Four Decades of Environmental Education in China: Review and Prospect

• In Event: Education for Sustainable Development SIG Highlighted Session: Ecopedagogy in Theory and in Practice

Abstract

With the implementation of “Reform and Opening-up Policy” in China, China has registered highly visible economic growth which in turn resulted in serious environmental problems. Therefore, It is very important for China to seek a way to keep a balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability. Environmental education (EE) in China started in 1973, after the 1972 Stockholm Conference. The development of EE in China can be divided into four phases.

The first phase was from 1973 through 1983, while environmental protection was a new concept and EE was also at the preliminary stage. The first National Environmental Protection Conference was held in 1973; after that the Chinese universities and colleges began to set up relevant disciplines such as environmental science, and environmental protection was incorporated into the curricula in the general primary and secondary schools. A number of magazines, such as Environmental Protection (1974), Environment (1978), World Environment (1983), began to be published. In this phase, the emphasis was on the importance, knowledge, and awareness of environmental protection.

The second phase from 1983 to 1992 was the period of formation and development of EE. In 1983, the Second National Meeting on Environmental Protection was held, in which environmental protection was recognized as a national fundamental policy. EE was required to be integrated into the curricula in basic education. Furthermore, the first environmental newspaper, China Environment News, began to publish in 1984; in the same year, the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) was set up, and the Environmental Protection Law of China (draft) was enacted in 1989. During this phase, EE came into people’s consciousness, and lay the foundation for the future development.

The third stage, 1992-2002, saw EE continue to develop, and emphasis began to be oriented toward EE for sustainable development (SD). In 1992, China promulgated Ten Countermeasures to Environment and Development in response to the Rio Conference, in which the implementation of SD and improvement of the whole nation’s environmental awareness through strengthening EE were two of the ten countermeasures. It was the first time to link “environment” with “development”, and this indicates the beginning of reorientation of EE to education for sustainable development (ESD). At the same year, the First National Meeting for Environmental Education was held, requiring EE to serve as a basic way to solve environmental problems. In 1996, the National Action Guidelines for Environmental Communication and Education (1996-2010) was promulgated, which initiated the Green School Project. A special journal, Environmental Education, began its publication at the same year. ESD is replacing EE and becoming more and more popular in China.

The fourth phase began 2002, and EE is practically being immersed with ESD. Since 2002, a series of documents to enhance EE were issued. In 2003, the Ministry of Education of China (MoE) issued two documents, a Special Curriculum for Environmental Education in Primary and Secondary Schools, and an Implementation Guidelines on Environmental Education for Primary and Secondary Schools. The above two documents are the first official and formal documents for implementing EE in primary and secondary schools. Meanwhile, this is the first time embedding ESD in the Implementation Guidelines and the curricula, which becomes an important content of basic education reform.

Great changes happened in EE. However, there are still some difficulties China faces. Firstly, EE and ESD are only viewed as environmental protection. Thus, it is very important to scientifically understand EE and ESD. Secondly, there is the contradiction between economic growth and environmental protection or SD. How to deal with the contradiction depends on the governmental attention and funding. Thirdly, the lack of awareness and knowledge the general public and the school personnel have on EE and ESD impede their in-depth implementation. Educators need to build up the necessary knowledge, theories and methods on EE and ESD. Fourthly, the EE laws should be accelerated to formulate and implement, the environmental NGOs should be rapidly developed, and the environmental studies should be conducted at all level from investigation on the environmental (education) status to studies on environmental policy.

Authors

• Youyi Tian, Central China Normal University, China; University of Maryland

• Jing Lin, University of Maryland