Describes an environmental-education research project in North Borneo that takes as a given that different social actors begin with different perceptions of environmental problems based upon different rationalities. Using an innovative educational mechanism called the adaptive concept, an intervention was designed, tested, and evaluated. Contains…

Explores how the tools of geography can help meet some of the challenges inherent in sustainable development by looking at changes in land-use patterns among the Bribri Indians of Costa Rica. Includes a geography lesson on comparing regions and environmental issues. (CMK)

Explores three ways students are taught environmentally-sustainable design within an eco-school system: the passive example of the present school premises; the use of architects-in-schools schemes, and student environmental assessments of the school premises. Examples are provided of how each method addresses sustainable design and how they may be…

The residents of Galiano Island, British Columbia, have used geographic information systems (GIS) to create a local information database that informs community decisions about sustainable use of forest land. The islanders' involvement with GIS promotes a democratic land-use planning process that is reasoned and well informed. (SV)

This article outlines an action-oriented research project regarding the University of British Columbia's engagement with sustainability. In 1997, the University of British Columbia (UBC) created a sustainability policy that suggests all UBC students should be educated about sustainability. Using data from a series of in-depth interviews the author…

This paper examines the implications for sustainability policy of environmental uncertainty and indeterminacy, and relates the associated problems with a conventional understanding of sustainable development to Hayek's critique of collective planning. It suggests that the appropriate recourse is not, however, a Hayekian endorsement of the free…

In this paper, we report some reflections on science and education, in relation to teaching and research in the field of complex and controversial socio-environmental issues. Starting from an examination of the literature on the epistemological aspects of the science of controversial issues, and introducing the perspective of complexity, the…

Rather than assuming New Zealand's educational sectors and institutions will be active and effective contributors to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) the authors ask instead: "Are New Zealand's school and university sectors actually in a position to respond programmatically to the UN…

This article offers a detailed description and discussion of Project TIES, a professional development program that allows K-8 teachers to make the transition from a traditional classroom to one where technology is embedded and becomes an integral part of teaching and learning. Project TIES (Technology Integration Enhancing Science), a four-year…

In this article, I offer a clarification of the ambiguities surrounding the pivotal concepts that have shaped and will continue to shape environmental education movement in the United States and beyond: nature, conservation, sustainable development, and environmental justice. I point out that dualistic frameworks not only polarize environmental…

A recent United Nations' report claims that nearly two-thirds of the Earth's natural systems are unhealthy or failing, and many point to education--environmental education, education for sustainable development, or sustainability education--as a key means of addressing these issues. In this article, the author discusses the literary description to…

For many scholars (see Smyth, 1995; Tilbury, 1995; Fien & Tilbury, 2002; Hopkins & McKeown, 2002) the emergence of the discourse of education for sustainable development (ESD) over the past 15 or so years is viewed as a progressive transition in the field, along similar lines to the positive portrayal of prior historical transitions from nature…

Biotechnology and nanotechnology are both strategic technologies, and the former provides several lessons that could contribute to more successful embedding and integration processes for the latter. This article identifies some of the key questions emerging from the biotechnology experience and summarizes several lessons learned in the context of…

In a recent review of school grounds research, Dyment (2004a) highlights a lack of studies on the "process" of school grounds improvement, particularly in the secondary school context. This paper seeks to respond to this gap in the literature by reporting emerging findings from a three-year action research study of six English secondary…

The status of the educational system of Croatia is presented and several human development indicators for Croatia are compared with those of other countries in transition. The role of education in facing globalisation and in assuring sustainable development is analysed. The aims of various levels of education: primary, secondary and higher…