The Ministry ofEducation writes theprogramme for environmental education
in schools, although this is based on environmental issues initially identified by
the Ministry of Environment. Teaching and learning processes are the main
concern of the former while the latter is more concerned with content. The
approach in the formal school sector broadly follows views expressed at various
UNESCO conferences to integrate environmental education into the curriculum
through infusion into existing school disciplines and areas of study (UNESCO,
1978; UNESCO-UNEP, 1988). As in many other educational systems, this is
primarily through geography and through biology in secondary schools and
through social studies in primary schools (Lim, 1992). In addition, extracurricular
activities act as an important medium and schools are encouraged to
involve themselves in one of six programmes from the Public Education Department
within the Ministry of Environment such as ‘The Seashore Life Programme’
and ‘The Clean and Green Week Campaign’. The overall intention is that environmental education should emphasise
action, active pupil involvement and experiential learning. The emphasis can be
identified in the aims of environmental education for Singapore. These are seen
as going beyond school into the community and are apparent in the following
quotation from official documents from the Ministry of Environment.