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Greening of Universities Report
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Environmental Education for Adaptation
AN APPRAISAL OF THE SCOPE FOR UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH TO ENABLE GRADUATES TO ADDRESS MATTERS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN
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THIS REPORT WAS PREPARED BY THE CENTRE FOR HUMAN ECOLOGY (CHE) WITH SUPPORT FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH DEVELOPMENT TRUST, AND ACCEPTED BY THE EDUCATIONAL POLICY COMMITTEE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, NOVEMBER 1991.
[Nb. The material published here through the Internet was originally sold as a publication by the CHE, and copies were ordered by many major universities around the world, some of which indicated that Edinburgh was, at that time, "leading the way" in the greening of higher education. A copy is deposited in the National Library of Scotland. Shortly after closing down the CHE in 1996 (following the retirmement of Principal Sir David Smith and the untimely death of Senior Vice Principal Professor Barrie Wilson - both of whom had championed the CHE's remit), the University concluded that its environmental endeavours had succeeded to such an extent that it could also terminate its Environmental Initiative (the ETRO office ... see their report: "Curriculum Greening: A resource pack for integrating environmental perspectives into courses," on the university's archive website at: http://www.cecs.ed.ac.uk/greeninfo/gcpack/index2.htm).
However, the original Environmental Education for Adaptation report's findings remain highly pertinent in ways that extend beyond the confines of Edinburgh University. It is therefore made available here on the personal website of one of its co-authors so that it can be easily accessed by tertiary level environmental educators. For information on the CHE which is now independent and with Open University accreditation having successfully "spun out" of Edinburgh University, please go to www.che.ac.uk. Happily, relationships between the CHE and the University of Edinburgh are presently very good, with Robin Harper, Scotland's Green Party MSP, having been appointed Rector of the University by its students and he having chosen Brendan Hill, a former CHE MSc student and now its academic director, as his "Assessor" who sits with him on the University's Court.]
The report was prepared by the Centre for Human Ecology under the direction of Ulrich E. Loening, B.A., D.Phil., Director of the Centre (and Vice Chair of the Greening of Higher Education Council);
Co-ordinated and planned by Alastair McIntosh, B.Sc., M.B.A., Development Director at the Centre;
Researched by Andrew Kelton, B.A., M.A., Research Assistant to the Director;
Assisted by Alesia Maltz, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Visiting Lecturer in Human Ecology from the College of the Atlantic, Maine, U.S.A.
This report has been prepared with the co-operation of most Departmental Heads responsible for undergraduate teaching, Faculty Deans and the following Environmental Co-ordinators; listed as in the Calendar order of Faculty precedence:
Rev. Ruth Page, M.A., B.D., D.Phil., Faculty of Divinity.
Christopher M.G. Himsworth, B.A., LL.B., Faculty of Law.
Prof. Ian A.D. Bouchier, C.B.E., M.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.C.P.E., F.I.Biol.,
F.R.S.E., Faculty of Medicine.
Michael A. Menlowe, B.A., B.LITT., LL.B., Faculty of Arts.
Des E.S. Truman, B.A., Ph.D., F.I.Biol., C.Biol., Faculty of Science.
Prof. David R.B. Kimbell, M.A., D.Phil., L.R.A.M., Faculty of Music.
Andrew Dugmore, B.Sc., Ph.D., Faculty of Social Sciences.
Richard W. Matthewman, B.Sc., M.Ag.Sc., Ph.D., Faculty of Vet. Medicine.
Constructive help was provided by Professor Barrie Wilson, B.Sc., Ph.D., Senior Vice Principal responsible for the University's Environmental Initiative and Dr. Diana Henderson, L.L.B., Ph.D., N.P., Director of Development at the University of Edinburgh. Valuable input has also been made by staff at the Centre for Continuing Education, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Assessment, and the Enterprise Centre.
The Centre for Human Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Resource Management (IERM), gratefully acknowledges a grant from the University of Edinburgh Development Trust with which this study was financed.
The Centre for Human Ecology brings together many different interests, departments and organizations concerned with the interactions between humankind and the environment. The Centre's work involves the social and natural sciences as well as the humanities. Its activities include research, teaching and consultancy.
[Click
hyperlinks (underlined) to jump to appropriate section]
Part 1 Introduction
and Approach 1.1
The Edinburgh University Environmental Initiative 1.2
Environmental Educational Response of other Institutes 1.3
Remit and Methodology of this Study Part 2 Faculty
Synopses and Specific Recommendations 2.2
Faculty of Law 2.4
Faculty of Arts 2.5
Faculty of Science & Engineering 2.6
Faculty of Music 2.7
Faculty of Social Sciences 2.8
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Part 3 Conclusions and Recommendations
3.1
Conclusions 3.2
Recommendations Appendix - A Note on 'Environmental' Education (Ulrich E Loening)
Specimen Questionnaires
Dept of Ecclesiastical History Dept of Public International Law
Environmental issues have now received international political
recognition. The United Nations
Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission,
"Our Common Future") reported in 1987.
It recognised that humankind had now affected planetary systems
fundamentally, and pleaded "that security must be sought through
change" towards "sustainable development."
Universities clearly have a strong responsibility to provide an
education that meets the needs of the future, increasingly threatened by
ecological degradation. What is
needed is a change from domination over nature to cooperation with and
maintenance of the biosphere. We know that the answers are diverse and complex;
it is not hard to identify the problems, but it is very difficult to
perceive how the changes can be made. Certainly,
most disciplines are in some way involved, not only - by any means - the
sciences and technologies. Indeed,
it is clear that culture is a major determinant of ecological behaviour.
The humanities and social sciences have at least as vital a role to
play as the sciences and their applications;
the arts can show ways forward for human interrelationships and
humanity's relations with nature. This challenges the more conventional aspects of university education.
We are dealing not only with defined subjects, but with ways of life,
based on both cultural and scientific perceptions.
For these reasons, all disciplines are in some way relevant and the
whole university is involved. Therefore, in describing the teaching part of the Environmental
Initiative, we are calling for something more than a subject-based
environmental education. The
newer requirement is for an awareness and a new conscious study of the root
causes of degradation of the planet, fostering the creativity and imagination
to seek solutions. We lack a
clearly defined vocabulary to indicate the nature of such ecological study.
"Environmental education" could be confined to the science
and technology of monitoring the environment, developing technologies for
control of pollution or growing higher yielding crops, and so on. We prefer "ecological education" or even
"human ecological education" to distinguish the more holistic
ecology which includes the behaviour patterns and culture of our species.
But we recognise that the distinctions are blurred, and remain so in
this report. In carrying out our task of investigating environmental and ecological
teaching in the University, we have by design worked through heads of
departments and the Faculty coordinators (as described below), so as to give
an over-all, but not fully detailed, picture.
Many others have also provided valuable advice and we warmly thank all
contributors.
1. "...all undergraduates ...should be exposed to teaching about
the wider and more fundamental issues of society's relationship to the
environment, including complex social, economic and ethical questions..."
(Edinburgh University Educational Policy Committee, 1990/91). 2. The Centre for Human Ecology was given the remit to research the
relevant teaching throughout the University.
This was carried out by consultations with Faculty Environmental Co-ordinators,
and through questionnaires sent to almost all Heads of Departments followed by
telephone interviews. 3. Some distinction was drawn between technical 'environmental' areas
already extensively taught, mainly in the Science & Engineering and the
Social Science faculties, and the social and cultural questions which underlie
ecological issues. The study
found that the "two cultures" division is still very apparent. 4. The study confirmed that much education relating to the environment is
already carried out within most faculties.
There is wide (but scattered) interest throughout to develop greater
ecological awareness and to coordinate relevant research.
5. There are also constraints - of resources, of institutional inertia in
the complex university structure, of the difficulties of adding to an already
full curriculum, of considerable lack of interest or lack of realisation of
the relevance of ecology in many disciplines, and of the needs for validation
by professional institutions. 6. Several conclusions are drawn and recommendations made - which at this
stage must be considered preliminary - to stimulate discussion and action. These include:
a) a recognition of urgency - corresponding to a time of rapid global
change; however, of practical
necessity, an evolving, adaptive approach towards providing environmental
education throughout is recommended;
b) a continuing group, such as the Faculty Co-ordinators together with
the Centre for Human Ecology and others, should be constituted to continue the
teaching initiative;
c) the many opportunities for a deeper level of ecological input to
existing courses should be taken as the first steps, by encouraging existing
environmental expertise and through the recommendations made below.
d) the need for seminars, workshops and background materials which were
indicated by many faculties and departments.
These would serve to raise awareness as well as exchange expertise. The
resource implications would be small and would be shared between faculties and
departments;
e) environmental research would also stimulate and provide materials
for teaching; this applies
especially to areas of research that combine the humanities with the sciences. 7. More substantial change would require new resource allocations;
these could be justified - possibly with the backing of recommendations
from the Secretary of State's Working Party on Environmental Education - in
accordance with the Government's White Paper on the Environment. There is a
parallel with the new government funding which was made available for
information technology education. 8. While most disciplines could in principle readily integrate
environmental teaching into existing courses, there is also the desire for
some form of core or inter-faculty courses which deal with fundamental matters
outside the disciplines. There
are existing opportunities for the latter, as with the present courses given
by Geography and Biology, Science Studies, and some others; and specific
possibilities, as within the Arts General MA. 9. Professional requirements in many subjects, such as law, engineering,
medicine and veterinary medicine, restrict the opportunities;
yet if the recent rate of increasing ecological concern continues, the
professional bodies will soon demand some environmental inputs; and the
University is in a good position to take early positive steps toward this. 10. Recruitment of staff should take environmental interests in the
widest sense into account, all other things being equal. 11. With the apparent increasing student concern about the state of the
planet, the University should use the Environmental Initiative as a central
part of its marketing strategies. As the Initiative becomes a selling point
for recruiting high calibre students, so the University should attract the
appropriate staff as well as new funding. 12. Institutional consistency should be maintained and encouraged: the
initiative in environmental teaching should be dovetailed with those in
environmental research and institutional behaviour being promoted at the same
time. 13. Students should be involved throughout, through boards of studies,
student newspapers and in the standing group on environmental teaching
recommended above. 14. Progress can be expected to be phased. If innovative departments are
given encouragement, others are likely to follow in due course.
PART 1
INTRODUCTION AND APPROACH 1.1
The Edinburgh University Environmental Initiative At the meeting of University staff in November 1990 and in the
University's Bulletin of 5th December 1990 the Principal, Sir David Smith,
outlined his concepts for a University Environmental Initiative which
would address the three areas of teaching, research and institutional aspects
within the University. With regard to the teaching initiative Sir David spoke of "the
need to explore the extent to which treatment of environmental issues could
become part of general undergraduate teaching in every discipline, and not
just restricted to obviously relevant subjects" (The Scotsman, 12th
December 1990). Concerned that the deteriorating environment "may have a serious
and possibly calamitous consequence for some later generation", Sir
David outlined profound concern that many graduates "remain
ill-informed and confused [lacking] informed consideration of what is really
needed" (ibid.). The objective of the resultant Environmental Teaching Initiative
as agreed by the Educational Policy Committee is that "all
undergraduates, at some time in their course, should be exposed to teaching
about the wider and more fundamental issues of society's relationship to the
environment, including complex social, economic and ethical questions [as well
as] some understanding of basic technical issues" (EP 90/91). Sir David has suggested that this remit involves not only the content but
also the process of teaching. Graduates
should be better adapted to the changing societal and personal imperatives of
moving towards a more sustainable world.
This includes scientific, ethical, aesthetic, legal, economic,
consumer, and other such considerations. There is growing evidence that many students are personally concerned
about how their careers will relate to the state of the world.
European legislative changes and emerging consumer awareness suggest
that employers who are not environmentally sensitive may find it increasingly
hard to attract good graduates. (An
Environmental Education conference as well as a recent study carried out by
Scottish Enterprise (SDA) for the Centre for Human Ecology, partially
supported this view, but more evaluation is required.) Accordingly, the environmental initiative can be expected to have
relevance to graduates not only at the ethical level of "state of the
world" issues, but also to their professional competence.
Through improving the professional impact on environmental issues, the
University will be enhancing its high reputation. 1.2
Environmental Educational Response of other Institutes Many centres of higher education are preparing plans to encompass the
diverse aspects of environmental education. Reports of their activities can be found in a number of publications;
for example:- A workshop to consider the needs, the scope, the methods of delivery and
to compare the efforts of many European universities, met in Brussels in June
1989, organised by the Centre for Human Ecology, Free University of Brussels
and sponsored and published by UNESCO. A workshop coordinated by International Network of Resource Information
Centres (the Balaton Group) through the new Central European University for
Environment in Budapest, meets in
Edinburgh on 29th Nov to 1st Dec, to coordinate a listing of university
ecological courses internationally. The University of Goteborg, Sweden, has prepared lists of relevant
university departments and centres (Tengstrom, 1985). The European Association of Human Ecologists (Hens et al,
1990) and the US Society for Human Ecology (Borden & Jacobs, 1989)
similarly maintain large directories. (These
publications are available at the Centre for Human Ecology.) In the USA, several universities give undergraduate and postgraduate
ecological courses. Dartmouth has
a well-known environmental programme, staffed by members of several other
faculties. The College of the
Atlantic, Maine, was founded as a human ecological university. In Europe, several universities in the southern countries together give a
Certificate in Human Ecology. There
are under- and post-graduate courses in Madrid, Brussels, Amsterdam,
Copenhagen, Aarhus, Goteborg, and many others. Huddersfield Polytechnic has
long given a BSc course in human ecology, the only one in the UK. The above gives examples of whole degree courses;
much less is known about individual course options within other
degrees, and hence of the integration of ecology into other subjects. In the UK, East Anglia has a long established School of environmental
sciences; Lancaster has centres
for independent study and is setting up ecological courses; Oxford and
Imperial College have set up Environmental Institutes with research as well as
teaching functions; Oxford plans
to incorporate a Centre within its institute to include the social and ethical
aspects; Oxford also has the
Pauling Institute for Human Studies, which has long given courses in
"human ecology". In Scotland, Stirling University has an environmental initiative; at
present this is more involved with institutional aspects than courses, but it
includes the School of Environmental Sciences, and houses the Scottish
Environmental Education Council. Glasgow
has begun a postgraduate course on culture and ecology. The Secretary of State for Scotland has set up a working group to examine
the scope and direction of environmental education throughout Scottish
society. Eight areas of concern
have been identified (e.g. industry, agriculture, etc.) and the Centre for
Human Ecology has representation on the sub-groups concerned with the home
environment, nature conservation and post-school education.
The post-school education working group is taking considerable interest
in the progress of the Edinburgh University Initiative, which appears to be
considerably more advanced than most other Scottish universities. 1.3
Remit and Methodology of this Study The remit given to the Centre for Human Ecology by Educational Policy
Committee (EP) was to "take the lead in preparing a central register
of information about relevant teaching which is going on in the University,
together with any other information which is helpful to those involved in
teaching". EP assisted fulfilment of this remit by requesting all eight Deans to
appoint a Faculty Environmental Co-ordinator to liaise with the Centre.
After meeting with each of the Co-ordinators, the Centre's staff in most
cases approached heads of departments to seek further information.
Exceptions were Music, where there are no departmental heads (Professor
Kimbell, as Dean, is Environmental Co-ordinator), and Veterinary Medicine,
where arrangements were made for a meeting to be held with the full Faculty.
In all other Faculties heads of departments were sent a background
document which included a questionnaire, with responses to be solicited by
telephone conversation, asking:
a) In what ways does teaching within your department integrate
environmental awareness?
b) Is there potential to extend this, either through foundation courses
or the development of existing modules?
c) It has been suggested that effective environmental education should
"involve the whole person of teacher and pupil, including all of their
capabilities and intelligences". How
far does and could your department go in moving beyond traditional didactic
approaches? (Examples of this
recognised by the University's Enterprise Initiative are small group work,
work experience, self-directed learning, communication skills and personal
development planning skills.)
d) Where the above questions identify scope for greater integration of
environmental awareness within your department, what material resource and
staff training/time requirements might implementation require? We provide some justification for this interviewing approach, which was criticised by several heads of departments, as follows: 1. There are diverse opinions about what "environmental" means; this is a highly complex area. 2. Though a consistent, 'stratified' sampling approach was deliberately used, inevitably there is some sampling bias in approaching only department heads: all of course present their departments in the best possible light! 3. The study is not a fully comprehensive assessment of environmental teaching in the University, because the required wide overview sacrifices detail, and some valuable inputs are lost. 4.
The value of an overview is that it involves a consistent and easily
understandable - though introductory - examination of environmental teaching
in all departments, and thus provides a basis for communication between them.
Staff naturally knew most about their own departments and less about the rest
of the Faculty and University. The responses were summarised onto only 1-2 pages for each department and
the summary was agreed with the departmental head.
A synopsis was then produced for each Faculty and this was agreed with
the Faculty Environmental Co-ordinators.
All co-ordinators met at the Centre for Human Ecology to discuss the
recommendations specific to their Faculty and to look at overall
recommendations for the University. Part 2 of this report summarises for each Faculty the responses to the four questions asked and makes specific recommendations. These recommendations were discussed in general with other staff, but they are our own perceptions of the opportunities as they seem to us and they must at this stage be preliminary; misjudgments remain our responsibility and are of course open to criticism and change. Part 3 addresses recommendations general to the University,
and looks at wider considerations such as the marketing and PR consequences of
developing the Environmental Initiative. The central register of information derived from responses to the
questionnaires is not appended because of the large number involved.
However, copies of the responses for a particular Faculty have been
given to each Faculty Co-ordinator and the complete set of responses is
available for consultation at the Centre for Human Ecology.
Some specimen responses - thought particularly informative - are
included in the appendix to this report.
One example has been taken from each Faculty, with the exception of
Music and Veterinary Medicine where a different approach was used.
PART 2
FACULTY SYNOPSES AND SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1.1 Present degree of integration of 'environmental
awareness' In the study of both Testaments of the Bible, environmentally-relevant
themes of human responsibility and stewardship, domination of nature,
creation, etc., can be explored. In
the current curriculum, there are courses on Ecology and Christian Theology,
Science and Religion, and sections of courses on ecology and ethics.
Students in the Department of Christian Ethics have the option of doing
an ethics project or an honours dissertation on environmental ethics.
Some departments have expressed minimal interest in the environment on
the grounds that they do not teach much twentieth-century history, and that
the Church's interest in Green issues is quite recent. Though they might address issues of tensions between science
and religion (e.g. Darwinism), their courses are not principally concerned
with the environment, but with the more central moral problems of good and
evil, to which environmental issues may be incidental.
In other departments, there is a strong interest in the environment
because of the perceived responsibility of the Church, both in the sense of
shouldering some blame for environmental problems, and in their desire to take
a role in improving the situation. The consensus is that students as a whole may be more environmentally
aware than staff. 2.1.2. Potential
to extend environmental education The ties between religion and ecology could be strong.
Students tend to have considerable knowledge of environmental ethics, but
little of ecological facts. The
majority of departments would welcome an increased emphasis on the
environment, and see room for exploration.
This could take several forms, including:
choosing the environment as the topic for Religion 4; teaching
comparatively about more "earthbound" religions; looking at wider
social and philosophical issues such as the role of the Church in influencing
attitudes toward nature; and strengthening ties between departments with
courses in ecological history and religion. The main question seems to be: if
environmental studies come in, what goes out?
There is competition with other modern 'causes', such as sexism and
racism, and the loss of other topics would also be controversial. 2.1.3 Appropriateness of teaching methods to
environmental education Divinity students seem more interested in the abstract realm than in
concrete nature. Within the
confines of the classroom, many methods are explored, including interactive
projects, discussion, seminars, small modules, lectures, tutorials, debates,
and both the Enterprise Centre and TLA have had inputs.
These experiments have been more strongly developed in some departments
than others. 2.1.4 Material resource and staff training implications Except in those departments in which environmental education is of
minimal interest, there has been a call for outside help from those interested
in taking ecological themes further. 2.1.5 Recommendations and comment To help those staff with environmental interests, seminars providing some
relevant ecological background would be valuable.
Seminars or workshops could explore connections between religion and
ecology. These could be provided by centres or departments in other faculties. Bringing in outstanding outside environmentalists would stimulate
interest, as with the Gifford Lectures by Professor J. Moltmann a few years
ago. Areas of common interest with the Department of History could be further
developed. New positions should in time be developed, especially one in
environmental ethics which could be created jointly with the Department of
Philosophy. 2.2.1 Present
degree of integration of 'environmental awareness' Each of the five Law departments has something distinctive to offer
relating to environmental law and public policy, though in few cases is the
environment a primary focus of this teaching.
At the more ideas-oriented end of the spectrum in the Faculty,
Criminology & Social Philosophy studies the sociology of public policy
implementation, which may include the pros and cons of government
legislative/administrative measures against pollution (like 'Green taxes'
versus direct regulation), and of more decentralised and 'popular' responses
like environmental education. International
law, which concentrates on principles of reciprocity between sovereign states,
is particularly relevant to the regulation of ecological problems with a
global scale, including atmospheric ones like acid rain, and to the allocation
of natural resources whose ownership is disputed or non-existent, such as
international fisheries. The
Europa Institute covers histories of development and principles of
implementation of EC policies, including anti-pollution directives. Constitutional & Administrative Law is concerned in part
with procedural principles of planning applications and public inquiries,
which frequently impinge on environmental issues, and covers many other
administrative procedures which can have environmental consequences.
Scots Law covers the whole area of property law, which has obvious
environmental relevance, and includes analyses of legal rules of evidence -
principles for decision-making which have been invoked (by political
scientists) in environmental public policy analysis. In other words, the substantive (and, at a stretch, methodological) environmental areas covered remain somewhat incidental to the primary purposes of law teaching, such as training students in abstract legal principles and in institutional procedures relevant in many different substantive areas. For example, in Scots Law, teaching about property statutes and regulations - many of them environmentally-relevant (under any definition of the term "environmental") - is perhaps ultimately more concerned with providing understanding of, and familiarity with, the principles of statutory interpretation than the substant |