soderman, E. (2000). Improved Health after Intervention in a School with Moisture Problems, Indoor Air, 10 (1) 57–62. Retrieved November 20, 2016 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10842461
  • Ahrentzen, S. &Evans, G.W. (1984). Distraction, Privacy and Classroom Design. Environment and Behavior , 16(4), 437-454.
  • Ajzen, I. (2002). Residual effects of past on later behavior: Habituation and reasoned action perspectives. Personality and Social Psychology Review , 6(2), 107–122.
  • Alam, S. (2012). Crafting Leaders for Educational Change: Head teacher’s Perspectives about a Tailor-made Professional Development Program. International Journal of Social Science and Education, 2(1), 1– 18.
  • Ballentyne, R., Fien, J. & Packer, J. (2000). Program effectiveness in facilitating intergenerational influence in environmental education: lessons from the field. The Journal of Environmental Education , 32(4), 8– 15.
  • Bashiruddin, A. (2002). Seasons of my learning. In J. Edge (Ed), Constructing professional development (pp.104-115). Britain, Eysham: Information Press.
  • Berry, M.A. (2002). Healthy School Environment and Enhanced Educational Performance: The case of Charles Young elementary school, Carpet and Rug Institute. Retrieved December 8, 2016 from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED473985.pdf
  • Blair, D. (2009): The Child in the Garden: An Evaluative Review of the Benefits of School Gardening. The Journal of Environmental Education , 40(2), 15-38.
  • Buckley, J. Schneider, M. & Shang, Y. (2004). LAUSD School Facilities and Academic Performance, Retrieved November 17, 2016 from http://www.edfacilities.org
  • Canter, D. V. and Donald, I. (1987). Environmental Psychology in the United Kingdom, in D. Stokols and I. Altman (Eds) Handbook of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 2, Chichester, Wiley.
  • Clayton, S. & Myers, G. (2009). Conservation Psychology. Understanding and promoting human care for nature. Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Cooper, I. (1985). Teachers' Assessments of Primary School Buildings: the role of the physical environment in education. British Educational Research Journal, 11 (3), 253–269.
  • Coopers, P.W. (2000). Building Performance: An empirical assessment of the relationship between schools capital investment and pupil performance, Department for Education and Employment. Retrieved December 15, 2016 from http://s3.amazonaws.com/zanran_storage/www.dcsf.gov.uk/ContentPages/82174737.pdf
  • Darner, R. (2009). Self-determination theory as a guide to fostering environmental motivation. Journal of Experiential Education , 40(2), 39–49.
  • Deemer, S.A. (2004). Classroom Goal Orientation in High School Classrooms: Revealing links between teacher beliefs and classroom environments. Educational Research , 46(1), 73-90.
  • Earthman, G.I. (2004). Prioritization of 31 Criteria for School Building Adequacy. Retrieved December 15, 2016 from http://www.aclu-md.org/facilities_report.pdf
  • Elliot, J. (1992). Action Research for Educational Change . UK: Open University Press.
  • Fink, S. (2003). Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
  • Fisher, K. (2001). Building Better Outcomes: The impact of school infrastructure on student outcomes and behavior, Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (Australia). Retrieved December 20, 2016 from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED455672.pdf
  • Glesne, C. (2006). Becoming qualitative researchers : An introduction (3rd Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
  • Glesne, C. (1998). Becoming qualitative researchers . New York: Longman.
  • Hitchcock, G. & Hughes, D. (1995). Research and the Teacher. (2nd Ed.) London: Routledge.
  • Hopkins, D. (1985). A teacher's guide to classroom research. Philadelphia: Open University Press.
  • Horne-Martin, S. (2002). The Classroom Environment and its Effects on the Practice of Teachers. Journal of Environmental Psychology , 22 (2), 139-156.
  • Kember, D. (2000). Inquiry Strategies for Science and Mathematics Learning . Portland: Northwest Education Laboratory.
  • Khattar, M., Shirey, D. & Raustad, R. (2003). Cool & Dry - Dual-path approach for a Florida school. Ashrae Journal, 45(5), 58-60.
  • Knez, I. (1995). Effects of Indoor Lighting on Mood and Cognition. Journal of Environmental Psychology , 15 (1), 39-51.
  • Kolb, A. Y., & Kolb, D. A. (2006). Learning styles and learning spaces: A review of interdisciplinary application of experiential learning in higher education. In R. Sims and S. Sims (Eds.), Learning styles and learning: A key to meeting the accountability demands in education. Hauppauge, NY: Nova.
  • Louis, N. & Jordan, J. R. (2012). Student Attitudes Toward and Recall of Outside Day: An Environmental Science Field Trip. Journal of Educational Research, 105 (3), 220-231.
  • Mackenzie, C., & Edwards, S. (2013). Pedagogical play-types: what do they suggest for learning about sustainability in early childhood education? International Journal of Early Childhood, 43(3), 327-346.
  • Marcinkowskit, T. (1991). The Relationship Between Environmental Literacy and Responsible Environmental Behavior in Environmental Education (in) MALDAGUE, M (ed) Methods and Techniques for Evaluating Environmental Education Paris: UNESCO.
  • Millard, R. J., &Stimpson, D. V. (1980). Enjoyment and productivity as a function of classroom seating location. Perceptual and Motor Skills. Portland: Northwest Education Laboratory.
  • Moore, G.T. & Lackney, J.A. (1993). School Design: Crisis, educational performance and design applications, Children's Environments, 10 (2), 99-112.
  • Palmer, J.A. (1998). Environmental education in the 21 century: Theory, practice, progress and promise. London: Routledge.
  • Pooley, J.A. & Connor, M. O. (2000). Environmental Education and Attitudes: Emotions and Beliefs are what is needed. Environment and Behavior , 32 (5), 711-723.
  • Robson, C. (1998). Real World Research . Oxford and Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers.
  • Rosen, K, G. &Richardson, G. (1999). Would Removing Indoor Air Particulates in Children’s Environments Reduce the Rate of Absenteeism? A hypothesis. The Science of the Total Environment , 234 (1), 87-93.
  • Sarkar, S.& Frazier, R. (2008). Place-based investigations and authentic inquiry. Science Teacher , 75(2), 29– 33.
  • Smedje, G. &Norback, D. (2001). Irritants and Allergens at School in Relation to Furnishings and Cleaning, Indoor Air, 11(2), 127–133.
  • Stone, C. A. (1989). Improving the Effectiveness of Strategy Training for Learning Disabled Students. The role of Communicational Dynamics. Remedial and Special Education , 10(1), 35-42.
  • Whitty, G. (2006). Teacher Professionalism in a new era. Retrieved April 5, 2016 from http://www.gtcni.org.uk/publications/uploads/document/annual%20lecture%20paper.pdf.
  • Young, E., Green, H. A., Roehrich-Patrick, L., Joseph, L. &Gibson, T. (2003). Do K-12 School Facilities Affect Education Outcomes? The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.

Downloads

No downloads have been recorded for this article yet. Figures appear here once readers begin downloading the full text.

How to Cite

Alam, S. (2017). Environmental Education: Role of Physical Environment in Students’ Learning in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Journal of Education and Vocational Research, 8(2), 22-33. https://doi.org/10.22610/jevr.v8i2.1859

Share this article

Section

Research Paper

Published

2017-09-28

Submissions

Have research to publish? Journal of Education and Vocational Research welcomes submissions.

Make a Submission