Developing teachers' environmental literacy through inquiry-based practices

Abstract

This paper is concerned with a gap in the discourse concerning the development of environmental literacy. Much of the research available concerns the development of environmental literacy in students; however, our assertion is that unless the teacher has developed environmental literacy themselves, they cannot develop such literacies in their students. Hence, this paper will consider the development of environmental literacy in teachers as a necessity for enabling the development in students. As environmental education is predominantly delivered through an interdisciplinary infusion model, the recommendation is for a teacher's environmental literacy to be developed alongside their inquiry literacy. This paper uses the Australian Curriculum to explore how a curriculum potentially impacts on the development of environmental literacy, and the synergistic relationship between environmental literacy and inquiry literacy.