A Preliminary Assessment of the National Environmental Education Act in the United States: Background, Issues, and Implications for Taiwan

Mark D. Barnes ； Yan-Jing Chen

《華岡農科學報》 34期 (2014/12) Pp. 51-72

並列摘要

The Environmental Education Act, passed by the Legislative Yuan (Taiwan) in 2010, came into effect in 2011. The Act requires students and staff of schools, government bodies, businesses, and other organizations to attend at least four hours per year of government-funded curriculum on environmental education. The main purpose of the Act is to incorporate environmental issues into lifelong learning of the public. Taiwan thus joined the United States, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, and the Philippines in establishing environmental education as law. In 1990 the U.S. Congress passed a National Environmental Education Act, establishing a program within the US Environmental Protection Agency to award grants for educating elementary and secondary school students and training teachers in environmental subjects, such education and training being voluntary rather than mandatory. The role of the federal government in environmental education has received broad bipartisan support, but critics argue that certain textbooks and curricula misinform students or the general public by advocating specific measures to address environmental problems or by presenting unbalanced or scientifically inaccurate data. This study is a preliminary examination the background, implementation, and major criticisms of the U.S. National Environmental Education Act for reference by education-related government agencies, teachers, and education administrators in Taiwan as Taiwan implements its own Environmental Education Act.

並列關鍵字

environmental education ； U.S. National Environmental Education Act ； Taiwan Environmental Education Act ； government role in environmental education ； environmental advocacy