The history and philosophy of environmental education

Abstract

Environmental education (EE) is a powerful educational tool with a complex and somewhat tumultuous history. Since its rise to relative prominence in the 1970s, it has often been misunderstood with regard to its exact definition, its origins, its objectives, its goals, and often its value to society and K-12 education. The primary contributing factors to this dilemma may be the broad set of disciplines from which EE sprang, from which it continues to draw, and its relationship to other disciplines and fields of study. The situation is further exacerbated by the lack of uniform terminology applied to EE and many related areas of study and practice. This chapter traces the historical and philosophical development of the field, relates environmental education as presently practiced to the mosaic of K-12 education with a focus on its relationship to science education, and lays the groundwork for further discussion of EE's place in the education of teachers of science for the twenty-first century. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.