Technology: the god that limps; Connect: UNESCO...

WE are especially apprecia-tive of the improvementsin our quality of life that

have resulted from technology. Yet,many people, especially older people,are somewhat nostalgic for the“good old days”. But life was verylimited and limiting in those days. Forexample:• Lack of medical knowledge and

sanitary conditions resulted innumerous deaths due to infectionsfrom minor wounds and the lackof antibiotics.

• Life expectancy of industrial work-ers in England during the earlydays of the industrial revolutionwas 32 years.

• In 1900, New York City was buriedunder 4 million pounds of horsemanure daily. Because of bacteria-laden air, tuberculosis was preva-lent and did not drop until the1920s as the horse populationdecreased and the air-borne bac-teria count dropped accordingly.

• Kerosene lamps were both dan-gerous and gave poor light.

If the good old days really were notthat good, what is it that peoplemiss? Perhaps a slower paced life orsimply a time when they had moreenergy and zest for life, their per-sonal worries were fewer, the radio

stations played their favourites, andtheir friends were all still alive?By contrast, the 20th century wasindeed one of scientific discoveriesand technological developments. Justconsider:• The first production automobile.• The first radio and television.• The first airplane.• The first x-ray for medical diag-

nosis.• The first sound movie.• The discovery and refinement of

antibiotic medicines, most notablypenicillin.

• The first atomic and hydrogenbombs.

• The first human-made satellite.• The first organ transplant. • The first open-heart surgery and

chemotherapy.• The first human walking on the

moon.• The first use of optical fibres to

transmit voice and images.• The first use of lasers for commu-

nication, cutting materials, andsurgery.

• The first personal computer…And the list goes on. The point is sim-ply that technology was expanded onmany fronts at a historically unprece-dented pace this past century. Inmany, if not most cases, the tech-

nological developments were evolu-tionary i.e. they were the refinement,extension and/or expansion of pre-vious technologies.But some revolutionary ideas alsograbbed the headlines in the 20thcentury: the mastery of flight, satel-lite deployment and rocketry; thedigitalisation of electronic signals and the use of light to carry the spoken word; magnetic resonanceimaging and other scanning modal-ities; a number of advances in med-icine such as organ transplants,antibiotics, plastic surgery and now,genetic engineering. Why was this century so fertile forthe development of new and theextension of older technologies? Certainly much of it had to be theimprovements in basic materials such as metals, plastics, glass, fabricand composites of all sorts as well as the corollary improvements in theprocesses and precision by whichmaterials were formed and manipu-lated. Another contributing factor totechnology growth was the recogni-tion that a newly developed tech-nology might have applications otherthan those for which it was originallydesigned e.g. the diverse applicationsof the laser: from military guidancesystems to supermarket barcode

TTechnology:echnology:The God That Limps*The God That Limps*

UNESCO INTERNAT IONAL SC IENCE, TECHNOLOGY & ENV IRONMENTAL EDUCAT ION NEWSLETTER

VOL. XXVI, No. 3-4, 2001

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* The full text of this article is available on the Connect Website (address on last page).

Vol. XXVI, No. 3-4, 20012

Technology: The God That Limps

readers, from vaporizing tonsils andarthroscopic surgery to levelling lathebeds and ceiling tiles to transmit-ting music or images over opticalfibres. Arguably the primary motiva-tor of technology development hasbeen the free enterprise system andthe market driven economy i.e., theprofit motive.Neil Postman1 provides an excellentperspective for examining the historyleading up to this century and ourshifting attitudes toward technologyover time. He suggested that culturescan be classified into three types:tool-using cultures, technocracies,and technopolies. Tool-using cultures, i.e. all culturesprior to the XVIIth Century, usedtools to do two things: to solve spe-cific and urgent problems of physicallife as in the use of waterpower,windmills and the heavy-wheeledplough; or to serve the symbolicworld of art, politics and religion as in the construction of castles andcathedrals and the development ofthe mechanical clock. These beliefsdirected the invention of toolsand limited the uses to which theywere put.In technocracies, however, tools playan increasingly important role in howpeople think. Everything must giveway, in some degree, to their devel-opment. The social and symbolicworlds become increasingly subjectto the requirements of that develop-ment. Tools are not integrated intothe culture; they attack culture. Theybid to become culture. As a conse-quence, tradition, social mores,myth, politics, ritual, and religionhave to fight for their lives.Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo ledculture into technocracy. They put inplace the dynamite that would blowup the theology and metaphysics ofthe medieval world. Newton lit the

fuse. Francis Bacon expanded thisview by maintaining that the onlygoal of the sciences is the endow-ment of human life with new inven-tions and riches. Postman noted thatit took about 150 years for this viewto pervade the modern world.As the industrial revolution devel-oped, scientific and technical knowl-edge expanded, increasingly complexand powerful machines were built.By the late nineteenth century, twoopposing world views – the techno-logical and the traditional – coexistedin uneasy tension but the technolog-ical world-view was the stronger and would eventually lead to tech-nopoly.Technopoly eliminates alternatives toitself in precisely the way AldousHuxley outlined in Brave New World.It does not make them illegal. It doesnot make them immoral. It does not even make them unpopular. Itmakes them invisible and thereforeirrelevant. And it does so by redefin-ing what we mean by religion, by art, by family, by politics, by history,by truth, by privacy, by intelligence,so that our definitions fit its newrequirements. Technopoly, in otherwords, is totalitarian technocracy.This faith in technology was rein-forced in different ways by the writ-ing and teaching of Nietzsche (God isdead), Darwin, Marx, Freud, Watson(free will is an illusion), and Einstein(all is relative). Hence, we lost faith inour belief systems. The only thingsthat were sure and dependable werethe products of technology.We can now observe the shifts in cul-ture noted by Postman in a shortertime frame in those societies thathave been somewhat isolated andare now receiving technology. Oneexample2 is the Inupiat Eskimos livingon the island Little Diomede whonow have access to satellite television

with the result that many younger vil-lagers forsake traditional clothing infavour of sweatshirts. For native peo-ples throughout the Arctic and acrossthe world the challenge is to admitand benefit from the best that themodern world has to offer, whileretaining the values and wisdom oftheir own culture: to walk betweentwo worlds.Technology has had a destructiveeffect on many traditions and rituals.America, wrote W. I. Thompson, is anelectronic Umwelt* in which historyis replaced with movies, educationis replaced with entertainment, andnature is replaced with technology.He noted that singing stopped in thepubs when televisions were broughtin.3 Will all cultures eventually meldinto one and cultural distinctivenessbe lost?What other social patterns or ritualshave been or are being lost due toour technological choices?4 Technol-ogy, often as the mediator betweenus and nature, has significantlyaltered almost every aspect of ourday-to-day lives. We may not think ofthe routine things that we do every-day as being ritual, but indeed manyof them serve a ritual function for us – the way we get ready for bed,make our coffee in the morning,wash our hair, brush our teeth, pre-pare a meal. In recent years, due tothe increasing emphasis on electron-ics, technology has tended to have a“levelling” effect on our lives.At the personal level we observe that as people become increasinglydependent on technology, many losethe ability and knowledge to domany of the basic physical and think-ing processes that most people did inthe past. The design of our productshas substituted meaningless move-ments for the physical aspects of theprocedures.

1. Postman, N. (1993). Technopoly. New York: Vintage Books.2. Mulvaney, K. (1999). Arctic warming. LAPIS, issue eight, 15-18.* “Environment” in German (Ed.)3. Thompson, W. I. (1991). The American replacement of nature: The everyday acts and outrageous evolution of economic life. New York: Doubleday Publishers.4. Portions of this section are taken from Wiens, A. E., & Wiens, K. S.(1996): Technology and the quality of life: Introductory perspectives. In R. L. Custer & A. E.

Wiens (Eds.), Technology and the quality of life, Peoria: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill for The Council on Technology Teacher Education.

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Our personal lives are also affected bythe overall changes that have takenplace in our culture. S. Bertman5 seesa number of negative effects, bothsociological and psychological, result-ing from the “hyperculture” in whichwe live and which is defined as a culture whose most distinguishingtrait is a pathological, self-justifyingspeed inimical to human values. Insuch a culture, so-called deviantbehaviour, including violent andcriminal acts, is not an anomaly but isin fact consistent with society’s high-est goal: Get as much as you can asfast as you can.Bertman maintains that many humanactivities such as developing rela-tionships require commitment, self-sacrifice, continuity, and time – butthe high-speed culture and thepower of “now” is undermining thevalue of these experiences. Hyper-culture tells us that permanence doesnot exist and that people should beevaluated on the basis of a computerperformance.A discussion of the technology-society interface must also includeacknowledgment of the environ-mental aspects of our technologychoices. These are for the most partwell known, given the activity of themedia:• Automobile crashes are responsi-

ble for 3 million injuries andaround 40,000 deaths a year inthe United States and many peo-ple spend an hour or more everyday creeping along in cars capableof driving over a hundred miles an hour. Fossil fuel combustion isalso responsible for acid rain aswell as health risks.

• Some of the tetraethyl lead addi-tives to gasoline used to raise itsoctane rating are emitted as autoexhaust. Until Mexico recentlybegan to phase out leaded gas.

7 of 10 children born in that cityhad lead levels in their blood that exceeded the World HealthOrganization’s thresholds.6

• The perfect refrigerant, chloro-fluorocarbon (freon), a human triumph over nature since the gasdid not exist in nature, played amajor role in depleting the ozonelayer.

• Industries in the United Statescontinue to use 50,000 to 70,000chemicals, only a fraction of whichhave been tested by govern-ment agencies for health hazards.Nitrogen fertilizer use in farmingworldwide results in above normalnitrate levels in surface andground waters that are used formunicipal water supplies.

• Much of global warming is blamedon the carbon dioxide build-up inthe upper atmosphere which iscaused by fossil fuel combustionand the destruction of rain forestsand vegetation. Even the Eskimosbelieve the climate is warmingsince the permafrost, the perma-nently frozen sub-surface layer ofsoil, is beginning to thaw, causinglandslides.7

• The competition for potable waterwill continue to build as growingpopulations demand more freshwater, agriculture continues to irrigate, and resources are dimin-ishing. Some of the large under-ground aquifers have beenpumped heavily for years and areseriously depleted at places.

What is needed in planning is a criti-cal, thorough and on-going assess-ment of the available resources, theconsumption and degradation ofthese resources, the requirements toraise the level of quality of life for allpeople around the globe and the current and projected pollution. Allof these factors must be considered

in the context of a growing popula-tion and actions need to be taken toaddress the needs that are identified.Few people would argue with theassertion that humans have an innateability to create and invent. Currenttechnology increasingly blurs the line between the natural and thehuman-made environment. Tech-nology involves in its basic definitionthe modification of an environment.This has been true of technologyfrom the time that the first shelterwas built and the first tool made butit is so central to the role of currenttechnology that it must be noted.The examples surround us: from thelight switch and the thermostat tothe car in the garage and a mechani-cal heart.In the tool-using culture, techno-logies were for the most partresponses to a hostile environment.The Buddhist point of view helps us understand a shift that has taken place over time. Schumacher8

explained that, according to Buddhistthought, there are two types ofmechanisations which must beclearly distinguished: one thatenhances a man’s skill and powerand one that turns the work of manover to a mechanical slave, leavingman in a position of having to servethe slave… To organize work in sucha manner that it becomes meaning-less, boring, stultifying, or nerve-racking for the worker would be littleshort of criminal; it would indicate agreater concern with goods thanwith people, and evil lack of compas-sion and a soul-destroying degree ofattachment to the most primitive sideof this worldly existence.The rationality of technology hasindeed enslaved us. Our technologieswhile giving us an illusion of inde-pendence and freedom have dictatedhow we think about and carry on our

5. Bertman, S. (1998) Hyperculture: The human cost of speed. The Futurist, 32(9)6. French, H. F. (1990). Clearing the air. In L. Brown (Ed.), State of the world--1990, New York: W. W. Norton for World Watch Institute.7. Mulvany, ibid.8. Schumacher, E. F. (1990). Buddhist economics. In Technology and the Future, A. H. Teich (ed.). New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Vol. XXVI, No. 3-4, 20014


daily activities. Yet we are enamouredwith our new technology and workfeverishly to guarantee that everyschool child will learn to use thistechnology as soon as possible. Whyis there a higher rate of depressionamong people who use the com-puter a great deal compared to thosewho used it less?9

Our problem is not the absence ofpowerful controls but rather the fail-ure to exercise properly the controlswhich are available.10 Now, however,we have “progressed” to the logicalsecond step: we pride ourselveswhen we are able to deceive peopleinto thinking that what they see,touch, taste, hear or smell is authen-tic when it is not. Consider wood-look plastic laminate furniture,counter tops or vinyl siding; or manyof our foods that have artificialcolour and flavours added to tasteand look like something… We can nolonger rely on images we see on tele-vision or in magazines for giving usthe truth. Mary Herte, a plastic surgeon special-izing in breast implants, is amusedwhen patients tell her they just wantto look natural. “I smile and say, ‘Noyou don’t.’ People don’t understandthat what they want to look like is awoman who has breast implants”.11

The distinction between what is natural and what is artificial,between what is authentic and whatis deception, is becoming increasinglyblurred. The Internet allows one tofake an identity as a 16-year-old male in love instead of a 52-year-oldpaedophile, preying on deceivable14-year-old females desiring an intimate relationship.Perhaps the greatest deception is our own, the growing view that

technological process equates tosocial progress, the belief that thereis a technological fix for every prob-lem that surfaces in society. “Don’tstand in the way of progress” is acommon phrase.Logically, one would assume that themore sophisticated our technologicalsystems become, the safer they are.However, the nature of our high techsystems makes us more vulnerable toa phenomenon called normal acci-dents. The more precise a technolog-ical system is, the more vulnerable itis to variations in how it is handled.In truth, most design and system failures come back to human errors.But not all technological disastersoccur as the result of human deci-sions. Of course, technology itselfcan fail – there are cars stalled along-side the highway for reasons otherthan human error. As our technolog-ical systems have become more com-plex, more safeguards have beenbuilt in. Knowing this, operators areoften more careless about operatingthe technology. But this has alsoreduced the margin for error.R. Stivers notes: By the twentiethcentury technology was beginningto supersede money as the chiefsacred of western civilization…[people believed] technology as ulti-mate power is the solution to allproblems.12 And K. Wiens elabo-rates on this with: … technologyexhibits all the characteristics that wewould expect to find in a modern-day, cultural deity. In our devout feel-ings of reverence, we see technologyas all-powerful, yet merciful; we seeit as the source of our salvation; andwe see it as our caring and protective“father.” But technology is also ourbrainchild. As such it basks in our

parental admiration. Perhaps it is forthis reason that our faith and love fortechnology, if not blind, is at least alittle nearsighted. How can we expectto be objective in our assessment ofa child? Or of a deity?13

We do not separate ourselves fromour inventions. To consider technol-ogy as a god is really to consider our-selves as the creator. Berry expressesgrave concern regarding changes inour attitudes about ourselves and ouruniverse that have surfaced since1950.14 When we have the power to make copies of human beingsthrough cloning, the ability to modifyanimals and humans through geneticmanipulation, and the knowledge to create life in a laboratory, we havearrived. He noted that this self-perception has led us to think of ourselves as being in control of theuniverse.But we really do not have the know-ledge nor the skill to manage ourplanet or create human life. The devastation to our environmentdemonstrates that fact. The begin-ning of wisdom, says Berry, is toaccept ourselves as component mem-bers of the larger Earth communityand of the universe itself, then toaccept our instructions from thenatural world about us and to fulfilour role within this context.

A. Emerson Wiens, Ph.D.,

Professor

Illinois State University,

Department of Industrial

Technology

NORMAL, IL 61790-5100,

USA

9. Adler, J. (1998, September 14). Online and bummed out. Newsweek, 84; Harmon, A. (1998, August 30). Sad, lonely world discovered in cyberspace. TheNew York Times.

10. Mazur, A. C. (1990). Controlling technology. In A. H. Teich (Ed.) Technology and the Future, New York: St. Martin’s Press.11. Martin, N. (1995, September). Farewell perfect breasts. Health, 9(5).12. Stivers, R. (1994). The culture of cynicism. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers.13. Wiens, A. E., & Wiens, K. S. (1996), op. cit.14. Berry, T. (1999). Technological triumphalism. LAPIS, issue eight.

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UNESCO Activities Worldwide

THIS meeting was organised by UNESCO

Office in Almaty, jointly with the Sec-

tion for Science and Technology Education,

UNESCO HQs, in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from

27 to 28 March, 2001. The rationale for the

meeting was the pressing need felt by

nations in the Aral Sea region to address the

alarming environmental situation through a

science, technology and environmental edu-

cation adapted to the local needs.

The meeting targeted senior officials and

specialists from the Ministries of Education

and coordinators and specialists from NGOs

with extensive experience in science, technol-

ogy and especially environmental education.

It was attended by 53 specialists represent-

ing: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,

Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as

representatives from the UNESCO Chair

on Continuing Environmental Education in

Kokchetau, Kazakhstan and NGOs such

as FSC (Field Studies Council, UK), ISAR-

Central Asia (Initiative for Social Action

and Renewal in Eurasia), Eco Obrazovanie,

Youth Ecological Movement, Mangistau

Environmental Initiative, Youth Eco-Centre,

Environmental Club and Green Salvation.

Each participant presented the situation on

science and environmental education in

his/her country.

The objectives of the workshop were:

1. To share national teaching-learning

experiences and problems in the area of

science and technology education.

2. To identify regional and national the-

matic areas for action plans in science

and technology education; and

3. To define strategies for the improvement

of science-technology education and its

contribution to an environmentally

sound sustainable development in the

region.

Following presentations by representa-

tives of different participating govern-

mental, non-governmental and interna-

tional organizations, the following issues

and thematic aspects were discussed:

1. Current approaches in science and

environmental education.

2. Environmental aspects in the devel-

opment of curricula on science and

technology education.

3. Development of methodological, teach-

ing-learning materials; and

4. Role of mass media in promoting

science, technology and environmental

education.

The second day of the workshop was

devoted to group working and discussions

on issues and problems of environmental

education; national and regional strategies;

and identification of issues for an outline

of a regional project proposal.

During the group work different and

sometimes opposite views were discussed.

In this regard, NGO participants were

very active and enthusiastic, with new ideas

and new approaches. Such interaction

between NGOs and governmental repre-

sentatives gave the possibility to all parti-

cipants to enrich their perspectives on the

subject, and to be acquainted with new

information and non-traditional ways of

thinking.

At the closing session of the workshop, a

summary of the thematic aspects, as well

as national and regional follow-up activities

was discussed. Furthermore, participants

assessed the impact of the meeting regard-

ing renewed awareness and the progress

and achievements in science and environ-

mental education in Central Asia.

It also became evident that the meeting

provided a unique opportunity to discuss

jointly by governments and NGOs regional

and national environmental education

problems. New directions for joint collabo-

ration were identified at the various levels

of the education system.

The main outcomes of the meeting were:

• An overview on how to incorporate

environmental education into the science-

technology curriculum; and

• The preparation of an outline of a

regional project proposal on science,

technology and environmental educa-

tion for Central Asian countries.

An evaluation of the workshop, based on

substance as well as form, which was car-

ried out on the final day showed a high

level of satisfaction on the part of the

participants.

For further information contact:

Jorge Sequeira

Director, UNESCO/Almaty

67, Tole Bi Street

480091 Almaty

Kazakhstan

Fax: 73-272695863

E-mail: [email protected]

THIS regional workshop for the prepa-

ration of model educational materials

for the Arab region was organised by

UNESCO/Beirut and UNESCO/ED/STE in col-

laboration with the Arab Development Insti-

tute (ADI) and the International Council of

Associations for Science Education (ICASE),

and took place at UNESCO/Beirut premises.

The workshop addressed science & technol-

ogy (S&T) teachers, curriculum specialists,

teacher trainees and school supervisors.

Fifty-three participants from Egypt, Iraq,

UNESCOUNESCO Activities WActivities WorldwideorldwideConsultation Meeting on Consultation Meeting on

Science, TScience, Technology & Envirechnology & Environmental Educationonmental EducationAlmaty, Kazakhstan, 27-28 March 2001

Regional WRegional Workshop on orkshop on ScientifiScientific & Tc & Technological Literacy (STL) for Allechnological Literacy (STL) for All

Beirut, Lebanon, 19-23 March 2001

mailto:[email protected]

Vol. XXVI, No. 3-4, 20016


Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria and

Yemen together with representatives from

UNESCO, ICASE and ADI attended the

workshop.

Its main objectives were:

• Awareness raising in the education

community concerning STL.

• Training participants in the development

of local-specific educational materials

for STL.

• Capacity building of teachers to deal

with the new educational materials as

well as to lead national and sub-regional

workshops and STL activities.

• Introduction of evaluation and follow-

up within developed materials.

The technical programme of the workshop

consisted of sessions devoted to training/

discussion on the following topics:

• Concepts of STL for All.

• Exchange of national experiences

related to STL in the Arab States.

• Innovatory experiences in the develop-

ment of STL materials.

• Preparation and development of exem-

plary STL materials.

• Issues related to the application of

technology and use of networks in

developing exemplary materials.

• Evaluation and follow-up of STL activi-

ties.

Further, in order to facilitate interaction

between participants in working out

ideas for STL materials for the Arab States,

participants were divided into 9 working

groups.

The main outcomes of the workshop

were:

• 9 exemplary modules in science, tech-

nology and mathematics developed by

the working groups in collaboration

with the resource persons and directed

specifically for teaching/learning in the

Arab States .

• Proposed establishment of networks

and steering committees on STL in

school districts in various Arab States.

• Proposed organisation of similar

regional/sub-regional workshops in

Egypt or Kuwait in the future as follow-

up to this workshop.


Mr S. Suleiman, UNESCO/Beirut

PO Box 5244, Cité sportive Av

Beirut, Lebanon.

Fax: 96-11824854


THE Basic and Normal Education Divi-

sion of the Secretariat of Public Educa-

tion (SEP) of Mexico and UNESCO/Santiago

(OREALC) organized this regional seminar.

The seminar was attended by 59 participants

from the following disciplines: Physics,

Chemistry, Biology, Natural Sciences, Mathe-

matics and Education, representing Canada,

Chile, Guatemala, Honduras, Spain and the

host country, Mexico.

The seminar aimed to identify subjects, cri-

teria and directions needed for a reform of

science education at the secondary level

based upon the following considerations:

• Secondary school should be part of

basic education and for this reason a

better articulation with the preceding

level should be sought.

• Secondary school should represent an

area for cognitive, affective and values

development of youth.

• The necessity to re-consider the merely

discipline-oriented vision of science edu-

cation at this level.

• Teachers should consider their essential

task to be that of contributing to the

integral development of youths and

adolescents through science education

and not merely as specialists in a specific

domain.

These considerations were formulated

under the following headings:

1. Basic education curriculum: contents

and educational practices.

2. Teacher training and teaching practices.

3. Updating of teachers.

4. Teaching in technological environments.

5. Educational materials and means.

6. Participation of Higher Education Insti-

tutions and other scientific and acade-

mic organizations.

The national and international participants

drafted a short document on each one of

the different topics of the seminar. This

document considered elements of assess-

ment, the most important problems and

possible means for solving them. Based on

these, the Organizing committee devel-

oped working documents that gave a gen-

eral view of the issues at the national and

regional levels.

The work of the seminar consisted of six

thematic sessions. Following the presenta-

tion in the plenary of the theme and the

relevant aspects that should guide the dis-

cussion, six working groups were formed to

discuss the documents on each theme.

Care was taken to mix Mexican specialists

with those of other nations.

At the end of the seminar, the organizing

committee together with some Mexican

specialists devoted a day to draft the final

document of the seminar.

It is hoped that the final document will

reflect the current situation, relevant prob-

lems, successful experiences and directions

for the improvement of science education

at the secondary level in Latin America. This

document is based upon the contributions

received and presentations made at the

Seminar as well as the reports of each of

the working groups. The first draft is

expected to be ready by the end of this year

and will be published by OREALC and SEP.


Ms Beatriz Macedo

Regional Specialist in Science Education

UNESCO/Santiago

Enrique Delpiano 2058

Casilla3187, Santiago de Chile

Fax: (56-2) 655-1046


Latin American SeminarLatin American Seminar“Science Education in Secondar“Science Education in Secondary Schools as pary Schools as partt

of Basis Education: Assessment and Perspectives”of Basis Education: Assessment and Perspectives”Puebla, Mexico, 27-30 June 2001



Connect 7


THIS regional workshop was organised

by the Research and Development

in Mathematics, Science & Technology

Education (RADMASTE) Centre of the Wit-

watersrand University, Johannesburg, in

collaboration with UNESCO/ED/STV/STE and

the International Council of Associations for

Science Education (ICASE).

The workshop was directed towards junior

and senior level school science teachers

and teacher educators and 23 participants

from Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar,

Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa,

Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The objectives of the workshop were:

• To bring together 30 teachers/educators

(10 regional and 20 local) to exchange

experiences.

• To introduce participants to the philoso-

phy of Science and Technology Educa-

tion (STE) for All.

• To prepare 12 teaching/learning STE

modules focusing on the most common

societal and environmental issues

having a bearing on people’s quality of

life.

The work of the meeting consisted in

providing an understanding of the philoso-

phy of STE for All and then, armed with this

understanding, to invite participants to pre-

pare the teaching/learning modules. Prior

to the workshop all participants had been

informed of the need to consider relevant

issues in their society through which sci-

ence knowledge, skills and values could be

introduced. This already provided a good

background for the exchange of ideas and

information. Then, according to their area

of interest, participants formed small

groups to work on the production of the

teaching/learning modules.

At the close of the workshop the first drafts

of the following 10 modules were pro-

duced by the participants:

1. How can we use mathematics to help us

protect ourselves against crime?

2. Kachasu – More potent or impotent

brew!

3. A rocky ride: medical containers to the

rescue.

4. Water! Water! What is happening to

you?

5. Boiling water for safety – is it really the

most appropriate method?

6. Can lake water be made safe?

7. Waist deep in waste.

8. Can concrete build our community?

9. Can we afford alternative sources to

wood?

10. Heating systems in South Africa – are

they hazardous?

The workshop was judged positively by

almost all the participants who expressed

the need for follow-up work through

electronic contacts, organisation of other

such workshops as well as local workshops

and the production of a resource book

including the all material produced in this

workshop.

The final report of the workshop

is available on writing to:

UNESCO,

Science and Technology Education Section,

7, Place de Fontenoy,

75352 Paris 07, France.

Fax: (33-1)45.68.56.26.

Regional WRegional Workshop onorkshop onTTeachers Materials Creachers Materials Creation/Implementation for STE in Africaeation/Implementation for STE in Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa, 2-6 April 2001

THE African Congress on Girls’ Science

Education was organized by UNESCO

in the framework of two Special Projects:

”Scientific, Technical and Vocational Educa-

tion of Girls in Africa” (Education Sector)

and ”Women, Science and Technology” (Sci-

ence Sector). Assistance was provided

by AESCO (Aide à l’équipement scolaire et

culturel) and by FEMSA (Female Education in

Mathematics and Science in Africa), with

financial support from the Norwegian Royal

Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

In its Framework for Action, the World

Conference on Science (Budapest, 1999)

stressed that special efforts should be made

"to ensure the full participation of women

and girls in all aspects of science and tech-

nology" and to this effect "promote within

the education system the access of girls

and women to scientific education at all

levels". The preceding Regional African

Forum on “Women, Science and Technol-

ogy” (Ouagadougou, 1999), also recom-

mended in its Action Plan that in the

“elaboration of programmes and material,

issues that motivate girls, including the tra-

ditional scientific knowledge of women

and girls’ preoccupations” be taken into

consideration. The World Education Forum

(Dakar, 2000) specifically declared as one of

the six EFA (Education for All) goals: “Elim-

inating gender disparities in primary and

secondary education by 2005 and achiev-

ing gender equality in education by 2015,

with a focus on ensuring girls full and equal

access to and achievement in basic educa-

tion of good quality “ and also underlined

science, technology and mathematics as

emerging issues in girls’ education in the

Thematic Study prepared on this topic.

In Africa, as in many other parts of the

world, women and girls continue to be

under-represented in fields of science edu-

cation and related employment. The gen-

der gap in science education is far greater

than that in other fields of education, with

girls lagging very far behind the boys in

access, participation and, to a certain

extent, performance. The Congress there-

fore aimed at increasing the scientific

capacities of African countries and provid-

ing women the opportunity to participate

in science and technology, as part of

UNESCO’s efforts in striving towards inter-

national development targets such as

progress towards gender equality and the

empowerment of women through the

African CongrAfrican Congress On Girls’ Science Educationess On Girls’ Science EducationIbis Gardens, Zambia, 18-22 June 2001

Vol. XXVI, No. 3-4, 20018

STEE Activities Worldwide

elimination of gender disparity in primary

and secondary education by 2005. The

objectives of the meeting were:

• To examine progress made in the field of

girls’ science education during the

period 1996-2001.

• To propose and validate concrete strate-

gies for action.

• To promote emphasis on science edu-

cation and related gender-issues in

national EFA action plans and other

policy reform documents.

Around 60 participants and resource per-

sons from 20 African countries* attended

the meeting. Participants included: Ministry

of Education staff responsible for Science

and Technology Education; representatives

from science education associations and

projects (such as AESCO, FEMSA, AFCLIST

(African Children’s Literacy in Science and

Technology); Teachers’ and African women

scientists’ and engineers’ associations.

The major outcome of this meeting was

the Declaration of the African Congress

on Girls’ Science Education in which the

participants stated notably their:

• Commitment to achieving the goals of

Education for All and striving to elimi-

nate, by 2005, gender disparities in pri-

mary and secondary education in

general and in science, technology and

mathematics education (STME) in partic-

ular; and promoting the role played by

women in scientific and technological

development.

• Support for the need to “promote within

the education system the access of girls

and women to scientific education at all

levels” as stated in Science Agenda –

Framework for Action of the World Con-

ference on Science (Budapest 1999) and

access of girls to mathematics and sci-

ence education as recommended by the

African Framework for Action of the

World Education Forum (Dakar, 2000).

• Endorsement of the declaration of the

African Forum on Women and Science

and Technology (Ouagadougou, 1999)

that nationally and internationally

agreed targets for poverty reduction will

be missed without progress towards

gender equity in STME.

• Concern at the current still very low

participation of girls in STME and a call

for urgent action.

Consequently they called upon govern-

ments to:

• Integrate considerations on gender-

issues in STME in their National EFA

Action Plans and prevention of HIV/AIDS

and related discrimination within com-

prehensive school health programmes.

• Promote gender-sensitive STME accessi-

ble for all.

• Provide STME teachers with gender sen-

sitive pre- and in-service training.

• Support activities that motivate girls for

STME and related careers.

• Put in place sensitisation and aware-

ness-raising programmes.

• Encourage and support networking

between women STME teachers, scien-

tists, researchers, engineers and others

working for the promotion of girls’ STME.

And more specifically UNESCO was called

upon to:

• Maintain the priority focus on girls and

science education, and women in sci-

ence and technology in its strategy and

programmes.

• Make available to its Member States

educational materials which can help

motivate girls for STME studies and

careers.

• Encourage and support national, sub-

regional and regional networks of

women STME teachers, scientists, etc.

• Foster the organization of awareness-

raising campaigns at the international

and national levels, aimed at promoting

women’s participation in scientific and

technological development and at elim-

inating gender stereotyping.


Anna-Maria Hoffmann-Barthès


UNESCO, ED/PEQ

(Postal address on last page)

* Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Swaziland, South Africa,Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

IN 1998 a team from the Centre for

Science Education began a programme

of workshops in Malaysia and Thailand,

which aimed to raise the achievement and

motivation of students in science by

emphasising student-centred approaches

and a focus on the development of key

skills. The driving force, in other words, is

to equip students with the knowledge,

understanding, investigative, problem solv-

ing and communication skills needed to be

successful in the 21st Century. Current ped-

agogical philosophy in these two South

East Asian countries is situated in a teacher-

centred paradigm. However, both the

Malaysian and Thai governments are com-

mitted to the development of student-cen-

tred teaching approaches in their schools

and are supportive of the Centre for Sci-

ence Education in partnership with SHELL

International and the British Council which

are leading the support for this move. If the

two countries are to become globally com-

petitive commercially and industrially, they

need to develop an education system

which is coherent and sustainable and stu-

dents must be encouraged to become

active rather than passive learners so they

can develop the key skills required for sci-

entific and technological capability.

PrPromoting Student-Centromoting Student-Centred Leared Learningningin Malaysia and Thailandin Malaysia and Thailand

STEESTEE Activities WActivities Worldwideorldwide


Connect 9


In Malaysia’s determination to move vigor-

ously ahead, the development of a sus-

tainable, coherent education system is a

cornerstone for achieving its aspirations.

Two crucial aims that need to be addressed

are:

• Strengthening the teaching profession

with qualified, experienced and skilled

teachers.

• Increasing student enrolment in the

science stream.

The Centre for Science Education has

developed a close relationship with the

Regional Centre for Education in Science

and Mathematics (RECSAM), which is one

of the leading teacher in-service training

centres in Malaysia. Through this partner-

ship, the dissemination of ATLAS (Active

Teaching & Learning Approaches in Science)

is aiming to provide science teachers

and teacher trainers with the necessary

knowledge and understanding of student-

centred approaches to fully develop the

teaching, learning and curriculum changes

that need to take place in order to realise

Malaysia’s “Vision 2020”.

As with Malaysia, Thai teachers utilise rigid

teacher-centred approaches. However, the

Thailand Education Department has pro-

posed that beginning in 2002 the education

system must embrace student-centred

teaching and learning approaches if they

are to increase the effectiveness of teaching

and learning in schools. With particular

emphasis on developing students’ interest

in science, they are attempting to raise sig-

nificantly the number of students choosing

to study science at undergraduate level.

The Rajahbat Institute, largest teacher

training body in Thailand with 36 institutes

nationwide, has recognised the value of

student-centred approaches, particularly in

the teaching of science. Its staff is working

in partnership with the Centre for Science

Education to disseminate ATLAS through-

out and beyond its network. The model of

professional and curriculum development

adopted by the team is shown in Figure 1.

The models of professional and curriculum

development used to match the needs of

the two countries have included the key

elements outlined in the model below, and

have led to further development of the

model.

Malaysia

The programme in Malaysia started in

October 1999 with two workshops carried

out in Penang and Sarawak. The partici-

pating teachers were introduced to the

ATLAS programme through exemplar

activities and materials on the topic of

‘Energy’. These active workshops enabled

the teachers to gain first hand experience

of the approaches and curriculum materi-

als, and to reflect on them professionally.

Alongside the Sarawak workshop, another

workshop was held for lower secondary

students on solar and wind energy. Not

only did this provide an inspirational learn-

ing experience for the students, it also

enabled the teachers to observe students

engaged in some of the energy activities

and see how successful they can be in

motivating and stimulating students. At

the end of the workshops the teachers

were given ‘Energy Kits’ provided by Shell

International. These contained all the

equipment needed to carry out the exem-

plar activities with a class of students, thus

enabling the teachers to effectively trial

and evaluate the draft ideas.

The following comments, gathered during

interviews with participating teachers, cap-

ture the essence of their experiences during

the workshops:

• Activities in the kit managed to attract

the students to participate in the

teaching and learning process actively.

• Students working through the kit man-

aged to relate potential energy with

kinetic energy using guided discovery as

well as learning how to measure energy

in daily activities.

• The activities actively encouraged stu-

dents to think creatively and critically

in their learning.

• A more conducive environment for

teaching and learning was created

which promoted inquisitiveness among

students.

The second series of workshops took

place in April 2000 at Sarawak and Penang.

The Penang workshop was implemented

at SEAMEO (South East Asian Ministers

of Education Organisation) RECSAM and

introduced ATLAS to a new cohort of

teachers, state education department

Workshop 1: Introduction to ATLAS

Trailing and evaluation of approaches and exemplar materials through action research.

Workshop 2: Further development of ATLAS including Experimental and Investigative Science

Further trailing and evaluation of approaches and exemplar materials through action research.

Workshop 3: Writing workshops on developing curriculum materials to match the country’s curriculum and context

Trailing and evaluation of the materials produced on the workshop through action research.

Workshop 4: “Train the Trainers” workshop – preparation for countrywide dissemination

(The above model has been constructed from the pilot and development work carried out in Malaysia and Thailand during the

past three years.)

Figure 1:

Model of professional and curriculum development

Vol. XXVI, No. 3-4, 200110


advisers and advisory teachers, Ministry of

Education staff, RECSAM, and National

Curriculum Development Centre staff

from Kuala Lumpur. These participants and

the first cohort of teachers also spent

two days rewriting and further developing

the Energy curriculum materials – as well

as translation into Bahasa Malaysia – for

publication and use in the country. The

Sarawak workshop provided the oppor-

tunity for participants to contribute to the

process of developing the curriculum mate-

rials. It also extended the teachers’ experi-

ence and expertise in ATLAS and provided

them with the opportunity to try out

games, simulations, investigations and role-

plays with groups of primary and secondary

school pupils.

Following this series of workshops, the

Energy materials were developed further by

RECSAM and Sheffield Hallam University

staff for publication in the form of a pack

containing work cards and teachers’ notes.

Entitled ‘Tenaga’ (Bahasa Malaysian for

‘Energy’), it was officially launched in Sep-

tember 2000 by the Director of the State

Education Department for Sarawak at the

start of the third workshop at RECSAM.

The ATLAS pilot has been so successful (as

indicated by evaluation data) and highly

rated by officials within Malaysia, that the

Director of RECSAM submitted a proposal

to the Central Curriculum Committee

(CCC) of the Ministry of Education to

disseminate ATLAS across the 14 States of

Malaysia through a ‘Train the Trainers’

programme over the next two years. The

proposal was overwhelmingly supported

and dissemination commenced in

April 2001.

Thailand

In Thailand a programme of five workshops

for a cohort of 30 teachers, teacher trainers

and IPST (the Institute for the Promotion

of Teaching Science and Technology)

curriculum developers, commenced at

Srinakharinwirot University (SWU), Bangkok,

in October 1998. This work has been jointly

funded and supported by a consortium

made up of the British Council, IPST Thailand,

Shell International, Srinakharinwirot Uni-

versity and Sheffield Hallam University. The

programme ‘Raising the Quality of Science

Education’ introduced participants to ATLAS

and a range of teaching/learning materials,

which they were able to trial with groups of

students, both during and after workshops

1 and 2. The third workshop, a writing

workshop, enabled participants to write

curriculum materials appropriate for the

Thai curriculum. The Energy topic materials

were used as an exemplar model. The

materials developed were trialled, evalu-

ated and developed further by the par-

ticipants, enabling their use by other Thai

teachers. The fourth workshop prepared

the cohort as trainers in ATLAS in an attempt

to utilise a cascade model, enabling them

to train and develop other teachers in

Bangkok. Workshop 5 addressed a specific

request of the participants to focus on

experimental and investigative science.

Participants indicate they have all used

ATLAS in their schools, and have experi-

enced the challenging process of change

in their classrooms and departments

when moving from instructional modes of

teaching to more active student centred

approaches. They have all developed their

own highly innovative curriculum materials

in addition to using the exemplar materials

such as the Energy Kit provided by Shell

International. Participants have also com-

mented on the increase in student motiva-

tion and achievement resulting from using

ATLAS. They have been able to share their

ideas, experience and expertise with other

teachers in their own and other schools.

Interviews with participants show that

they believe ATLAS can help to develop in

students:

• scientific process skills

• interest and enthusiasm

• conceptual understanding

• team-working skills

• creative skills

• thought processes

• research skills

• classroom relationships with teachers

while also developing in teachers:

• a repertoire of classroom strategies and

approaches

• practice

• understanding of individual students.This pilot programme has also been highly

praised within the country and has led to

a countrywide dissemination of ATLAS

through the Organisation of the Rajahbat

Institute Council of the Ministry of Educa-

tion. In October 2000, ninety lecturers and

teachers from those Rajahbat Institutes and

their demonstration schools attended the

first in a series of four workshops over two

years to develop them as trainers in ATLAS

across Thailand.

We believe the strength and success of

this work has been due to the partnership

between the British Council, Shell Interna-

tional and Sheffield Hallam University and

the excellent working relationships and

respect developed with the key curriculum

development and teacher in-service train-

ing groups and institutions, and Ministry

of Education representatives in the two

countries.


Stuart Bevins, Research Co-ordinator

Centre for Science Education,

Sheffield Hallam University

City Campus, Norfolk Building Flr 2,

Howard Street

Sheffield, S1 1WB, U.K.

Fax: 0114 225 4872

WITHIN the International Congress

‘Pedagogía 2001’ which took place

in Havana, Cuba, from 5-9 February 2001,

a symposium on Science Education in the

New Millennium was organised for partici-

pants from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba,

Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala,

Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Uruguay

and Venezuela.

Symposium on Symposium on “Science Education in the new millennium”“Science Education in the new millennium”

Havana, Cuba, 5-9 February 2001

Connect 11


The symposium comprised 26 workshops,

4 lectures and 5 round table meetings and

was attended by educators from various

disciplines such as mathematics, physics,

chemistry, biology, geology, geography,

natural sciences and informatics. At the

end of the symposium, the participants

formulated a 15-point Declaration* con-

taining notably the following elements:

• In the 20th century, society and the

planet in general, has been more

marked by science and technology (ST)

than ever before. Though ST has con-

tributed in many ways to the general

improvement of the quality of life, ego-

istical and hegemonic policies of certain

governments have also led to negative

effects.

• In the coming years, its impact on the

global situation as well as on the life of

the citizens will be greater. At the same

time it is impossible to ignore the

implied risks for the biosphere and

human society resulting from advances

in ST.

• These considerations impose the need

for a new “science/society contract”

which demands that all citizens possess

a level of scientific literacy that allows

them to understand and act responsibly

in daily life and participate actively in

the search for solutions to problems.

In the past decade there have been

numerous calls from diverse institu-

tions, conferences and political leaders

in this direction, notably at the UNCED,

Rio de Janeiro, 1992 and the World

Conference on Science, Budapest, 1999.

However, it is indispensable to previ-

ously ensure the right to education for

all citizens and societies as stated in the

Regional Action Plan for the Americas

in Dakar, 2000.

• In Latin America, science education at

school level and the first years of the

university including teacher training, is

experiencing serious difficulties in many

countries. Many students on comple-

tion of studies fail to master basic con-

cepts, acquire the necessary intellectual

capacities or manifest a critical attitude

in analyses. Many do not even feel

motivated for science studies.

• Given this situation, it is vital to make

profound transformations in science

teaching: in the objectives, contents,

methods, forms of organisation, evalu-

ation techniques and technological

resources used. If science constitutes a

socio-cultural activity intrinsically linked

to technology with deep repercussions

for the development of humanity, it has

to be taught and learnt as such and not

focalised primarily in teaching, in con-

structing specific knowledge and skills,

in treating concepts and laboratory

manipulations.

• The essential elements of these trans-

formations are:

1. An increasingly human-based focus

in science teaching that underlines

its contribution to general culture

and pays special attention to ethical

issues related to scientific-technolog-

ical development.

2. Establishment of a nucleus of prob-

lems, concepts, conceptual laws and

principles common to diverse

branches of science & technology

which will serve as the basis for inter-

disciplinary work in schools and for

the integration of multiple knowl-

edge forms and dimensions of

human culture.

3. Familiarising students with methods

and ways of thinking and behaving

that characterise modern science

research.

4. Developing in them a critical and

reflective attitude instilled with

responsibility and solidarity together

with a sense of transformation in the

face of human and environmental

problems.

5. Fostering ways of interchange among

school teachers to contribute to the

improvement of their work and raise

the quality of education.

• Many science curricula and specially

classroom teaching practices still reflect

decades- old attitudes. It is necessary to

pay great attention to pre- and in-ser-

vice training of science teachers where

stress is laid right from the beginning

on the link with the existing situation in

schools.

• Special emphasis should be laid upon

the analysis of relevant problems from

the social as well as the personal view-

point. The role played by practical activ-

ities in science teaching should be

reviewed integrating them coherently

in the process of problem- solving and

to the fostering of reflective thinking in

students.

• Computers should be assigned their

proper place in the recent history of

science and technology as a powerful,

problem-solving resource.

• The use of calculators should be

adapted to the development potential

and age of pupils of both sexes so as to

promote development of thinking and

so that they contribute to a better qual-

ity education and development of

counting skills without inhibiting those

that pupils should have at a corre-

sponding age.

• Greater use of important means of

communication, such as the radio and

television, should be made to con-

tribute to develop STL in all citizens and

especially in educators making use of

socio-cultural specificities.

• Production of knowledge in science

education, development of action-

based programmes and creation of

work groups and links at the school,

national, regional and international lev-

els should be stimulated. These pro-

grammes should receive strong support

from governments and education min-

istries as well as international organisa-

tions and target three key elements of

all educational change: pre- and in-ser-

vice teacher training, science research

and school practice.

• A regional centre for teacher training in

science education and the use and vali-

dation of new educational technologies

should be set up together with an

Ibero-American association for develop-

ing educational software and the work

of the Chair on Science Education in

the IPLA (Instituto Pedagógico Lati-

noamericano y Caribeño) should be

broadened.


Ms Beatriz Macedo

Regional Specialist in Science Education

UNESCO/Santiago

Enrique Delpiano 2058

Casilla3187, Santiago de Chile

Fax: (56-2) 655-1046


* The full Declaration, in Spanish, is available on the Connect website (address last page).


Vol. XXVI, No. 3-4, 200112


THIS regional conference was organised

by the Strengthening of Mathematics

and Science in Secondary Education

(SMASSE) Project, Kenya, with assistance

from the Japan International Cooperation

Agency (JICA) and the Kenya Science Teach-

ers College (KSTC).

It was aimed at stakeholders in the

secondary education sub-sector such as

directors of education, school inspectors,

head teachers, heads of departments and

practising science and maths teachers.

The rational of the conference was that

cooperation and exchange of technical

information on science and maths educa-

tion (SME) at the secondary level are an

important means of enhancing teaching and

learning in this sector. Thus, delegates from

Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique,

Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania,

Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe attended

the conference whose theme was Enhanc-

ing Classroom Activities for Quality Teach-

ing and Learning.

The objectives of the conference were:

• To exchange experiences related to

teachers’ content mastery, pedagogical

skills and attitudes needed for quality

teaching and learning in science and

maths.

• To identify appropriate methods and

strategies to be employed in the

enhancement of quality classroom

activities.

• To explore the feasibility of forming

national and regional associations and,

if possible, a framework for regional

cooperation and collaboration.

The work of the conference consisted of

the presentations of country reports on the

current status of SME at secondary level

and group discussions on:

• teacher competency

• pre- and in-service teacher training

• classroom activities; technical exchange

within the region

• school management and resource mobi-

lization

• gender issues in SME within the region.

The results of the group discussions were

presented in plenary sessions for examina-

tion and approval. Thus, the conference

adopted the following resolutions aimed at

the countries represented:

• Establishment of a regional maths and

science association among the countries

represented at the conference

• Establishment of a regional modality to

monitor and evaluate the impact of in-

service training (INSET) programmes as a

way of strengthening networking and

collaboration.

• Formation of an interim secretariat to

draw up a draft constitution to be

adopted by member countries.

• Handling of the administrative activities

in the interim period by the SMASSE

INSET Unit, Kenya.

An evaluation questionnaire was circulated

during the conference aimed at rating the

appropriateness of the theme, usefulness

of the country reports, extent of achieve-

ment of the conference objectives, suit-

ability of the programme, session manage-

ment, etc. From the replies, it was found

out that participants were most satisfied

with the appropriateness of the theme

(96%), exchange of information (92%),

appropriateness of activities (89%) and

achievement of objectives (86%).


Simon W. Kinyua

Biology Education Section,

SMASSE Project

PO Box 30596

Nairobi, Kenya.

Fax: 254-2-573811


Regional ConferRegional Conference on ence on Mathematics and Science Education at SecondarMathematics and Science Education at Secondary School Levely School Level

in Easterin Eastern, Central and Southern, Central and Southern African AfricaNairobi, Kenya, 19-22 February 2001

ROSE: The Relevance of Science Educa-

tion is an international comparative

project meant to shed light on factors of

importance to the learning of science and

technology (S&T). The project is a further

development of the SAS – Science And

Scientists project (v. Connect, Vol. XXII,

No. 1, 1997) and also intends to sustain and

develop the respect for and interest in S&T

and related issues.

ROSE involves a wide range of countries

from all continents. Key international

research institutions and individuals will

work jointly on the development of theo-

retical perspectives, research instruments,

data collection and analysis. The target

population is 15-16 yr old pupils – in many

countries the age where compulsory

education ends and important choices are

made.

The project is supported by the Research

Council of Norway and the University of

Oslo. It is also expected that industrialized

countries will cover their own expenses

while funding will be negotiated for devel-

oping and least developed countries.

The rationale of the project is that a broad

public understanding of S&T is crucial for

national economic development and to the

life, independence and autonomy of each

ROSE:ROSE:The Relevance of Science EducationThe Relevance of Science Education


Connect 13


individual. Falling recruitment and interest

in S&T studies and careers are being

observed in many countries notably the

developed ones. The lack of relevance of

the S&T curriculum is probably one of the

biggest barriers for good learning and

interest in the subject. ROSE has the ambi-

tion to provide theoretical insight into

factors that relate to the relevance of the

contents as well as the contexts of S&T

curricula.

Its objectives are to:

• Develop theoretical perspectives sensi-

tive to the diversity of backgrounds

(cultural, social, gender, etc) of pupils

for discussion of priorities relating to

S&T education.

• Develop an instrument to collect data on

pupils (15-16 yrs) experiences, interests,

priorities, images and perceptions that

are of relevance for their learning of S&T

and their attitudes towards the subjects.

• Collect, analyse and discuss data from a

wide range of countries and cultural

contexts, using the instruments referred

to above.

• Develop policy recommendations for

the improvement of curricula, textbooks

and classroom activities based on the

findings above.

• Raise issues relating to the relevance and

importance of science in public debate

and in scientific and educational fora.

The first phase of the project will be the

further development of theoretical perspec-

tives, refinement of working hypotheses

and research questions, development of

instruments and planning of logistics of

sampling, administration, data collection

and coding, etc. An international working

seminar will be held in October 2001 at

which 10-12 resource persons from differ-

ent cultures and continents will be invited

to discuss, develop, review and refine the

various points mentioned above.

The succeeding phase of data collection

will start in 2002 and on the finalization

of the instruments and the logistics,

researchers from all countries will be invited

to participate in this joint study. The data

that is produced will in due time be made

available to all participating researchers.

The final outcome of the project will be

perspectives and empirical findings that can

provide a base for informed discussions on

how to improve curricula and enhance the

interest in S&T in a way that:

• Respects cultural diversity and gender

equity.

• Promotes personal and social relevance.

• Empowers the learner for democratic

participation and citizenship.


Prof. Svein Sjøberg

University of Oslo

Faculty of Education

PO Box 1099 Blindern

0316 Oslo, Norway


EDEMAZ is an international cooperation

project of Partenariats Universitaires

en Coopération et Développement. The

project is funded by the Canadian Interna-

tional Development Agency (CIDA) and

coordinated by the Université du Québec à

Montréal (Canada), Universidad Autónoma

“Gabriel René Moreno” (Bolivia), Universi-

dade Federal de Mato Grosso (Brazil) and

Universidad de la Amazonia (Colombia).

The purpose of the EDAMAZ project is to

help Amazonian populations develop com-

petencies and values that promote critical

involvement in the resolution of environ-

mental problems and in the development of

harmonious and responsible communities. It

also aims to promote the role of women in

this area.

The general objective is to contribute to the

professional development of educators from

the Amazonian region in the field of envi-

ronmental education (EE).

Its activities include notably designing and

implementation of:

• A programme of continuing professional

development of university teams so as to

empower them for the development of

EE programmes.

• A University programme for the special-

ization of EE pedagogical leaders, in

on-site school-community projects.

• Distance professional development pro-

gramme in EE for elementary school

teachers focusing on a process of par-

ticipatory action-research for solving

problems in the school-community

sites.

EDAMAZ uses the following strategies to

achieve its goals:

• A collaborative research process among

university teams for the design of EE pro-

grammes and the production of peda-

gogical materials (v. Publications, p.22).

• The development of documentation

centres with a distance loan system

for the school-community sites.

• Scholarships for Masters in Education

– specialization in Community Education

at the University of Quebec in Montreal.

• Organization of seminars and workshops

to encourage networking and partner-

ship among the various educators

involved in the EDAMAZ programmes as

well as with other EE agents on the

regional, national and international levels.


EDAMAZ,

Coordination internationale

Lucie Sauvé, Coordinatrice

Université du Québec à Montréal

Département des sciences de l’éducation

CP 8888, succursale Centre Ville

Montréal (Québec),Canada H3C 3P8

Fax: (514) 987-4608


EDAMAZEDAMAZEnvirEnvironmental Education in the Amazonian Regiononmental Education in the Amazonian Region



Vol. XXVI, No. 3-4, 200114


THERE has been a substantial increase

in publications dealing with research

in mathematical education in general and in

particular on experiments in various coun-

tries, new pedagogical concepts and

insights, topics, and teaching concepts. One

of the features of the growth is the increas-

ing number of conference proceedings, col-

lections of papers, reports, etc. being

published. The penetration of calculators

and computers in education led to the cre-

ation of whole new areas of research.

Another aspect is the expansion of journals

in this field in both number and page count.

About 400 journals on mathematics educa-

tion and /or computer science education

serve worldwide as channels for scientific

communication (http://www.fiz-karlsruhe.

de/fiz/publications/zdm/zdmzs.html).

This ever increasing flood of information

is a problem encountered in most fields

of science: e.g. some 120,000 books and

papers on physics and engineering are pub-

lished every year and some 60,000 on math-

ematics and its applications. It is well known

that the production of what we may call sci-

entific literature will continue to increase

exponentially unless there are drastic

changes in the practice of scientific research.

Educational professionals like other scientists

are thus faced with the problem of how to

extract from a vast pool of potential infor-

mation those items which they need for

their own work.

It is possible to look for published research in

mathematics education by browsing recent

issues of internationally well-known journals

such as Journal of Research in Mathematics

Education, Educational Studies or Zentral-

blatt für Didaktik der Mathematik, or by

scanning national core journals. Browsing is

haphazard at best and a time consuming

method for searching a particular subject.

Searching so-called bibliographic databases

– automated indices of published literature –

is the most efficient and effective way to

identify literature of relevance to a particular

question or aspect.

An important bibliographic database for

research in mathematics education is ERIC.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of edu-

cation, the Education Resources Information

Center data-base contains more than a mil-

lion references to education related docu-

ments and journal articles. It covers

educational research at all levels in all sub-

jects published as journal article or report or

dissertation. The bias is on US-American

publications.

Other databases of interest are PsycINFO

and Zentralblatt MATH. PsycINFO is pro-

duced by the American Psychological

Association and covers international litera-

ture in psychology and related behavioral

and social sciences, including education.

Zentralblatt MATH is multi-lingual and

international in scope. It contains refer-

ences to worldwide literature drawn from

more than 2,300 journals and serials,

conference proceedings, reports, and

books. Zentralblatt MATH input is about

65,000 items per year produced by more

than 7,000 scientists. Although the empha-

sis is on pure and applied mathematics, lit-

erature on undergraduate mathematics has

been indexed as well.

But the most important bibliographic data-

base for research in mathematics education is

MATHDI (MATHematical DIdactics) produced,

designed and offered by FIZ Karlsruhe. On

Internet MATHDI is offered through the

World Wide Web via the EMIS service of

the European Mathematical Society (EMS) at:

< http://www.emis.de>. Another possibility of

access is through the host STN International.

MATHDI provides the quickest and most con-

venient access to literature in mathematics

education and computer science education. It

contains all literature reviewed since 1976,

totaling 92.000 references to date. Some

6.000 items are added each year.

MATHDI covers:

• Research in mathematics education.

• Methodology of didactics of mathe-

matics.

• Mathematical instruction from elemen-

tary school to university teaching and

teacher training.

• Elementary mathematics and its applica-

tions.

• Computer science education.

• Basic pedagogical and psychological issues

for mathematics and science education.

It is intended for:

• Specialists in mathematics research and

education.

• Trainers and lecturers.

• Educational technologists, instructional

designers, and curriculum experts.

• Policy-makers and educational adminis-

trators.

• Teachers in general, special and voca-

tional schools.

• Librarians and information specialists.

MATHDI is also available on CD-ROM. This

alternative electronic medium offers:

reviews and bibliographic data from

MATHDI from 1976 to 2000 (about 90,000

citations in mathematical education), time-

independent searching, no additional costs

e.g. telecommunication costs. CD-ROM

MATHDI allows to search with a command

language (retrieval language used on the

STN International host) or with an indepen-

dent menu system.

MATHDI is the online computer file of bibli-

ographic information compiled by ZDM.

ZDM is the acronym for Zentralblatt für

Didaktik der Mathematik (International

Reviews on Mathematical Education). It is an

information and abstract journal in the field

of mathematics and computer education,

from elementary level to teacher training

and adult education. It appears every two

months, each issue containing an articles

section and a documentation section.

The documentation section is an abstract

service and reference tool providing ready

access to worldwide publications on topics

such as mathematics teaching, basic peda-

gogical and psychological problems, ele-

mentary mathematics and its applications as

well as computer science education and

recreational computing. The information

presented is extracted from all relevant doc-

uments. The publications are announced in

the documentation section by bibliographic

data and abstracts mostly in English.

The articles section of ZDM is an interna-

tional journal with contributions in English,

French or German. It provides survey arti-

cles and state-of-the-art reports on educa-

tional problems, discussions of current

issues and problems in mathematics and

computer science education, literature

reports as well as reports on international

conferences. In the book reviews, selected

publications are discussed in detail by

experts. The articles section of ZDM is also

published electronically on the Internet via

WWW, and the full text is available online

(as PDF files) free of charge to subscribers

of the print version.

For more information contact:

Gerhard König

Fachinformationszentrum Karlsruhe

Postfach 2465

76012 Karlsruhe

Germany


ElectrElectronic Access to Literaturonic Access to Literature in Mathematics Educatione in Mathematics Education

http://www.fiz-karlsruhe.de/fiz/publications/zdm/zdmzs.html

http://www.fiz-karlsruhe.de/fiz/publications/zdm/zdmzs.html

http://www.emis.de


Connect 15

STEE Centres, Associations, Networks…

AFCLIST is a project of the University of

Durban-Westville and is implemented

jointly with Chancellor College, University of

Malawi. Established in 1989, it was until

1997 an activity of the Rockefeller Founda-

tion and will shortly be registered as an

international NGO in Malawi and USA and

as a trust in South Africa.

Its mission is to promote science and tech-

nology amongst young people in Africa. It

firmly believes that the problem-solving

attitudes and skills of these disciplines are

vital for the economic and social transfor-

mation of Africa as well as preparing future

generations for active and responsible

participation in better governance.

AFCLIST supports projects within the class-

room, school, local community, the educa-

tion system and the nation which impact

on the primary, secondary and tertiary

levels of the formal education system; insti-

tutionally based and school based teacher

development programmes; examination

reform and on traditional and modern mass

media.

It systematically adds value to the innova-

tive projects it supports through network-

ing activities such as:

• Facilitating staff exchange between

similar projects.

• Convening special skills workshops e.g.

on print production, materials dissemi-

nation and proposal writing.

• Supporting teams to present papers at

key international meetings.

• Convening major international meetings.

AFCLIST has two major programmes: a grants

programme funded by the Rockefeller

Foundation and a nodes programme funded

by the NORAD (Norwegian Aid for Devel-

opment). The grants programme has sup-

ported over 100 projects in 17 countries

of sub-Saharan Africa and the nodes

programme has helped establish six nodes

or centres of excellence based in Ghana,

Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania

and Zimbabwe.

All AFCLIST grants are responsive, must be

innovative and address gender issues. They

are given to groups representing key edu-

cational institutions to contribute to capac-

ity building of the largest possible pool and

must promote an inquiry approach. The cri-

terion of preferring groups to individuals

ensures that key institutions have a stake in

the projects thus improving chances that

the education system will absorb project

approaches and materials.

The purpose of the grants programme is

to identify and nurture the search for cul-

turally relevant and economically viable

innovative solutions to problems of science

& technology education in the continent

whereas that of the nodes programme is to

institutionalise the process. AFCLIST’s net-

working and publications activities further

contribute to capacity building by adding

value to and extracting value from the

projects it supports.

An advisory board of eminent African and

international educators sets policy guide-

lines for AFCLIST and a grants committee

consisting of senior African science educa-

tors recommends proposals for funding.

Part-time professional staff at the University

of Durban-Westville and Chancellor Col-

lege implement the programme. Part-time

AFCLIST professional associates in the Cen-

tral, Eastern, Southern and Western regions

of Africa help promote and support the

organisation.

AFCLIST publications include:

Advocacy and informative broadsheets

such as:

• AFCLIST and capacity building.

• AFCLIST and systemic reform.

• AFCLIST and gender.

• Linking school with community science

in Malawi.

• Environmental Education in Malawi.

A series called Tips for Teachers including:

• Inquiry science teaching.

• Demonstration experiments.

• Gender issues.

Monographs presented by AFCLIST sup-

ported staff at major international meet-

ings:

• Improving girls’ participation and per-

formance in science education in Africa

• Gender, science, technology and educa-

tion: sustaining participation.

• Primary science examination reform.

• Who’s Who in science and technology.

For all further information contact:

AFCLIST

University of Durban-Westville

Private Bag X54001

Durban 4000, South Africa

Fax: +27-31-262.8044


The African ForThe African Forum for Childrum for Children’en’s Literacy s Literacy in Science & Tin Science & Technology (AFCLIST)echnology (AFCLIST)

South Africa

STEE CentrSTEE Centres, Associations, Networks…es, Associations, Networks…

SECOND Nature is an educational non-

profit organisation that works with

colleges and universities to incorporate

sustainability concepts into campus life,

including: teaching, learning, research, and

interaction with the community and cam-

pus operations. It supports networking

among stakeholder groups by designing

interactive workshops, facilitating intra-

and interinstitutional collaborations, gath-

ering and disseminating 'best practices'

resources, providing institutional consult-

Second NaturSecond NatureeUSA


Vol. XXVI, No. 3-4, 200116


ing, and promoting the vision of Education

for Sustainability.

Second Nature recognizes the need for a

focused outlet and serves as a thought

leader in the area of sustainability by

providing the opportunity for individuals

and institutions to take part in stimulat-

ing dialogue and information exchange.

It draws on institutionally tested and

accepted formats for engagement that are

designed to deepen conversation on navi-

gating the rapid changes taking place in

society and the challenges we face in the

twenty-first century.

The organization serves as an information

clearinghouse and a connector reaching

into the future to give today's students the

knowledge, skills and values they will need,

as tomorrow's leaders and consumers, to

address the complex environmental, social

and economic issues facing society.

Its Resource Center is a substantial and well-

used repository of materials submitted by

individuals from across higher education:

faculty, students, administrators and staff.

Second Nature produces customized

Resource Guides designed to help under-

stand the issues and opportunities in mak-

ing sustainability an integral component of

daily life. Meant for a range of audiences,

some of the inspirational stories and

resources show how people are acting

together, working across traditional bound-

aries and how each one can make real

change for sustainability, on one’s own

campus or in the community.

Workshops: Second Nature Workshops aim

to accelerate higher education efforts to

make sustainable and just action a foun-

dation of teaching, learning, research,

operations and community involvement.

Its workshop materials and exercises are

recognized for their long-term usefulness,

high quality and replicability. They are

designed to provide participants with sus-

tainability content relevant to all disciplines

and with process skills for applying sustain-

ability content across the campus.

For further information

visit the newly redesigned website at:

http://www.secondnature.org

ON 5 June 2001, the World Environ-

ment Day, a European Jury met for

the second time (v. Connect, Vol. XXV, No.

3-4, 2000) to select the best contributions

from the 30 articles and 15 photos sent

by young reporters from 15 countries. The

topics investigated convey the diversity of

current environmental problems: coastal

pollution, waste production and recycl-

ing, pollution from agriculture, burning of

fossil fuels, alternative energy, etc. The

decisive factors in the attribution of the

awards were: evidence of field investi-

gation, concern for environmental issues

and our own responsibility in dealing with

them.

Among all the award-winning articles,

“The Fuel Crisis in Britain” written by the

Young Reporters of the Ysghol Maes

Garmon School (U.K.) received the Super

Award 2001 (v. below). All the articles are

posted on the YRE Press Agency address

on the Internet:

www.youngreporters.org

YYoung Reporoung Reporterstersfor the Envirfor the Environment Network (YRE) Aonment Network (YRE) Awarwardsds

The fuel crisis was provoked by the extortionate prices of fuel in Britain as compared to other European countries. This incited

local farmers and long distance lorry drivers to begin protesting. Brynle Williams is one of the protestors, a local farmer from North

Wales who felt strongly about the effects of the high prices on himself and the general public. The effects of such protests, unfore-

seen at the start, were that they grew rapidly into nation wide issues.

Mr. Williams has written an article in the local newspaper The Evening Leader where he states his views as a local farmer explain-

ing his involvement in the protests asking, "What is happening to the transport industry in the United Kingdom?". He believes

that the media have toned down their coverage of the crisis, but the fuel saga seems to be raising its head once again.

Our research began with a questionnaire devised for members of the public. Our aim was to obtain the opinions of the public

regarding the protests, their effects and whether they were justified.

The Fuel Crisis in BritainCarys Schleising, Elinor Young, Sophia Safrazyan, Matthew Ingman, Fred Smith*

(Ysgol Maes Garmon School, UK)

* We chose this topic because it raises many environmental issues. The fuel crisis also affected us locally which was a major factor in our choice. We were ableto explore many areas surrounding this crisis, by looking into people's contrasting opinions and thus discovering the conflicts that arise between theprotesters, the bystanders, the government and the fuel companies. Not only did we analyse the local viewpoint but we also researched the ever-developingfield of alternative fuels, which is of the highest priority within our project (Authors).

http://www.secondnature.org

http://www.youngreporters.org

Connect 17


The results of our questionnaire revealed that members of the public had strong views on the fuel crisis, but these views were

mainly concentrated around the financial aspect, i.e. the prices were unnecessarily high. We also discovered that worryingly,

little was known regarding alternative fuels and their importance in protecting the environment from the harmful gases that are

released from the engines of conventional cars. Public transport was also a disappointment as it has the potential to greatly reduce

the amount of traffic on the roads and therefore the amount of fuel consumed. Unfortunately, those who responded to our

questionnaire – reflecting the local public in general, seldom used it.

The lack of environmental awareness shown by the public in the fuel crisis issue has left us with the conclusion that it is given

minimum coverage by the media. A massive 90% of the public believe that the price of petrol is too high. 71% of the general

public agreed with protesters and approved of their actions, which shows that the protesters had public support and this encour-

aged them to persist.

But there are also some contradictions, e.g. 100% of the participants acknowledged the importance of environmentally friendly

fuels but a mere 48% were aware, let alone made use, of any of them.

A poll at the Greenpeace Business Conference shows that the public is willing to pay the extra tax on fuel provided there is a

guarantee that part of it will be spent on the environment. An NOP survey shows that 68% of respondents would be happier

paying the current tax if some of it was spent on 'reducing pollution by investigating in public transport and developing green

fuels'. The same proportion said that they would prefer to pay the current fuel tax with a guaranteed 3 pence going towards the

environment rather than accept the 3 pence reduction in fuel duty offered by the Conservative Party.

Though the survey showed that when people are simply asked about the level of fuel tax, a majority (82%) still think that the

current fuel duty is too high. The survey also reveals that the public does not believe high prices discourage gas-guzzling behav-

iour despite academic research to the contrary. Only 39% of the respondents believed cheaper fuel would lead to people driving

more and only 37% believed it would encourage people to buy larger, less fuel-efficient cars. However, when asked about the

tax and the way revenues are spent, people are prepared to support the use of fuel duties to protect the environment.

The next step in our research was to discover what alternative fuels are available, how widely used and feasible they are.

We contacted Chester City Transport, which is currently using gas as an alternative fuel since they find it financially more suitable.

This was a positive discovery in our project as gas is far less harmful to the environment than current conventional fuels.

To see what the opinions of the environmental establishments are, we researched on the World Wide Web. The Friends of the

Earth web site was very helpful and dealt with the environmental issues of the fuel crisis well. Greenpeace`s web page was very

similar and there were many sites that held vast amounts of information on alternative fuels. These offered bases on which we

could develop our knowledge of alternative fuels. We found that gas and wind power are the most popular and efficient.

Other advances included car technology, which has brought environmentally friendly transport a little closer to production. Many

of the large manufacturers have developments of their own such as Ford’s hydrogen powered car, which emits water-based

emissions and Mitsubishi’s 'ceramic gas turbine engine' which boasts such features as cow fuel consumption, reduced carbon

dioxide emissions, low vibration and the ability to run on a variety of fuels.

The best thing about these new advances is that they enable cars to be environmentally friendly whilst losing any of the

comfort, performance or refinement associated with modern cars.

The best effort toward fun, affordable, environmentally friendly transport has come from Rover with their eye-catching sports car.

Rover has developed a 130 mph, 1.8 litre motor, which has been built to run on gas produced by house and garden waste, which

does not emit carbon dioxide blamed for global warming. It will be used to power the 'Advantage R' car. Most of such environ-

mentally friendly vehicles are looked upon as being slow but the new car can accelerate from 0-60 mph in under 6 seconds. Tests

have shown that the energy from 100 kilos of rubbish will power the car for an amazing 100 kilometres. Around 400 tons of

processed waste a year could supply the equivalent energy of nearly 1.5 million gallons of petrol.

Experts predict that if all organic waste was properly recycled and turned into gas, there would be enough to power a large

percentage of the world cars, vans and trucks. However, the 'Advantage R's' price has been set at no less than £20,000.

Overall we found that there are many ways to look upon the fuel crisis and very different opinions surrounding it. We learnt a lot

through our research and enjoyed the involvement, especially the contact through the Internet.

Our research sources ranged from many interesting web sites, to our local newspaper and many phone calls to some of the

people involved.

We hope to further our investigations in next years project involving younger members of our school, which will inject new ideas

to the project.

In conclusion we feel that our project has been successful and thoroughly enjoyable.

Vol. XXVI, No. 3-4, 200118

Doing it & Telling it

Place: Santa Cruz Community Centre, Jaguaré, São Paulo.

Target Groups: Thirty-two 12-14 year old children from the slums.

Introduction: The project was devised specially for children from one of the São Paulo slums. The teaching method used was

informal with a multidisciplinary approach relating man, nature and man-made environment. The project focused on solving

current, real-life problems of the target community by means of contextualized education. Particular emphasis was put on water

and garbage.

Objectives:

To identify and recognize environmental components.

To relate environmental components identifying functions and attributing values.

To establish an effective relationship and commitment with the environment.

To understand the importance of nature conservation.

To recognize that life improvement can only be acquired be means of active participation of the majority of the community members.

Resources: the Santa Cruz High School and the Mackenzie Presbyterian University support the space and physical structure where

the project was developed. The latter provided funds for materials used as well as for support to teachers.

Methodology: The project consisted of twenty-two weekly sessions of two hours each. Each session had an environment and

health content and used a problem-solving approach. The children were asked to present problems and were stimulated to find

their own answers to the problems.

Evaluation: Evaluation was done throughout the educational process with the help of the products prepared during the sessions

as well as the written reports. Taped interviews were also made to keep track of changes in children's behaviour.

Results: Material results consisted of posters, mock-ups, experiment set ups, drawings and texts. It was concluded that as a result

of the educational action, the subjects established new relations between the concepts and the reality of their daily life. Besides

the change in their own behaviour, youngsters acted as multiplicators "teaching" their parents and relatives how to clean water

reservoirs, prepare water for drinking and saline solution to prevent dehydration as well as dealing with different kinds of garbage.

The scientific content was transmitted with an eye on taught abilities, mental agility, communication development and capacity

building.

Sent by: Francis M.F. Varoli, Maria C. De Oliveira, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Rua Itambé, 45, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. E-mail:

[email protected]

National festival to inculcate environmental awareness

India

Place: Navodhya Vidyalaya (School), Rakh Jaganoo Campus, Udhampur, Jammu.

Target Groups: Schoolchildren (14-18 yrs) and school faculty

Introduction: India is amongst the twelve mega-diversity countries of the world and possibly reflects the entire spectrum of

eco-climatic zones from cold deserts to dense tropical forests. Due to over-exploitation, especially during the colonial period,

Everyday Experiences for Environmental Awareness

Brazil

Doing it & TDoing it & Telling itelling it


Connect 19

Doing it & Telling it

forests in India have been shrinking and their productivity is dwindling rapidly. They are facing a number of threats severely affect-

ing biodiversity, forest community structure, composition, stratification, etc.

Forests being vital both for a country’s economy as well as for a healthy planet, the Indian government has laid great stress on

tree planting since independence in 1947. Vana Mahotsava, the national tree-planting festival, was thus started in 1950-52 to

increase awareness in the population of the importance of trees and forests and encourage tree-planting activities during the rainy

season. This has resulted in many diverse groups such as school children, NGOs, government agencies and public services engag-

ing in voluntary operations of tree planting across the whole country.

Objectives:

To encourage the school community, especially younger pupils, and involve them in the plantation drive.

To add to their knowledge about local flora and make them appreciate the importance, usefulness and beauty of plants.

To beautify the school campus with local flora and improve the local environment.

To make tree-planting a part of the school’s SUPW (Socially Useful Productive Work) curriculum.

To increase tree cover.

Resources: Human/material: Students and teaching faculty of the school with technical inputs and material help from the

Udhampur Forest Division, Forest Department, Jammu & Kashmir Government.

Methodology: Before the commencement of the plantation drive, the field staff of the Udhampur Forest Division demonstrated

the correct way of planting a sapling in the field. Thereafter, the Divisional Forest Officer and the Conservator of Forests also delib-

erated upon the importance of the Vana Mahotsava and forests for the protection and conservation of our environment. This was

followed by a thematic cultural programme by the students and finally a massive plantation drive was launched by the students,

the school and Forest Department staff. Over 250 saplings of different local species were planted.

Evaluation: No formal evaluation was made, but the enthusiasm shown by the students and the school staff was a conclusive

sign of its success.

Results: As the school campus is completely fenced and totally free from any biotic pressure, the survival percentage of the

saplings is high and the school surroundings have improved considerably due to plantation programme.

Sent by: Brij Mohan Sharma, IFS, Divisional Forest Officer, LEH Forest Division, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, India.

Readers are invited to send us their FIELD experiences in Science, Technology, Environmental Education activities involving the

teaching/learning process – but not necessarily limited to students and teachers. They should be as brief as possible and set under

the following headings:

Place: Locality where the activity was carried out

Target Groups: For whom the activity was intended

Introduction: Background information – reasons for initiating the activity

Objectives: What was the activity expected to achieve?

Resources: Materials/funds needed for the activity

Methodology: The way in which the activity was carried out

Evaluation: How was the activity judged? By whom?

Results: Did the activity produce any concrete changes in the target group(s)?

Selected experiences will be published with the name and address of the author. Please address your contributions to: Doing it

and Telling it (address on last page)

Vol. XXVI, No. 3-4, 200120

News & Publications

The Spanish government has decided to send every year to

around 500,000 Spanish students in technical and vocational

education, a module on environmental awareness. Conscious of

the importance of environmental conservation in the workplace,

the National Institute of Labour, in collaboration with the Ministry

of Labour and Social Affairs and the Network of Environmental

Authorities have developed this educational material which will

be included in the training and professional insertion classes.

The module consists of: a teachers guide; a teacher/student

guide; a support videocassette and a CD-ROM including all the

teaching/learning material.

The major objective of this initiative is to raise environmental

awareness in youth both on a general level as well as in the field

of work and to inculcate good environmental practices in diverse

spheres of their lives.

The programme has 4 major components: basic environmental

concepts and terminology; knowledge and understanding of the

causes of the principal environmental issues and problems;

knowledge of the social and institutional responses to these

problems and finally, a general understanding of the environment

in one’s immediate surroundings.

This initiative has been qualified by the European Commission as

pioneering work within the European Union and several other

member countries are already following the Spanish example.


Información de Medio Ambiente,

Centro de Documentación y Biblioteca de Medio Ambiente,

Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz, s/n., 28071 Madrid, Spain.

News & PublicationsNews & PublicationsModule on Environmental Awareness for Spanish students

R’O2 – Integrated Resources Management, 6th World

Congress for solutions and dialogue between decision-makers

and resources management practitioners in the industrial, politi-

cal, academic and environmental sectors. Palexpo-Geneva,

Switzerland, 12 – 15 February 2002. Further information from:

PEAK Ltd, Dr Anis Barrage, R’O2 chairman, Tägernstr. 12A,

CH-8127 Forch, Switzerland. Fax: +41-1-982.10.01 E-mail:

[email protected] http: // www.r02.org

ConferConferences, meetings, seminars...ences, meetings, seminars...

The Zambian government, in conjunction with the Southern

African Research Development Centre (SARDC), has just released

a report on the State of the Environment in the Zambezi basin,

which is shared by 8 countries in the Southern African Region.

The report reveals serious environmental degradation in the basin

caused by increased pressure on natural resources resulting from

rapid population growth and rising poverty levels in many south-

ern African countries.

Compiled by environmentalists, academicians and government

specialists, the report marks the first time that an assessment of

a single eco-system has been undertaken and reported upon in

southern Africa. Although state of the environment reporting in

southern Africa is relatively new, the traditional approach has

been to focus on boundaries, natural resources or sectors in a

national context. This report breaks new ground showing the

region’s acknowledgement of the importance of eco-system

management in the efforts of Southern African Development

Community (SADC) countries, which are aimed at sustainable

and regional development.

In the foreword, Mozambican President Joachim Chissano, also

SADC Chairman, says: The Zambezi basin, which is home to close

to 40 million people, perhaps represents the best of what we

have in SADC in terms of natural capital. Within the basin’s large

expanse we have our water resources, land and soils, forests and

wildlife. All these activities define our economic activities, which

range from agriculture and forestry, manufacturing and mining

to conservation and tourism, scientific monitoring and research.

The report has cheered many people involved in agriculture and

environment management. Wildlife and Environmental Conserva-

tion Society, Zambia Chapter, Executive Director Mwape Sichilongo

says, Education relies on experience and information and when it

is as diverse as it is in this report, which covers all aspects of envi-

ronment and agriculture, then it covers the whole idea of holistic

education where you look at the environment exactly as it is in all

its facets, uses and problems. So, the presence of this report will

help us access all the relevant information on environment and

agriculture at once rather than in bits and pieces. We hope that

this report will be widely available not only in libraries but also in

the street for every SADC citizen to access. The report should be

available in more languages than just English and Portuguese.

More information from:

< www.new-agri.co.uk>

State of the Environment in the Zambezi Basin, Report 2000

http://www.new-agri.co.uk


http://www.r02.org

Connect 21

News & Publications

PublicationsPublications

XXIV International Meeting on Scientific and Industrial

Communication, Education and Culture, Chamonix, France,

18-22 March 2002. Further information from: D. Raichvarg,

LIREST, Bât. G, ENS Cachan, 61 Av. du Président Wilson, 94235

Cachan, France. Fax: (33-1) 47.40.24.59 E-mail: daniel.raichvarg

@u-bourgogne.fr

The Third International Conference on Mathematics Educa-

tion and Society will be held in Helsingor, Denmark, from

2–7 April 2002. For further information contact: Paola Valero,

The Danish University of Education, 101 Emdrupvej, DK-2400 NV,

Copenhagen, Denmark. Fax: +45-3969.6626 E-mail: [email protected]

or <[email protected]>

2nd International Conference on the Teaching of Mathe-

matics (ICTM-2) will take place in Crete, Greece, from 1–6 July

2002. Further information from: Ignatios Vakalis, Chair, Dept of

Math/Computer Science, Capital University, USA. e-mail:

[email protected] or Christos Kourouniotis, Co-Chair, Dept of

Mathematics, University of Crete, Greece. e-mail: chrisk@math.

uoc.gr http://www.math.uoc.gr/~ictm2/

VISIT-ME-2002: The Vienna International Symposium

on Integrating Technology into Mathematics Education

will be held in Vienna, Austria, from 10–13 July 2002.

Further information from: http://www.acdca.ac.at/visit-me-

2002/

10th IOSTE Symposium: Rethinking Science & Technology

Education to meet the Demands for Future Generations in

a Changing World, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, 27 July – 2 August 2002.

Deadline for submission of full papers: 15 December 2001. –

Further information from: Prof. Nelio Bizzo, Faculdade de Educaçao,

Universidade de São Paulo, 10th IOSTE Symposium, Av. da Universi-

dade 308, 05508-900 São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Fax: 55-11-3818.3149

E-mail: [email protected] http://www.modelab.ufes.br/ioste

17th International Conference on Chemical Education

(ICCE): New Strategies for Chemical Education in the New Cen-

tury, Beijing, China, 18-23 August 2002. Further information

from: Prof. Xibai Qui, 17th ICCE, c/o Chinese Chemical Society,

P.O. Box 2709, Beijing, China. Tel/Fax: +86-10-62568157 E-mail:

[email protected]

BIOTUR 2002, III International Event in Biodiversity &

Tourism will take place in Holguin, Cuba, from 26 – 30 October

2002. For further information contact: Ing. Cosme Casals Corella,

Aptdo postal 246, Holguin, CP 80100, Cuba. Fax: (53-24)30926

E-mail: <inverote@ mares.solmelia.cma.net> delsstt@mares.

solmelia.cma.net

Integrating Environmental

Issues in Science Teaching –

Report of the Sub-regional Work-

shop for the South Asian Region,

16-20 April 2001, Chandigarh,

India.

Greening Science Education (193 p.,

2001) is a compilation of presenta-

tions made at the above workshop

and classified under: Country

Reports; EE Initiatives in the South

Asian Region; Science,

Environment & Society Issues and Ini-

tiatives; EE Techniques & Methodolo-

gies. For copies contact: Dr (Ms)

Neelima Jerath, Principal Environment

Officer, Punjab State Council for Science &

Technology, Sector 26, Chandigarh 160019,

India. Fax: 91-172-793.143

Is the Future Yours? (23 p., 2001)

is the report of the UNEP-UNESCO

Project on Youth and Sustainable

Consumption (v. Connect, Vol. XXV,

No.2, 2000). It contains an analysis of

the survey conducted in major cities

of 24 countries worldwide involving

10,000 youths, which it is hoped, will

provide preliminary insight into the

attitudes and interests of young

adults in adopting more environmen-

tally and ethically sound consumption practices. For copies contact:

Production and Consumption Unit, UNEP/IE, Tour Mirabeau, 39-43

Quai André Citroën, 75739 Paris Cedex 15, France. Fax: (33-1)

44.37.14.74. E-mail: [email protected] http://www.uneptie.org

Reducing mega city impacts on

the coastal environment: Alter-

native livelihoods and waste man-

agement in Jakarta and the Seribu

Islands (59 p., 2000) This is the

report of a UNESCO pilot project

carried out between 1996 and 1999

in the Jakarta Bay – an area heavily

impacted by human activities result-

ing in pollution and eutrophication

of the bay waters – which seeks to

develop wise coastal practices in the interests of sustainable

livelihood. For copies contact: UNESCO /Jakarta, UN Building, 2nd

Floor, J. Thamrin 14, Tromolpos 1273, Jakarta, Indonesia. E-mail:

[email protected]

mailto:@u-bourgogne.fr




http://www.math.uoc.gr/~ictm2

http://www.acdca.ac.at/visit-me-2002

http://www.acdca.ac.at/visit-me-2002


http://www.modelab.ufes.br/ioste



http://www.uneptie.org


Vol. XXVI, No. 3-4, 200122

News & Publications

Graines de Sciences 2: Pour ensei-

gnants et parents (Seeds of Science

2: for teachers and parents) (288 p.,

2000) ed. I. Catala-Blanc, David

Jasmin and P. Lena. This publication

of the Association la Main à la Pâte is

the result of a collaborative work

involving 30 primary science teachers

and 7 scientists. Without being a sci-

ence guide, it explains, informs and

proposes simple hands-on activities

on seven specific topics: Fire & combustion; Light; Volcanoes;

Marine algae; Climate; Cooking and the Human body. French

only. Price 99FF. Order from: Éditions Le Pommier, 23, rue Som-

merard, 75005 Paris, France. Fax: (33-1) 53.10.24.67

Greening School Grounds: Creat-

ing Habitats for Learning (144 p.,

2001), ed. T. Grant and G. Little-

john. This new anthology from the

Green Teacher magazine provides

step-by-step instructions for numer-

ous schoolyard projects along with

ideas for enhancing learning by

addressing diverse student needs.

Apart from various detailed articles,

the guide includes practical tips for

project planners as well as for teachers together with a bibliog-

raphy of learning resources and listing of funding and training

organisations. For information on price/orders contact: Green

Teacher, 95 Robert Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 2K5 Canada or

Green Teacher, PO Box 1431, Lewiston, NY 14092, USA.

La educación ambiental:una relación cons-

tructiva entre la escuela y la comunidad

(EE: a constructive school-community relation-

ship) (2000, 167 p.) by L. Sauvé, I. Orellana,

S. Qualman. This training manual has been

produced in the context of the EDAMAZ project

(v. p. 13) and comprises an introduction on the

use of the manual, four modules contain-

ing practical and theoretical information on

specific topics as well as suggestions for pedagog-

ical activities and a synthesis. Spanish only

– for the time being. Further information from:

EDAMAZ, Coordination internationale, Lucie

Sauvé, Coordinatrice, Université du Québec à

Montréal, Département des sciences de l’édu-

cation, CP 8888, succursale Centre Ville,

Montréal (Québec), Canada H3C 3P8, Fax: (514)

987-4608, E-mail: [email protected]

More 1000 Science Quiz (224 p., 2001) by

D. M. Salwi contains 1000 questions meant to test

your knowledge on science & technology related

matters. Divided in 28 thematic chapters, the book

intends to provide basic information on science and

technology with no didactic pretensions. Price:

Rs 95 (±US $2). Order from: Rupa & Co, 7/16

Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi – 110 002,

India. Fax: (91-11) 327.7294 E-mail: rupa@ndb.

vsnl.net.in

Biodiversity: Connecting with

the Tapestry of Life (31 p.,

2001)/ Travaillons pour la bio-

diversité (35 p., 2000) are two

booklets produced by the Smith-

sonian Institution Monitoring and

Assessment of Biodiversity program.

Profusely illustrated, they explain suc-

cinctly what biodiversity is, why it is

so important, why it is threatened and

what can be done to con-

serve this valuable resource.

Also available through <www.

si.edu/simab>. For further infor-

mation contact: Smithsonian Ins-

titution Monitoring & Assessment of

Biodiversity Program, 1100 Jefferson

Drive SW, Suite 3123, Washington

DC 20560-0705, USA. Fax: 202.

786.2557


http://www.si.edu/simab

http://www.si.edu/simab

Connect 23

News & Publications

Atlas of Science Literacy has been jointly published by the

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) in the

framework of Project 2061. It comprises nearly 50 strand maps

that graphically depict how students’ understanding might

grow from grades 1 to 12. Each map displays the ideas and

skills, together with inter-connections among them, that are part

of achieving literacy in a particular topic. The Atlas does not

prescribe a particular curriculum or instructional strategy – it

presents a framework meant to inspire a variety of different ways

to design and organize learning experiences. Price US $49.95

($39.95 for 10 cc or more). Order from: AAAS Distribution

Center, PO Box 521, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701, USA. Tel:

1-8000-222-7809

Environment Encyclopedia & Directory 2001 Edition (622 p.).

This new, updated edition on environment issues throughout the

world, contains a systematic A-Z section of key terms; a compre-

hensive directory of main government and non-governmental

organisations; an index listing environmental organisations

according to their fields of activity; maps showing areas of

pollution, rainforest, and other environmental features both

regionally and worldwide; bibliography of relevant periodicals

and a comprehensive Who's Who section of leading personali-

ties actively involved with environmental organisations. Price:

US $425 including delivery. Order from: Asia Pacific Infoserv, GPO

Box 2987, Sydney, 1043 Australia Tel: 61 2 4934.6290 Fax:

61 2 4934.3692 E-mail: [email protected]

Biological Sciences: Challenges for the 21st Century is the

title of the Special issue (No. 41, June 2001) of Biology Inter-

national containing the proceedings of the International Sympo-

sium organised by the International Union of Biological Sciences

(IUBS) and the Stazione Zoologica “Anton Dohrn”(SZN), Naples,

Italy, 9-11 November 2000. Annual subscription: F 45. Contact:

IUBS Secretariat, 51 Bd Montmorency, 75016 Paris, France.

Fax: (33-1)45.25.20.29 E-mail: [email protected] http://

www.iubs.org

Catch Water is a bimonthly newsletter of the National Water

Harvesters’ Network (NWHN), published by the Centre for

Science and Environment (v. Connect, no.1/2,2001). You can

subscribe to Catch Water by becoming a member of the

NWHN. The network’s aim is to harness power and knowledge

of individuals and communities for better management of water.

It proposes to build coalitions by bringing the like-minded

together, providing them with a forum to exchange ideas and

perspectives in order to facilitate the dissemination of informa-

tion and strengthen the campaign related to water harvesting.

As a member, you are entitled to the annual subscription of

Catch Water, a directory of Water Harvesters – Water Links, and

Recommendations of the CSE Conference on Potential of Water

Harvesting. Subscription rates: US $10 (Individuals), US $30

(Institutions), US $50 (Corporations). Catch Water is also avail-

able at: < www.waterharvesting.org> Further information from:

Centre for Science and Environment, 41, Tughlakabad Insti-

tutional area, New Delhi – 110062. India. Tel: 91-11-6086399,

6083394 Fax: 91-11-6085879 Website: www.cseindia.org

Email: [email protected]

The Canadian Journal of Environmental Science is a refereed

journal published once a year. It seeks to further the study and

practice of EE by providing a thoughtful forum for researchers,

scholars, practitioners and post-secondary students. The journal

invites articles for publication – to be submitted no later than

15 November of each year. Guidelines for submission of articles

from address below. Price Can$20/issue or Can$50 for 3 issues.

For further information contact: Canadian Journal of Environ-

mental Education, PO Box 2799, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada

Y1A 5K4. E-mail: [email protected]

Revista Universa is a quarterly publication of the Universidade

Católica de Brasilia. Its latest issue, Vol. 9, No. 2, June 2001 has

been edited by the University’s post-graduate programme Stricto

sensu in environmental planning and management. It focuses

on the state of the environment in the Distrito Federal, notably

in the matter of water resources and solid waste disposal. In

Portuguese (with English abstracts). Price: R$40/year. For further

information contact: Editora Universa, QS. 07 –Lote 01 – EPCT

–Aguas Claras. Taguatinga, Brasilia – DF, Brazil CEP:72030-170.

Fax (061) 356-3010. E-mail: [email protected]

City Limits: Putting the Brakes on Sprawl (85 p.,

2001) by M. O’Meara Sheehan. In this Worldwatch

Paper 156, the author warns that sprawling urban

areas are helping to make road transportation the

fastest growing source of carbon emissions warming

the earth’s atmosphere. They are also wreaking havoc

on people’s health with more than a million

lives per year lost worldwide in traffic accidents and

in some countries air pollution accounting for more

deaths than accidents. Price US $5. Further informa-

tion from: Leanne Mitchell, Worldwatch Institute,

1776 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington DC

20036, USA. Fax: (202)296.7365 E-mail: lmitchell@

worldwatch.org



http://www.iubs.org

http://www.iubs.org

http://www.waterharvesting.org

http://www.cseindia.org




Vol. XXVI, No. 3-4, 200124

Viewpoint

Viewpoint

Dear Friend,

I would like to share with you the activity I am carrying out at present. The main aim of this message is to learn from

others’ experiences and also share what I have learnt so far.

My range of action is basically Argentina, although I have sent information packages to Chile, Peru, Mexico and Bolivia and

I am open to requests from all over the world. I collect data from the Internet related to the environment and Argentina (mostly in

Spanish), though I also take into consideration other information, as some of it is relevant for other countries as well. I try to avoid

subjective information that is not based on concrete facts, always quoting sources. The idea is to raise awareness and help people

know more about their environment and existing strategies in order to seek out solutions to environmental problems.

Many institutions and individuals in our country have the desire and the need to be updated on environmental problems

that have existed for years. The basic idea is to provide information on these issues, especially to those who have no access to

technology or sources of information (rural schools, poor people, etc), since in order to look after and defend one’s environment

one has first of all to be informed.

Thus, I propose a service to the community that consists in sending information packages free-of-charge, by post or

e-mail, of what I can collect from the Internet.

Topics on which I provide information:

Agrochemicals; Water; Air; Protected Areas in Argentina; Waste; Nuclear Waste; Biodiversity; Illegal Hunting; Climate;

Conservation Strategies; Environmental Education; Energies (alternative and traditional); Threatened/native/extinct/invasive/exotic

species from Argentina; Indigenous peoples from Argentina; LATAM (Latin America relevant issues); Green Laws; Marine World;

Transgenics; Urban Ecology; Native Vegetation.

Since 8 March 2001 until today (13 August 2001) I have sent over 120 information packages. I send letters and e-mails

to State schools telling them what I do. So far it has been very rewarding.

Should you need more information on myself or have any questions or suggestions on my work, please contact me at

the addresses below:

Anne Blanchard

Armenia 2104 - 7 "D", (1425) Cap Fed, ARGENTINA

e-mail1: [email protected] e-mail2: [email protected]

e-mail3: [email protected]

web: www.ecosrioplatenses.org

Due to staff shortage, it is no longer possible to attend to requests for mailing list changes without the SUBSCRIPTIONNUMBER (top right hand corner of address label).

Editorial Board:Chairman: J. DanielAssistant Director-General for EducationW. IwamotoG. Lopez-OspinaM. Enriquez-BercianoO. Hall-RoseK. Langer (WOCATE)W. Goldstein (IUCN)C. Strohmann (UNEP)Editor: D. Bhagwut

Unless otherwise stated, all correspondence concerning Connect should be addressed to: Editor, Connect, UNESCO/ED/STV/STE, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris Cedex 07, France. Fax: (33-1) 45.68.56.26E-mail: [email protected]. Replies to unsolicited correspondence cannot be ensured

Save trees.

This issue is printed on recycled papernot retreated with chlorine.Connect is also published in French asConnexion, in Spanish as Contacto, inRussian as Kontakt, in Arabic as Arra-bita, in Chinese as Lianjie and inHindi as Sampark.Connect is free. Reproduction of itscontents is not only permitted, it issolicited and encouraged; please sendclippings, if used.

Connect

Published by UNESCO

Education Sector

7, place de Fontenoy

75352 Paris 07 SP

France.

Tel: (33-1) 45.68.08.09

Fax: (33-1) 45.68.56.26


RECY C L E P APER

CONNECT is also available on the Science and Technology Education homepage:http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/ste/index.html




http://www.ecosrioplatenses.org

http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/ste/index.html



Technology: the god that limps; Connect: UNESCO...

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