Fostering sustainable development and environmental education programmes: Role of teacher training institutions and colleges of teacher education

Abstract

In the present scenario, due to anthropogenic activities, environmental degradation is being done at an alarming and rapid rate and it is resulting in various environmental issues such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, green house effects, rise in sea level, improper monsoon and acid rains. Science and technology on one hand has brought immense benefits but on the other hand we are paying a heavy price for it. There is a wrong notion that economic development is based only on industrialization. However, science and technology can help in the process of global sustainable environment, but only in a limited way. In India, environmental education has been introduced at various school levels. But the teaching of the subject is not satisfactory due to lack of proper training of teachers in the field of environmental education. Bearing this fact in mind, an attempt has been made through this paper to highlight the necessity of making effective training programmes of prospective teachers in environmental education and sustainable development. The present generation is mindlessly pursuing its needs without thinking for the future generations to come. Therefore, in order to achieve the acceptable level of global environmental sustainability, the citizens must be empowered with essential knowledge and information especially in developing countries like India. Since educational institutions are the places where the contact of the society is more, it is possible to bring remarkable changes in the mindset of the public. The author feels that it is the need of the hour to propose environmental education with the essential elements of moral philosophy. Conventional educational methods are no longer adequate for the real needs of tomorrow. The present paper examines the significance and awareness of sustainable development and environmental education among the prospective teachers.

Keywords: Environmental education, teachers training, prospective teachers, sustainable development, pedagogic strategies, ethics.