to ‘a family of life’. Such empathy through a sense of relatedness and interconnection with the
living world can potentially contribute towards informed action through feelings of responsibility
and stewardship in protecting living things and the environment.
The science curriculum also justifies specific environmental action. Thus, matter cycles
show how materials are continually recycled and conserved in natural ecosystems, pointing to
the need for recycling in human activities, while principles of energy flow through ecosystems
demonstrate the need for energy conservation and efficient energy use for sustainable systems,
with implications for uses in society and personal impact on this. Such principles provide the
basis for informed action through, for example development of energy conservation schemes,
recycling schemes of inorganic school waste and composting of organic waste. At a global
level, issues such as global warming can only be understood through scientific principles
including knowledge of the carbon cycle, while action to restrict carbon dioxide emissions
needs to be put in wider a context of energy conservation, as gas emissions are directly related
to energy consumption. Such principles require an integrated approach to concepts with direct
links to action.
An issues-based approach is a useful way of organising the curriculum to develop such concepts
in a way that supports constructivist pedagogy and an integration of the cognitive and affective
domains in science with clear links to environmental issues. Ross et al. (2005) use the following
topics to forge such links: matter; genetics; atmosphere; biodiversity; energy; agriculture; the home;
health; transport. This approach covers all the concept areas of the science national curriculum,
setting them in a meaningful environmental context. Such an approach supports meaningful learning
of science, fosters understanding of environmental issues and emphasises care and responsibility
with informed action based on a sense of relationship to other living organisms and interconnectedness
with the environment at large.