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as responsible citizens’ (DfE 2013a, p 1). For instance, students at Key Stage 4
(15–16 years old) should learn about ‘the different ways in which a citizen can contribute to the improvement of their community, to include the opportunity to participate actively in community volunteering, as well as other forms of responsible
activity’ (DfE 2013a, p. 3). As Dobson (2007) discusses, aspects of Environmental
Citizenship could be addressed through an Ecology or Environmental Citizenship
lens. After the specification of Citizenship Education in 2013 was revised, more
emphasis was placed on the subject of Citizenship Education from a political point
of view, which mainly focused on students’ understanding of ‘democracy, government and the rights and responsibilities of citizens’ (DfE 2013a, p. 2). With that,
there is no direct mention of environmental issues or sustainability, although the
active involvement and consideration of communities is explicitly considered.
Perhaps closer to the aims of Education for Environmental Citizenship is the
Geography specification for Key Stage 3, which states that students should ‘understand how human and physical processes interact to influence and change landscapes, environments and the climate; and how human activity relies on the effective
functioning of natural systems’ (DFE 2013b, p. 2). However, since Geography is a
non-compulsory subject, these opportunities are restricted to those students who
choose to study it for their end-of-school exams (GCSEs). Furthermore, in the three
subject specifications described in this section (Science, Citizenship Education,
Geography), the combination of Environment, Citizenship and Action is not a concurrent requirement. As Glackin and King (2018a) emphasise, students are given
few opportunities through curricula such as Science and Geography to be actively
engaged and involved in environmental improvement. In their recent review of the
state of environmental education in secondary schools in England, Glackin and
King (2018b) point out that the place of environmental education is weak in current
national policies in England, both from an ideological and structural perspective,
which makes environmental education and Education for Environmental Citizenship
much more challenging to implement within the English secondary school context.
On the other hand, this points out the importance of inclusion of Education for
Environmental Citizenship in the educational efforts.
As noted in Sect. 13.1, the fact that Environmental Citizenship is not an explicit
component of a particular subject’s curriculum makes it more challenging for secondary schoolteachers to address it in their teaching in England. This is due to a
range of restrictive factors, which could include time, as well as the teachers’ own
subject knowledge of the related issues. For instance, if a citizenship teacher wished
to address Environmental Citizenship dimensions, they would most likely need to
have some understanding of scientific processes and science subject matter. Finally,
education at Key Stage 4 is strongly framed based on qualification (Biesta 2015)
with an increasing emphasis placed on the examinations students take at this stage,
which can determine their post-compulsory education routes. This in combination
with the emphasis placed on subject knowledge acquisition within environmental
education currently (Glackin and King 2018b) means that fewer opportunities exist
for the cross-curricular educational activities that would be required at the secondary school level for Education for Environmental Citizenship to be implemented.
13 Environmental Citizenship in Secondary Formal Education: The Importance…
as responsible citizens’ (DfE 2013a, p 1). For instance, students at Key Stage 4
(15–16 years old) should learn about ‘the different ways in which a citizen can contribute to the improvement of their community, to include the opportunity to participate actively in community volunteering, as well as other forms of responsible
activity’ (DfE 2013a, p. 3). As Dobson (2007) discusses, aspects of Environmental
Citizenship could be addressed through an Ecology or Environmental Citizenship
lens. After the specification of Citizenship Education in 2013 was revised, more
emphasis was placed on the subject of Citizenship Education from a political point
of view, which mainly focused on students’ understanding of ‘democracy, government and the rights and responsibilities of citizens’ (DfE 2013a, p. 2). With that,
there is no direct mention of environmental issues or sustainability, although the
active involvement and consideration of communities is explicitly considered.
Perhaps closer to the aims of Education for Environmental Citizenship is the
Geography specification for Key Stage 3, which states that students should ‘understand how human and physical processes interact to influence and change landscapes, environments and the climate; and how human activity relies on the effective
functioning of natural systems’ (DFE 2013b, p. 2). However, since Geography is a
non-compulsory subject, these opportunities are restricted to those students who
choose to study it for their end-of-school exams (GCSEs). Furthermore, in the three
subject specifications described in this section (Science, Citizenship Education,
Geography), the combination of Environment, Citizenship and Action is not a concurrent requirement. As Glackin and King (2018a) emphasise, students are given
few opportunities through curricula such as Science and Geography to be actively
engaged and involved in environmental improvement. In their recent review of the
state of environmental education in secondary schools in England, Glackin and
King (2018b) point out that the place of environmental education is weak in current
national policies in England, both from an ideological and structural perspective,
which makes environmental education and Education for Environmental Citizenship
much more challenging to implement within the English secondary school context.
On the other hand, this points out the importance of inclusion of Education for
Environmental Citizenship in the educational efforts.
As noted in Sect. 13.1, the fact that Environmental Citizenship is not an explicit
component of a particular subject’s curriculum makes it more challenging for secondary schoolteachers to address it in their teaching in England. This is due to a
range of restrictive factors, which could include time, as well as the teachers’ own
subject knowledge of the related issues. For instance, if a citizenship teacher wished
to address Environmental Citizenship dimensions, they would most likely need to
have some understanding of scientific processes and science subject matter. Finally,
education at Key Stage 4 is strongly framed based on qualification (Biesta 2015)
with an increasing emphasis placed on the examinations students take at this stage,
which can determine their post-compulsory education routes. This in combination
with the emphasis placed on subject knowledge acquisition within environmental
education currently (Glackin and King 2018b) means that fewer opportunities exist
for the cross-curricular educational activities that would be required at the secondary school level for Education for Environmental Citizenship to be implemented.
13 Environmental Citizenship in Secondary Formal Education: The Importance…