ABSTRACT
The study was undertaken to determine the competency needs of
teachers in the multidisciplinary approach to implementation of environmental
education curriculum in Cross River State, Nigeria. The study sought to find
out whether teachers possess content knowledge of EE curriculum and also
determine whether teachers` factors such as gender, subject specialization,
qualification, experience and their location significantly influence their
basic knowledge and competency needs in the implementation of environmental
education. Seven research questions were posed out of which six hypotheses were
formulated to guide the study. The study adopted the descriptive survey design.
The sample consisted of 737 teachers proportionally sampled from 67 public
secondary schools in the three education zones of Cross River State. The
teacher competency needs questionnaire in the implementation of environmental
education curriculum containing competency needs and content knowledge items
was used for data collection. The data were analyzed using means, standard
deviation, t-test, chi-square, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple
regressions. The data analyzed showed that majority of the teachers possessed
adequate knowledge of environmental education concepts in the four broad areas:
ecological foundation, human environment, environment change and impact and
sustainable development. The result revealed that teachers however do not have
adequate knowledge in components of the solar system and sources of earth’s
energy. The results showed that the teachers need competency in 8 areas out of
37. The results revealed that teachers possessed the input capability needed to
implement EE curriculum. The results revealed that teachers’ years of teaching
experience, educational qualification and school environment significantly
influence their competency needs. The results revealed that teachers with
6-15years are better prepared to implement EE curriculum. The results also
revealed that teachers’ subject area and gender have no significant influence
on their competency needs in the implementation of environmental education
curriculum. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that the
multidisciplinary approach should be adopted in the implementation of EE
curriculum. Teachers’ qualification and experience must continue to receive
constant attention through training, retraining and incentives so as to have
competent teachers who will implement the EE curriculum. In-service training
programmes should be organized on the basis of teachers’ competency needs.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
There is an increasingly global consciousness on the quality of
the environment and this has reached an all-time high priority drawing
international attention. For instance, the United Nations (UN) Earth Summit in
1992; the 1994 UN convention to combat desertification; Kyoto protocol in 1997
and the 2003 UN decade for sustainable development are concerted efforts by the
international community to save the environment. In the face of all these
efforts, there has been a global tidal wave of environmental degradation
occurring in a most consistent and most often irreversible manner. Humans
are confronted daily with several environmental misdemeanours ranging from
local to global problems. The United Nation Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
(2005) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (2005) reported that the
world’s biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate requiring important
efforts and new thinking on conservation.
The vision 2010 committee (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1997)
catalogued Nigeria’s environmental problems to include erosion (sheet, gully,
coastal), flooding (coastal, river, urban), drought and desertification, oil
pollution, urban decay, industrial pollution and waste, municipal solid waste
and loss of biodiversity. These problems have also been identified by some
researchers (Asthana &Asthana, 2003). United Nation Education Scientific
and Culture Organization (UNESCO) (1983 &1985) has also listed famine, soil
erosion, diseases and poor sanitation as problems confronting the less
developed countries, like Nigeria.
Human activities are largely responsible for environmental
change and degradation. The degradation of the environment in part has its
antecedent from the human frontier mentality based on two assumptions. First is
that the earth has an unlimited supply of resources for human use to which
Miller (1975) advocated full exploitation to advance human civilization. Based
on this assumption, people have employed advanced and sophisticated technology
for the intensification of the exploitation of resources within the
environment. According to Emeh (1997), there is a gradual but painful
realization of the falsehood of this assumption evidenced from the myriads of
environmental problems. The second assumption is that humans see themselves as separate
from the environment rather than being a part of it. This anthropocentric view
of humans has led to a seemingly biological terrorism; an attempt to overcoming
nature to fulfill their needs with little regard for the consequences (Omoogun,
2004).
It is generally recognized that though immense attention is
being paid to the environment (United Nations conferences\ summits), the quest
for a better environment seem far from being proportionately satisfactory. Many
ways of curbing environmental problems have been proffered and various reforms
suggested. Many actions have been taken to halt degradation of the
environment. For instance, there are remedial approaches through improved
technology that should reduce emission and conserve energy use. There are also
the industrial approach through auditing, monitoring and information; the
scientific approach which provide quality guidelines e.g. water quality, rate
of emissions etc; and then public approach through the activities of
Non-governmental organizations, legislation and green consumerism
(Ryding,1998 ). However, all these approaches have not been able to halt
environmental degradation. Newson (1992:81) citing Caldwell observed that
“Environmental crisis is an outward manifestation of a crisis of the mind, the
kind of creatures we are and what we must become in order to survive.”
Timmerman and Burton (1990) similarly noted that our attitude towards the
environment does predict a variety of our behaviour towards the
environment.
It is common knowledge that schools are the custodians of
society’s culture, and they perform a variety of functions in a given society.
Johnson, Dupuis, Musial and Hall (1994) have enumerated these school functions
as follows:
i.
Reproduction: Schools act to preserve tradition and heritage, and they carry
out decisions about what to teach based on the customs and traditions of the
past.
ii
Readjustment: Schools alter programmes in response to social change.
iii. Reconstruction:
Schools are agents of change in the society.
Citing the colonial reliance on education to transform the
natives, Emeh (2002) affirmed that the educational system and its institutions
have always functioned as revolutionary, reformationary, and conservationary.
This perhaps informed the world wide conviction that environmental education is
vital for achieving success in the
domain of environmental conservation and
sustainability(Michaelis,1980;Duguet,1992;Emeh,2002;UNESCO,2003).
Environmental education also emerged as a cultural response to international
awareness that human beings were having negative impact on their environments
and causing ecological and social crises.
The intergovernmental conference on Environmental Education
convened by UNESCO in cooperation with United Nation Environmental Programme
[UNEP] in Tbilisi, in 1977 recommended the development of school curriculum in
Environmental Education with the following three goals:
a. foster clear awareness of and concern about
economic, social, political and ecological interdependence in urban and rural
areas;
b. provide every person with opportunities, to
acquire the knowledge, values, attitudes, to improve the environment; and
c. create new patterns of behaviour of individuals,
groups and societies as a whole towards the environment (Eguabor, 1999).
Environmental Education (EE) is concerned with teaching
conceptual knowledge and skills for monitoring and measuring environmental
quality, and also with the development of the values and attitudes which will
motivate and empower individuals and groups to work and promote the
sustainability of natural and social environments. Thus, the important
attributes of Environmental Education include the creation of environmental
awareness, strong concern for the environment and active participation in
promoting environmental conservation. It is a subject necessary for every
individual in the society, since every member of the society has something to
do with the environment. This is perhaps why Gifford, Hay and Boros (1982)
opined that a well-educated populace is the best insurance for
preservation of the environment. Similarly, Ezeanya (1999) asserted
that environmental education is essential to change the destructive
relationship between human and the rest of nature. Ukpong (1993) emphasized the
importance of environmental education in achieving the goals of environmental
protection and management. He stressed various educational strategies such as
analysis, sensitization, information and education among others that can
provoke knowledge that would change the attitude and values towards the
environment.
To prepare students with positive attitude towards the
environment underscores the advocacy for Environmental Education. Environmental
Education is seen as a viable means of solving environmental problems. Jacobson
(1985) summed up the aim of Environmental Education to include: helping
individuals to acquire an awareness of and sensitivity to the total environment
and to develop a basic understanding, skills, values of the total environment
and the interrelationship between man and the environment
The development of Environmental
Education Curriculum appears cogent and realistic at this time, since ignorance
has been identified among the major problems hindering popular participation in
environmental conservation. In furtherance of the UNESCO/UNEP (1977)
recommendation, the Nigerian Education Research and Development Council (NERDC,
1998) developed the Environmental Education Curriculum for all the tiers of the
education system- primary , junior secondary , and senior secondary
schools and the non-formal education. The curriculum has three major
objectives:
1. acquiring
knowledge and understanding of the environment.
2. developing
skills for solving environmental problems.
3. developing
attitudes and values for the environment.
To achieve the objectives the curriculum is structured into
ecological foundations; human environment and development; environmental change
and impact; and sustainable development. These are further divided into sub
themes and the teacher is expected to incorporate them into existing school
subjects.
The formal education system in Nigeria is organized in
subject department basis and new subject which arise as a result of societal
needs and demands will always be difficult to be introduced. Inyang-Abia
(2001), many strategies have been suggested for adoption of EE in order to
achieve the goals and objectives of environmental education. Among such
strategies are:
i. The introduction of environmental studies as a special subject
taught by specially trained teachers. This entails offering EE as a course of
study.
ii.The introduction of environmental education issues into the
various traditional subjects such as mathematics, English, history, science etc
without having a need to design new courses or units. This is also known as the
infusion approach as it involves the proper conceptualization of the link
between EE concepts and the other contents within a subject.
iii.The multidisciplinary approach: This is the approach in which
EE is taught in two or more disciplines expressed in terms of interrelationship
regarding EE issues. This approach is anchored on the fact that EE is not a new
subject or discipline but that it is rather the orientation and
dovetailing of different subjects and disciplines drawing from and striking a
relationship between all these subjects. This is usually with modification of
the subject matter in the traditional school subjects in line with the scope,
aims, objectives, strategies and guiding principles of environmental education.
The International Conference on Environmental Education (1977)
in Belgrade and the Intergovernmental Environmental Education Conference (1977)
in Tbilisi recommended that environmental education is to be taught using the
multidisciplinary approach. It is argued by many researchers that separate
subject approach is not suitable for teaching EE at the secondary school level,
because the time table at this level is already crowded (Noibi, 1990; Yisa,
1990); that many teachers have not been trained for the implementation of
EE (Eguabor, 1999; Emeh, 2006); and that since environmental matters cut across
boundaries of regular knowledge classification it gives validity to the
multidisciplinary approach chosen by the National Council on Education
(Abdullahi, Ango and Olarinoye, 2000). Under the multidisciplinary approach,
topics in Environmental Education are plugged at appropriate points in the
existing subjects which serve as the carriers of Environmental Education
messages and concepts. By this approach, the environmental education curricular
would be implemented through all the traditional school subjects taught in the
schools. UNESCO-UNEP (1997) indicated that the choice of a particular approach
in curriculum development involves a consideration of the following aspects;
ease of implementation, teacher competencies and training demand or curriculum
load, ease of curriculum development and evaluation.
At the center of all these is the teacher who ultimately is the
implementer of the curriculum. On a general note, the disposition of teachers
is very essential in the implementation of any curriculum. Onwuka (1996:211)
commented on the importance of teachers noting the need to involve the teacher
in all phases of curriculum planning can hardly be over emphasized. To begin
with, that a curriculum has been designed to feature appropriate educational
experiences is no guarantee that corresponding appropriate educational
experiences will result. Much of the educational experience which may result in
the end will depend on teachers. It is on the efforts of teachers that a
curriculum which has been designed by planners in a society depends, to a large
extent, for its success in terms of leading to appropriate ends of education in
the society. Teachers are a key factor in the operation and for the success of
curriculum; they are indispensable in the educative process.
Behind every successful implementation of curriculum project or
policy are highly trained, motivated and efficient classroom teachers (Usman
and Agwagah, 2001). The National Policy on Education (Federal Republic of
Nigeria, 2004:39) observed that ‘no educational system or policy can rise above
the quality of its teachers’. The role of teachers in achieving a sustainable
environment via the implementation of Environment Education is a very cardinal
one. Mgbodile (2003) had noted that the importance of the teacher in
determining the tempo of curricular and methodology cannot be underestimated.
He noted that plans and policies can be well laid on paper, the implementation
strategies well outlined, and the organizational structure well set but it is
the teacher factor that stands as the deciding factor in terms of whether or
not the desired goals and objectives which had informed all the efforts can be
achieved.
Many researchers have reiterated the fact that teacher
disposition and characteristics which includes -what teachers think, believe
and do, their experience, qualification, sex and location of teaching
ultimately determine their level of performance and the quality of education
(Ogah, 2004; Odetoyinbo, 2004; Domike, 2002; Onwuka, 1996). Kosemani and
Kpolovie (2003) revealed that teachers tend to perceive distinct needs
according to their personal factors such as qualification, teaching experience,
knowledge of subject matter, gender, school location and their area of
specialization. The successful implementation of any curriculum requires the
availability of trained and experience teachers. Studies (Agbor, 2005 and
Okonkwo, 2000) revealed that qualification of teachers affects school
achievement to the extent that academically qualified teachers have shown the
tendency to succeed more than their non-qualified counterpart. Agbor noted that
the adequately qualified teachers have the confidence and courage to use their
initiative and the experience.
The teacher is seen by Emah (1998) as a significant component of
the classroom, positing that male and female teachers differ significantly in
several educationally relevant ways. Such differences they observed have
negative effects on the classroom environment such that students perceive
classes taught by male and female teachers differently. The instructional
behaviour of teachers during classroom interactions appears to exert the most
pervading influence on gender issues. Gender inequality in achievement attitude
and interest in many fields of studies has remained a contentions issue.
Schools in Nigeria are located in two different types of
environment, urban and rural areas. Studies (0konkwo, 1997 and Bob-Manuel 1997)
indicated that a child’s location could positively affect his or her
achievements in school. Also Okonkwo (2000) further confirmed that location of
school and the type of school can affect academic performance of JSS 1 students
in mathematics It might be very interesting to know how teachers’
factors influence competency needs in EE.
The objectives of teaching EE include: sensitizing the learners
by creating awareness about the environment and its problems; helping
individuals acquire knowledge about the environment; changing the destructive
attitude of people towards the environment; developing skills to solve
environmental problems and encouraging individuals to participate in resolving
environmental issues. For teachers to do all these they must
possess relevant competencies. According to Adara (1992)
competencies needed for the protection of the environment include
knowledge and skills which can only be acquired through education, particularly
Environmental Education.
Competency needs involve the identification of relevant
knowledge and skills required in order to carry out a particular operation
effectively and efficiently. According to Agbor (2005), competency involved
having a sound knowledge of the subject matter and of the methods of
effectively imparting the facts and skills relating to the subjects. Esu (1995)
explained that in relation to classroom instruction, a competent teacher is one
who carries out effective teaching. She emphasized that competency involves knowledge
of the subject matter. Generally, Esu (1995) described competency as the
knowledge, skills, attitudes and judgement which are required for the
successful performance of a task rather than all the components comprising the
tasks. As Enukoha (1991) insisted that the objective of teaching would still
not be achieved if the teacher does not understand the subject matter
adequately.
According to Olaitan, Igbo, Nwachukwu, Onyemachi and Ekong
(1999) steps involved in identification of competency needs include
1. identification
of all tasks or jobs to be learnt-ability to state teaching objectives for EE
implementation,
2. determine
what one would need to know and do in order to perform the identified tasks or
jobs-knowledge of subject matter in EE,
3. arrangement
of tasks and jobs into appropriate courses ability to develop units through
teaching subjects to implement EE curriculum,
4. organize
knowledge and skill for each task ability to develop lesson plan through
teaching subject to implement EE curriculum,
5. determine
what one needs to know for mastery of each knowledge and skills-the ability to
evaluate learning in EE.
Basically, EE curriculum has been developed by NERDC and the
council has appropriately identified the content area to include four broad areas
namely, ecological foundation, human environment, environmental change and
sustainable development. Ecological foundation consists of abiotic and biotic
components, ecosystems as well as energy flow with the systems.The human
environment comprises population and human activities in the environment.
Environmental change and impact consist of pollution, wildlife management, soil
erosion among others. Sustainable development includes methods of conserving
bio-diversity and how to use environmental resources without degrading them.
Teachers are expected, therefore, to possess the ability to articulate the
contents on EE to enable them implement it.
Cross River is adjudge as a clean and green state an inspection
of the state of the environment across some schools in Cross River State by the
researcher showed a dismal picture. The sanitary conditions in most of the
schools visited are in a poor state; and the aesthetics of the environment very
unattractive. Many of the schools have no single flower to beautify the school
environment and even in areas prone to wind storm, trees are conspicuously
absent. Students also revealed poor knowledge of environmental concepts and
environmental problems which leads to wonder at the state of implementation of
EE.
Under the multidisciplinary approach every teacher is expected
to infuse EE concepts in the subject s/he teaches. To do this effectively, they
must first possess adequate input capability, and the ability to articulate the
content of EE curriculum. However, Noibi (1990) found out that less than 25% of
secondary school teachers use the physical environment to teach despite its
functionality, 40% never use the physical environment to teach. According to
him, most teachers are handicapped in effective teaching which involves the use
of the physical environment.
It is on the basis of this background that the present
study is designed to find out the relationship between some of these teachers’
factors and teachers’ competency needs in implementing EE curriculum.
Statement of the Problem
The educational system has understandably
been looked upon as a viable means of influencing the behaviour of man and
future generations. The focal point or core area of any form of education is
the curriculum. It is on the curriculum that we build the expectations for
students, the materials to be used in the teaching and learning process and the
training for teachers. Environmental Education curricula have been developed in
Nigeria by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC,
1998) for the secondary schools.
Even though Cross River is adjudge as a clean and green state an
inspection of the state of the environment across some schools in Cross River
State by the researcher showed a dismal picture. In most of the schools
visited, the sanitary conditions are very poor; and the aesthetics of the
environment very unattractive. Many of the schools have no single flower to
beautify the school environment and even in areas prone to wind storm, trees
are conspicuously absent. An interactive session with some of the students
revealed their poor knowledge of environmental concepts and environmental
problems. These lead one to wonder at the state of implementation of
EE.
The most important element in the implementation of the
Environmental Education curricula is the teacher. One of the several factors
that militate against learning outcome according to Arends (1991) is the
teacher’s inefficiency in using proper sets of plans and actions that could
result in effective academic achievement of students. Training personnel
especially teachers came out in a survey (UNESCO/UNEP, 1997) as the greatest
need of environmental education on a world-wide scale. Noibi (1990) noted that,
inadequate curriculum content of environmental education is not only the
challenge facing environmental education but inadequate teacher preparation. He
found out that less than 25% of secondary schools used the physical environment
to teach or make analogy with it. All these imply that most teachers are handicapped
in effective teaching which requires the use of the physical environment.
Given the multidisciplinary approach, all teachers are involved
in the implementation of environmental education curriculum through the subject
they teach. Do they possess the basic knowledge in ecological foundations;
human environment and development; environmental change and impact; and
sustainable development required to teach EE? What would the teachers require
or need to possess in order to effectively implement EE curriculum within the
purview of the multidisciplinary approach? Teacher characteristics play a very
crucial role in determining the effectiveness of teaching and learning. What
are the influences of the teacher’s subject, qualification, experience, gender
and the location of the area where they teach on their needs?
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study was to determine the competency
needs of teachers in the implementation of the Environmental Education
curriculum. Specifically, the study sought to:
1. Assess
the basic knowledge of teachers in EE curriculum.
2. Determine what the teacher
requires to implement EE curriculum
3. Establish the influence of
teachers`gender on their competency needs in EE.
4. Determine the influence of
teaching subject area on teachers’ competency needs in EE.
5 .Establish the influence of teachers` experience on
their competency needs in EE.
·
Establish the influence of teachers`qualification on their
competency needs in EE.
·
Establish the influence of teachers`school location on their
competency needs in EE.
·
Find out the inter-relationship among the various
teachers`factors and their competency needs in EE.
Significance of the Study
Environmental education holds the key to developing the
necessary attitudes, values, skills, and knowledge required for a sustainable
society. This can be done by the conscious inclusion of environmental issues in
the school curriculum. The issue of teachers` competence in this regard cannot
be over stressed. The findings of the study identify the competency needs which
the teachers possess and the ones they need for the implementation of EE
curriculum.
The findings of this study are also very useful to curriculum
planners as it will draw their attention to the multidisciplinary nature of EE.
This awareness will enhance the designing of pre-service and in-service
programmes that will include appropriate knowledge and skills needed for
implementing Environmental Education. Furthermore, the findings would provide
information that will stimulate the organization of workshops, conferences and
seminars for environmental educators in curriculum planning and implementation
as well as the review of curriculum at the various subject levels to reflect
some key areas of Environmental Education especially acquisition of relevant
competence for the multidisciplinary approach.
The findings of the study are also of immense benefits to the
Ministry of Education and Supervisors as they will become more aware of the
importance of promoting EE in schools and the necessary competency needed for
the implementation of EE. Teachers would also benefit from the results of
this work. They would become more aware of the competencies needed for their
effective participation in the multidisciplinary approach to implementing
Environmental Education Curriculum. It would also enable them to apply the
identified competencies in the improvement of their individual classroom
instruction for their students.
Students would also ultimately benefit from the findings of this
study. Improved competencies needs would enhance teacher’s effectiveness in the
teaching of environmental issues that would make the students become more aware
of environmental issues. Generally as teachers become more committed to
the issues of the environment within the school curriculum, the school will
produce students who are well informed about the environment and who would
become defenders of environmental issues since they are equipped with the basic
knowledge and skills in environmental issues. The findings of this study may
form the basis on which policy statements would be made that will enhance the
successful implementation of Environmental Education in school curriculum. The
results of the study would draw more interest to the environment in relation to
its use and protection. This will have an overall positive effect especially in
the attainment of sustainable development and environmental protection and
management. Textbook authors would find the results of the study a relevant
tool for the selection of curriculum contents and materials that will enhance
the multidisciplinary approach to implementation of EE
Finally, the results of the study would be a significant
addition to the literature base in teacher competency and provide empirical
evidence on the efficacy of teachers` competence in implementing EE in schools
and the role played by subject area, qualification, experience and location of
teachers on their competence to implement EE in schools. This could form the
basis for further research.
Scope of the Study
The study determined teachers’ competency needs for the
implementation of the Junior Secondary School Environmental Education
curriculum. Teachers’ knowledge of EE curriculum contents and the extent to which
their teaching subjects prepared them to implement the contents were
determined. Also the influences of teachers’ subject, qualification,
experience, location and gender on competency needs in Environmental Education
were also studied.
The study covered the junior secondary school level in Cross
River State where a great proportion of the subjects are integrative.
Research Questions
The following research questions guided the study.
1. What is the basic knowledge of teachers in EE?
2. What does the teacher requires or need for the implementation
of EE curriculum?
3. What influence does teacher’s teaching subject area has
on competency needs in the implementation of EE curriculum?
4. To what extent does gender influence competency needs of
teachers in the implementation of EE curriculum?
5. What influence does teacher’s experience has on competency
needs in the implementation of EE curriculum?
6. Does teacher’s qualification influence their competency needs
in the implementation of EE curriculum?
7. What influence does teacher’s school location has on
competency needs in the implementation of EE curriculum?
Hypotheses
The following hypotheses are formulated to guide the study and
will be tested at the 0.05 alpha level of
significance.
Ho1 There is no
significant difference in the mean rating of various teaching subject of
teachers on their competency needs in implementing environmental education
Ho2 There is no
significant difference in the mean rating of male and female teachers on their
competency needs in implementing Environmental Education Curriculum.
Ho3 There is no
significant difference in the mean rating of teachers with below six years,
between six and fifteen years and above fifteen years of teaching experience on
their competency needs in implementing
EE.
Ho4 There is no
significant difference in the mean rating of teachers with NCE, Degrees and higher
degrees on their competency needs in implementing
EE.
Ho5 There is no
significant difference in the mean rating of urban and rural teachers on their
competency needs in implementing Environmental Education Curriculum.
Ho6 When taken
together there is no significant interrelationship among the various
teachers`factors and teacher’s competency needs in EE.