An exploration of the purpose and practice of environmental education

Abstract

Although there have been many studies on the purpose of environmental education and educational practice, the main goal is to list and explain the purpose of environmental education on the basis of distinguishing the ideology of environmental education. The values and educational practices of environmental education have been controversial. Most of them are directly observing the situations of environmental education practice and then discussing them. Few environmental education purposes are viewed from the overall development history of environmental education, and the effectiveness of educational practice is explored in combination with purposes. Therefore, this research explores the formation and change of environmental education purposes from the perspective of historical development, discusses the values behind the purpose, and further explores the factors that influence the effectiveness of environmental education practices. This research through a systematic literature review found that the purpose of environmental education is constantly evolving following the development of society and the optimization of human values, including the development of knowledge, attitudes, skills, awareness, participation and sustainability. In the practice of environmental education, emotional bond, intergenerational influences, knowledge, attitudes, activities and communication will continue to influence the effectiveness of education in the long term.