Teaching and Learning » Education Section
What is Ecology Education?
The Ecological Society of America (ESA), the primary professional society
of ecologists in North America , is in a position to take a leadership
role in promoting and guiding ecology education in North America . As
such, the primary mandate of the Education Section is to facilitate and
coordinate membership efforts in development of policies, programs, people
and research that will enhance the ‘ecological literacy’ of
the public, educators, curriculum developers, pre-college, undergraduate
and graduate students.
The Education Section of the ESA currently defines ‘ecological literacy’
as having three components: 1) understanding of inquiry as applied in
the science of ecology; 2) familiarity with the ecological processes at
work in one’s local environment; and 3) sufficient familiarity with
ecological principles to understand the basic ecology of environmental
issues. As such, it is understood by the Society that Ecology is the scientific
discipline that is concerned with the relationships between organisms
and their past, present and future environments. These relationships include
physiological responses of individuals, structure and dynamics of populations,
interactions among species, organization of biological communities, and
processing of energy and matter in ecosystems. Ecology is one of the cornerstone
sciences underlying the broader field of Environmental Studies, which
integrates all the social and scientific disciplines that pertain to the
environment. Therefore, Ecology Education focuses on the science of ecology,
while Environmental Education deals with the broader field of environmental
studies.
In order to achieve excellence in ecology education and to further define
‘ecological literacy’, the Education Section encourages members
to take a leadership role in: 1) defining ‘ecological literacy’
and to assess the level of such literacy among all segments of the population;
2) combining the best of ecological science and education research and
practice in addressing the intellectual content, scope and challenges
of ecology education; 3) formulating a position on excellence in ecology
education at the pre-college, undergraduate and graduate levels, and for
citizens at large; 4) working with other professional societies to promote
excellence in science education in general, and in biology and ecology
education in particular.
- Adapted from: Berkowitz , AR et al. 1991. Ecological Society of America : An Agenda for Ecology Education (Draft). ESA Education Committee.
- Berkowitz , AR et al. 1991. Ecology Education for Children: A Handbook for Ecologists (Draft). ESA Committee for the Education of Young Children.
