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Copyright of Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies is the property of Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The importance of environmental education as part of national strategies for sustainability is recognized throughout the world. In recent years, substantial efforts and many millions of shekels have been invested in developing environmental education programs in Israel's schools. Unfortunately, outcomes in terms of pupils' environmental literacy are far from satisfying. This article reviews the origins of environmental education in Israel, considers its evolution, describes the present situation within Israel's educational system, as well as the major educational programs that are active in Israel today. Israel's educational goals remain centered on security, economics, and industrial needs, without internalizing the significance of environment quality as a critical factor for healthy global and national futures as well as a prerequisite for a sustainable prosperity. The article reviews ideas for improving existing levels of environmental education and increasing the commitment of teachers and schools to inculcating related knowledge and values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a national evaluation of environmental literacy in Israel, (Negev, Sagy, Garb, Salzberg, & Tal, 2008), the authors included both multiple choice questions and open questions. In this article the authors describe the qualitative analysis of the answers to an open question regarding a local environmental problem. Most participants specified solid waste, open spaces, or air pollution as the main issues. The perceived solutions were generally at the governmental level, including planning, infrastructure, legislation, and enforcement. The authors describe relations in these responses between the problems, their causes and solutions, and between the quality of these answers and the general environmental literacy of the participants. The authors end with a discussion of the special contributions and potential of open-ended questions for environmental education research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors conducted a national survey of 6th- and 12th-grade students in Israel to evaluate their environmental literacy, including the dimensions of environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. In this article, the authors present the results of the survey, the correlations between these different dimensions, and their associations with demographic and experiential data. The authors did not find a significant correlation between knowledge and behavior. Ethnic and socioeconomic characteristics were moderately associated with environmental literacy, whereas the presence of an adult who mediated children's relation to nature was strongly related to environmental attitudes and behavior and weakly related to knowledge. The results suggest that the intended objectives of environmental education in Israel have not been achieved. The authors call for additional research to identify ways to improve environmental education in the Israeli public schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because culture affects the way people perceive human–nature relationships, it is acknowledged as a crucial component of sustainability. Israel has made efforts to involve cultural groups in education-for-sustainability (EfS). However, EfS within minorities still lags behind the dominant social majority. This study addressed incorporating EfS in the ultraorthodox sector ("ultraorthodoxing" EfS), focusing on a pioneering ultraorthodox municipality. In this interpretive study, interviews were conducted with nine stakeholders that hold key-positions regarding EfS policy-making. It explored how sustainability is introduced into ultraorthodox discourse and promoted in this community. Challenges to incorporating EfS include low environmentalism among the ultraorthodox and cultural–religious barriers. The findings indicate several directions of activity implemented by the Municipality to adapt EfS to ultraorthodox values and worldviews. The study suggests several principles for incorporating EfS in diverse cultural groups within multicultural societies (for example, allocating leaders from within the cultural group and developing their professional expertise, and establishing productive external–internal partnerships). Based on the findings, we suggest that implementing the particularistic approach within specific communities provides the means for empowering them, and is a necessary stage towards the participation of such cultural groups in pluralistic dialogue in wider society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]