Development and Features of Environmental Education in Elementary and Junior High Schools in Shanghai

Abstract

  Shanghai City, China, has accomplished remarkable economic development since the 1980s, and has aimed at the solution of the environmental problem accompanying that development, and also the advanced role of environmental education.
  This paper aims at clarifying the development and the features of environmental education in elementary and junior high schools in Shanghai. Furthermore, the prospects for future environmental education is considered.
  The development of environmental education in elementary and junior high schools in Shanghai is classified into three stages. First, environmental protection activities outside the regular curriculum; second, the creation of an environmental education course; and third, the cooperation of school and regional community in environmental education and protection. Moreover, there are five practical points, such as systematization of cooperation, establishment of an educational course, examinations of educational technology, training of teachers, and creation of an evaluation system.
  As a result, in environmental education in Shanghai, five important factors are pointed out: the creation of the teaching materials of environmental education, the training of special teachers, the foundation of an experimental school, the installation of an experiment base, and the training of preliminary talented people. The problems to be solved are as follows: the promotion of the independent efforts of students, the establishment of a basic curriculum, the improving of public relations, and the expansion of human and economical resources.