Widely held modernist views of science and inappropriate science teaching rooted in modernist
perspectives may be core problems in inhibiting appreciation of what science can offer toward
fostering positive affective responses to the environment. An important first strategy, therefore,
is to encourage teachers and pupils to expose and challenge inappropriate science stereotypes, but
curricula and teaching methods also need to support learners in developing positive views. Filho
and Pace (2006) highlight these problems by identifying contradictions within formal education
systems that impact negatively on environmental education. Thus:
● Confusion emerges from excessive use of technical terminology and concepts that do not
connect with experience.
● Alienation occurs when pupils are not given opportunity to connect their experiences with
the curriculum and teachers are relegated to a technician’s role that actively excludes from
curriculum development.
● Irrelevance results when there is no explicit connection within the curriculum to an environmental
ethic or when the practices of an institution are incongruous with sustainability
(e.g., learning about energy conservation in an institution with no energy saving policy).
A science education for environmental education that avoids these issues needs to connect
with experience, empower pupils in their learning and teachers in developing curricula and to link