183
3. The duration of learners’ participation or exposure to the programmes varies
widely. It can range from a visit of about 2 h to full day or residential programmes
where learners sleep over at environmental sites and engage in non-formal
learning for up to a week or more.
4. Non-formal education programmes are typically developed and offered by
organisations other than traditional education institutions. Often the programme
is developed collaboratively between multiple organisations from the public,
non-profit and private sectors.
In conclusion, non-formal learning occurs in a planned but highly adaptable
manner in institutions, organisations and situations beyond the sphere of formal
education. It shares the characteristic of being mediated with formal education, but
the motivation for learning may be wholly intrinsic to the learner (Eshach 2007).
For the development of Environmental Citizenship, non-formal education is highly
relevant given its potential to prompt the learning of skills, knowledge and other
outcomes in addition to formal learning (Lockhart 2016). It also provides the
flexibility to adapt to rapidly changing expectations and societal needs. For these
reasons we agree with Romi and Schmida (2008) in labelling non-formal education
as a major educational force and highlighting its added potential on top for formal
Education for Environmental Citizenship. Examples for programmes that offer nonformal education for environmental citizenship and have been studied empirically
are the US Earthkeepers programme (also implemented and in, e.g. Cyprus; Van
Marte and Johnson 1988; Manoli et al. 2014), environmental museum visits (e.g. at
the Natural History museum; Kimble 2014), place-based environmental programmes
(e.g. in the Czech Republic, Cincera et al. 2014), educational visits natural areas
(e.g. the educational programmes by the Province of Antwerp in Flanders, Belgium;
Boeve-de Pauw et al. 2019), extra-curricular forestry education (e.g. in Mexico;
Ruiz-Mallen et al. 2009), etc.
12.3 Children Can Learn to Become Environmental Citizens
12.3.1 Children Are Not Adults
A problem that might occur in non-formal environmental education programmes
that target children in primary education is that they approach education and
citizenship competences from the perspective of an adult, rather than from that of a
child. Education for Environmental Citizenship should, especially for children of
primary school ages, treat children as children and not as adults. Furthermore, EEC
should attune itself to appropriate levels of abstraction in teaching and learning.
Teaching children about nature abstractly in the classroom does not lead to proenvironmental behaviours in later life (Schultz 2000). Teaching abstract concepts
like habitat destruction, acid rain, holes in the ozone layer and whale hunting to
12 Environmental Citizenship in the Context of Primary Non-formal Education
3. The duration of learners’ participation or exposure to the programmes varies
widely. It can range from a visit of about 2 h to full day or residential programmes
where learners sleep over at environmental sites and engage in non-formal
learning for up to a week or more.
4. Non-formal education programmes are typically developed and offered by
organisations other than traditional education institutions. Often the programme
is developed collaboratively between multiple organisations from the public,
non-profit and private sectors.
In conclusion, non-formal learning occurs in a planned but highly adaptable
manner in institutions, organisations and situations beyond the sphere of formal
education. It shares the characteristic of being mediated with formal education, but
the motivation for learning may be wholly intrinsic to the learner (Eshach 2007).
For the development of Environmental Citizenship, non-formal education is highly
relevant given its potential to prompt the learning of skills, knowledge and other
outcomes in addition to formal learning (Lockhart 2016). It also provides the
flexibility to adapt to rapidly changing expectations and societal needs. For these
reasons we agree with Romi and Schmida (2008) in labelling non-formal education
as a major educational force and highlighting its added potential on top for formal
Education for Environmental Citizenship. Examples for programmes that offer nonformal education for environmental citizenship and have been studied empirically
are the US Earthkeepers programme (also implemented and in, e.g. Cyprus; Van
Marte and Johnson 1988; Manoli et al. 2014), environmental museum visits (e.g. at
the Natural History museum; Kimble 2014), place-based environmental programmes
(e.g. in the Czech Republic, Cincera et al. 2014), educational visits natural areas
(e.g. the educational programmes by the Province of Antwerp in Flanders, Belgium;
Boeve-de Pauw et al. 2019), extra-curricular forestry education (e.g. in Mexico;
Ruiz-Mallen et al. 2009), etc.
12.3 Children Can Learn to Become Environmental Citizens
12.3.1 Children Are Not Adults
A problem that might occur in non-formal environmental education programmes
that target children in primary education is that they approach education and
citizenship competences from the perspective of an adult, rather than from that of a
child. Education for Environmental Citizenship should, especially for children of
primary school ages, treat children as children and not as adults. Furthermore, EEC
should attune itself to appropriate levels of abstraction in teaching and learning.
Teaching children about nature abstractly in the classroom does not lead to proenvironmental behaviours in later life (Schultz 2000). Teaching abstract concepts
like habitat destruction, acid rain, holes in the ozone layer and whale hunting to
12 Environmental Citizenship in the Context of Primary Non-formal Education