Research Proposal Presentation Title

Environmental Education in Ethiopia:The development of students’ environmental consciousness

Student researchers

Martina Bonifaz

Di He

Naige Liu

Haitian Ji

What is your research question?

Is quality environmental education provided in Ethiopian high schools’ contributing to student’s environmental consciousness?

Research proposal keywords or concepts

Environmental consciousness
Environmental education program
Ethiopian high-school students

How would you summarize your proposed research idea?

Our research idea is focused on the environmentaleducation programdelivered in different Ethiopianhigh schools. This program is based on teaching students about environmentalissues and how to improve our environment (Waktola, 2009). In our research we want to know what the teacher’s opinions on the matter areand seeif the program is actually helping withimprovingthe student’senvironmentalconsciousness

by using qualitative interviews.

Where is the literature gap and how does your proposed research attempt to fill that gap?

There hasn’t been research done regarding the impact that environmental education has in student’s consciousness and if their attitude towards the environment changes in Ethiopia. The teacher’s opinions haven’t been talked about either. We are going to use qualitative methods by interviewing the teachers and asking them about the education they give and if they think it helps with environmental consciousness

.

Why is this gap worthy of research?

It is important because students are our future and this study will allow us to get insight on the teacher’s opinions regarding theimpact thatthe program has.And whether the environmental education that is included in the school curriculum is helping with changingattitudes towards the environment

or not.

What future change could this research possibly contribute to, related to sustainability?

This research would possibly contribute to the achievement of the sustainability goal. Students are the ones that will impact our environment in the future. If they receive good environmental education, they will help us achieve a more sustainable world. The program needs to be revised as sustainability depends on it (Barnes et al. 2018) (Bangay & Bekalo, 2002).

What made your group interested in and/or what excites you about your proposed topic?

We were interested about the topic because we would like to know the environmental awareness that education programs can help create in future generations. There are various ways to help reduce our ecological footprint in the world and one of the ways is through education. Through this study we were excited to see the ways that environmental education has in tackling environment issues in Ethiopia, which is mainly an agricultural country, through the eyes of the educators and to hopefully create a better world for the younger generations to be immersed in and pass on.

.

References

Barnes, A., Simmons, S., Mekonnen, D., Ramos-Mattoussi, F. (2018). Improving teacher training in Ethiopia: Shifting the content and approach of pre-service teacher education. Teaching and teacher education, 70(1), 1-11.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.11.004

Dalelo, A. (2009). Efforts to empower teachers in Ethiopia to address local environmental problems: achievements and limitations. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 18(3), 211-226.https://doi- org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1080/10382040903054065

Dalelo, A. (2010). Sustainability Issues in the Geography Curriculum for an Undergraduate Programme: The case of Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. Southern African Journal of Environmental Education, 17. https://doaj.org/article/663f332cb9964fafb010632f89b73319

Emiru, T., Waktola, D. (2017). The environmental awareness of higher education students and the implications for the Paris Climate Agreement: empirical evidence from Ethiopia and USA.International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 27(3), 216-233. https://doi- org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1080/10382046.2017.1349375

Fitzgerald, M (1990). Education for sustainable development: Decision-making for environmental education in Ethiopia. International Journal of Educational Development, 10(4), 289- 302.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0738-0593(09)90006-2.

Gharis, L., Franzen, R., Liddicoat, K., Remington, T. (2018). How do Wisconsin environmental educators perceive a potential, professional certification for individual environmental educators?.Applied Environmental Education & Communication, 19(1), 44-61. https://doi- org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1080/1533015X.2018.1491811

Kopnina, H (2020). Education for the future? Critical evaluation of education for sustainable development goals. The Journal of Environmental Education, 51(4), 280-291. https://doi- org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1080/00958964.2019.1710444

Meskerem, D., Plevyak, L. (2017) Ethiopian environmental education from a utopian perspective: A comparative study of two children's outlooks. Applied Environmental Education & Communication,16(4), 213-222. https://doi- org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1080/1533015X.2017.1322015

Sauve, L. (1995, November 30). Environmental education and Sustainable development: A FURTHER APPRAISAL. Retrieved February 22, 2021, from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ540073

Bekalo, S., Bangay, C. (2002). Towards effective environmental education in Ethiopia: problems and prospects in responding to the environment—poverty challenge International Journal of Educational Development, 22(1), 35-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0738-0593(00)00076-6.

Plus Media Solutions. (2014). Making Strides in Teacher Training in Ethiopia. Premium Official News. https://advance-lexis-com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:5D8B-PKR1-J9XT-P03D-00000-00&context=1516831. States News Service (2013). Florida state experts take part in the development of Ethiopia's literacy program. States News Service. https://advance-lexis-com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:58W6-YJ41-DYTH-G4X3-00000-00&context=1516831. Waktola, D (2009). Challenges and opportunities in mainstreaming environmental education into the curricula of teachers' colleges in Ethiopia. Environmental Education Research, 15(5), 589- 605.https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1080/13504620903151024

Yeshalem, A. (2013) Environmental Education about, in and for the Environment. University Of Oslo. http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-40334

Yimam, A (2016) Teachers Attitude Towards Environmental Education and Their Roles in the School and Nearby Community: The Case of Secondary Schools of South Wollo Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. International journal of Advances Research, 4(7), 580-587.10.21474/IJAR01/1152

Yirdaw, A. (2016). Quality of Education in Private Higher Institutions in Ethiopia: The Role of Governance. Sage journals, 6(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2158244015624950