PREPARING FUTURE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION OF YOUNGER STUDENTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35774/gsip2025.01.233Keywords:
environmental enlightenment, environmental education, young pupils, principles, future primary school teachersAbstract
Environmental protection is a global issue of our time, directly affecting the survival of humanity. The intensification of the environmental threat on a global scale has made the issues of environmental education for schoolchildren particularly urgent. This article summarises that the development of environmental culture among schoolchildren is built on integrating three interrelated processes – environmental education, environmental upbringing, and environmental enlightenment. Environmental education is an integral part of general education, aimed at forming students' system of ecological knowledge, skills, and competences, reflecting the relationship between humans, nature, and society. Environmental enlightenment involves spreading ecological knowledge and promoting information about nature conservation and the rational use of natural resources. Environmental upbringing is focused on developing spiritual qualities that foster a responsible and caring attitude towards nature. Environmental education, upbringing, and enlightenment are directed towards harmonising human-environment relations and addressing numerous environmental issues. Therefore, it is essential to prepare teachers methodologically for implementing environmental education. The methodological basis for preparing future teachers for the environmental education of primary school students includes traditional ethical principles, global principles of sustainable development, and professional ethics principles for teachers. It is generalised that environmental education and enlightenment of future primary school teachers play a crucial role in their ecological training, as the effective assimilation of ecological knowledge and values by schoolchildren occurs at the primary school age, a time characterised by emotional sensitivity, vulnerability, curiosity, and high motivation for learning and engaging in various socially beneficial (including environmental) activities, given their age and psychological traits. The goal of ecological training for students in pedagogical fields is defined as the formation of eco-pedagogical literacy, equipping future primary school teachers with basic ecological knowledge, ethical-ecological values, pedagogical attitudes, environmental behaviour skills, and methods for ensuring the environmental focus of the educational process, which collectively contribute to preparing future teachers for environmental education of young pupils.
References
Buzenko I. L. Formuvannia ekoloho-valeolohichnoi kompetentnosti maibutnikh uchyteliv pochatkovoi shkoly v protsesi profesiinoi pidhotovky u pedahohichnykh koledzhakh [Formation of ecological and valeological competence of future primary school teachers in the process of professional training in pedagogical colleges]: avtoref. dys. … kand. ped. nauk: 13.00.04. Vinnytskyi derzhavnyi pedahohichnyi universytet imeni Mykhaila Kotsiubynskoho. Vinnytsia, 2018. 22 p. (in Ukrainian).
Hryhorovych O. P. Intelekt-karty yak zasib formuvannia ekolohichnoi kultury molodshykh shkoliariv [Intellect maps as a means of forming the ecological culture of younger schoolchildren]. Innovatsiina pedahohika. 2019. vol. 10 (1). p. 161–166 (in Ukrainian).
Hryhorovych O. P., Volokhata K. M. Formuvannia osnov ekolohichnoi kultury molodshykh shkoliariv zasobamy ekolohichnoho prosvitnytstva [Formation of the foundations of ecological culture of younger schoolchildren by means of environmental education]. Molodyi vchenyi. 2019. no. 5.2. pp. 122–125 (in Ukrainian).
Dubrovska L. O., Deshko O. O. Problema hotovnosti vchyteliv pochatkovykh klasiv do uprovadzhennia idei reformy novoi ukrainskoi shkoly [The problem of the readiness of primary school teachers to implement the ideas of the reform of the new Ukrainian school]. Naukovi zapysky NDU im. M. Hoholia. Psykholoho-pedahohichni nauky. 2018. no. 3. S. 23–27 (in Ukrainian).
Zharkova I. I. Formuvannia predmetnoi pryrodoznavchoi kompetentnosti molodshykh shkoliariv shliakhom vykorystannia proektnoi tekhnolohii [Formation of subject natural science competence of junior high school students through the use of project technology]. Naukovi zapysky Ternopilskoho natsionalnoho pedahohichnoho universytetu imeni Volodymyra Hnatiuka. Seriia : Pedahohika. 2015. no. 1. pp. 43–49 (in Ukrainian).
Kotiash I. Formuvannia ekolohichnoi kompetentnosti maibutnikh uchyteliv pochatkovykh klasiv u zakladakh vyshchoi pedahohichnoi osvity na vsikh rivniakh pidhotovky [Formation of ecological competence of future primary school teachers in institutions of higher pedagogical education at all levels of training]. Aktualni pytannia humanitarnykh nauk. 2019. vol. 26 (1). pp. 179–184 (in Ukrainian).
Partola V. V., Smolianiuk N. M., Starikova L. P. Pidhotovka maibutnikh uchyteliv pochatkovykh klasiv do ekolohichnoho vykhovannia uchniv [Preparation of future primary school teachers for environmental education of students]. Pedahohichni nauky: teoriia ta praktyka. 2021. vol. 2 (3). pp. 96–102 (in Ukrainian).
Popova H., Derkach O. Sutnisni kharakterystyky ekolohichnoi kompetentnosti maibutnoho vchytelia pochatkovoi shkoly [Essential characteristics of the environmental competence of the future primary school teacher]. Visnyk Cherkaskoho natsionalnoho universytetu imeni Bohdana Khmelnytskoho. Seriia: «Pedahohichni nauky». 2021. vol. 3. pp. 63–68 (in Ukrainian).
Saienko Yu. O. Vprovadzhennia tekhnolohii krytychnoho myslennia pid chas vyvchennia navchalnoi dystsypliny «Orhanizatsiia ekolohichnoho vykhovannia v pochatkovii shkoli» u maibutnikh vchyteliv pochatkovoi shkoly [Implementation of critical thinking technology during the study of the educational discipline «Organization of environmental education in primary school» among future primary school teachers]. Molodyi vchenyi. 2018. vol. 2 (2). pp. 640–645 (in Ukrainian).
Stratehiia staloho rozvytku Ukrainy do 2030 roku [Strategy of sustainable development of Ukraine until 2030]. 2017. URL: https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/ zskgke326/files/migration/ua/UNDP_Strategy_v06-optimized.pdf (in Ukrainian).
Shevchuk O. Spetsyfika formuvannia ekolohichnoi povedinky v uchniv pochatkovoi shkoly [The specifics of the formation of environmental behavior in primary school students]. Suchasni informatsiini tekhnolohii ta innovatsiini metodyky navchannia u pidhotovtsi fakhivtsiv: metodolohiia, teoriia, dosvid, problemy. 2018. no. 51. pp. 85–89 (in Ukrainian).
Shyshkina Yu. O. Hotovnist maibutnikh uchyteliv pochatkovykh klasiv do ekolohichnoho vykhovannia [The readiness of future primary school teachers for environmental education]. Pedahohichni nauky: teoriia, istoriia, innovatsiini tekhnolohii. 2014. vol. 4 (59). pp. 394–400 (in Ukrainian).
Saenko Y.A. Using a local lore history approach in formation of ecological thinking. Science and Education a New Dimension. Pedagogy and Psychology. 2015. Vol. III (35). Issue: 71. Pp.17–20 (in English).
UNESCO (2022) urges making environmental education a core curriculum component in all countries by 2025. URL: https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-urges-making-environmental-education-core-curriculum-component-all-countries-2025 (in English).
