| Abstract [eng] |
The project ,, Management of informal environmental protection education” focuses on environmental protection informal education management, which up to now has not been studied in depth in the supplementary education system of Lithuania and has not been emphasized in the ecology and environmental education. Environmental protected activity is a broad sphere that covers not only environmental knowledge but also teaching of an ecological and healthy lifestyle. These spheres have become a priority in the educational reform whereby changes are introduced to schools. Ecology teaching is especially important, and it may not be separated from direct interest in the nature, protection of animals and plants, and care for the environment. No environmental laws are able to solve ecological problems because the population’s environmental culture is still very low. When pupils participate in voluntary environmental projects, they develop the basics of environmental culture and their environmental conscience is formed. Pupils who take part in environmental activities can experience the joy of learning, they learn to participate in solving various environmental problems and be responsible for the decisions they take. This way children’s values are formed, which later help them to become mature persons. By observing, experimenting and revealing the mysteries of nature, children can feel the relation between human beings and the nature. A child will never tread on and pick up a flower which he has planted himself. Environmental monitoring is a way to develop a more advanced environmental culture; therefore, the problem is discussed in the project in terms of history, teaching, psychology aspects paying attention to ecological and environmental movements and organizations in Lithuania and in the world, their psychological and teaching peculiarities, voluntary environmental monitoring models and methods, management and other issues. The project aims at finding acceptable additional environmental education forms, which in combination with various ways and methods of learning about the environment could help to remember that we are not just users of the nature but rather each of us is responsible for development and protection of the environment. The subjects of the study are pupils and teachers volunteers who participate in the project named “Voluntary monitoring of the Nemunas basin rivers and streams” from 5 municipalities: Tauragė, Jurbarkas, Šilutė, Pagėgiai, Šakiai. The goal of the study is to evaluate the impact of environmental protected on the education of pupils and to check the success in development of an environmentally-educated personality. The following study methods were used for the purposes of the project: theoretical (a study and analysis of history, education, psychology and management literature, of academic disciplines programmes, and of environmental and ecology education documents), empirical (surveying of respondents (questionnaires), an analysis of collected data), statistical (Pearson’s correlation coefficient). SPSS, Excel 7.00 was used for processing of the study data. We hope that the project “Management of informal environmental protection education” will help to review, enhance and develop environmental work management and to use the gained experience in a more efficient way. We believe that it will be useful to inform teachers and other specialists participating in environmental protected activities with children about the collected study results. |
