Decisionmaking in Environmental Education: Notes from Research in the Dutch NME-VO Project

Abstract

Decisionmaking is often mentioned as an important feature of teaching science in a technological and social context. In the Dutch project on environmental education (NME-VO), science-teaching materials have been developed within an environmental context. Decisionmaking on environmental issues is a characteristic of the teaching units. Research has been done on the students' preconceptions and beliefs and on the learning effects afterward in relation to the environmental issues on which the units focus. This paper outlines some results of the research on the units entitled “Meat” and “Fuel.” The results will be discussed from the perspective of decisionmaking.