Environmental education across the curriculum

Abstract

The inclusion in the Maltese primary school curriculum of topics relating to the environment can be traced back to the 1850s, when Canon Pullicino introduced the study of plants, insects and minerals under the heading of Natural History (Ventura, 1993). Later curricula followed suit. For example, the 1969 curriculum devoted a large section to environmental topics, with the recommendation that they should be taught through 'centres of interest' (Department of Education, 1969). Furthermore, the 1982 revision of the primary school syllabus included environmental topics under the umbrella of Social Studies (Department of Education, undated). Later, when separate primary science worksheets were first circulated in schools in 1985, a number of environmental items and fieldwork were included. However, teaching about the environment and through the environment, which was promoted by all these initiatives, is not the same as environmental education (EE) because the crucial element of teaching/or the environment was missing.