Supporting elementary students in creating a positive attitude tovard the environment in year 6 geography lesson

In the master´s thesis, action research will be presented with which we will learn how can we in geography lessons in the 6th grade of primary school in pupils encourage formation of positive attitude toward environment by teaching environmental topics. The objectives of the environmental education are oriented toward promotion of higher awareness of pupils about the importance of environmentally friendly and sustainable development of society. Therefore, teaching contents with environmental issues enable pupils to understand this. With active and experimental learning or problem centred lessons, pupils will be placed in situations which require deliberate and responsible actions based on critical thinking and formation of their own criteria for decision-making. In discussing certain teaching contents in geography lessons in the 6th grade (e.g. geography presents itself, life on a continent, climate and plant characteristics of Earth), pupils will relate them with discussion of various environmental issues in local environment by offering possible solutions thereof, develop responsible attitude and positive standpoints toward environment. In the theoretical part of the thesis, the objectives of the environmental education will be presented and contents of the curriculum for geography in the 6th grade, in which the possibilities for environmental awareness or formation of standpoints and values which can be developed by pupils along learning about (local) environmental problems are pointed out. In the empirical part, a research of the local environment will be presented, which will be carried out in steps. The results of each preceding step will be a basis of action of the next step. Individual action steps will be planned as a problem and experimental lessons through which pupils will also take sides with values or take actual standpoints on the environment. Among the key landscape and ecological problems of the East area of Ljubljana where school is situated, we can point out traffic issues, damaged forest areas, air pollution, and growing population. Before we started implementing individual action steps with pupils, we overviewed curriculums for the subject learning about the environment in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade, curriculum for the subject society in the 4th and 5th grade, and curriculum for the subject science and technology in the 4th and 5th grade. With overview we established which topics or contents defining environmental issues pupils already know and which standards of knowledge were already achieved. The obtained findings represented a basic starting point for a test, which determined the knowledge of pupils on environmental topics. This was followed by analysis of the curriculum for geography in the 6th grade of the primary school, which revealed in which topics or contents we can point out environmental issues. With action steps that were further implemented with pupils, they recognized the influence of location and surface of the local landscape its air pollution, the quality of air in local landscape, and the extent to which the plants in school park are damaged, where the research was implemented. The research revealed that the number of objectives related to environmental issues is systematically increasing. The majority of objectives can be realized in the subject science and technology. Geography as natural and social science can simultaneously fulfil objectives of environmental education in majority of geographical topics, although among thirteen operative objectives, objectives of environmental education are “hidden” in only five of them. With the test we discovered that pupils understand the influence of the surface on living conditions in the landscape and also the influence of weather situations on air pollution of the local landscape. Among the key polluters they pointed out traffic and industrial emissions in Vevče and Zalog. They blame human for the damaged spruces in the school park, and the improvement shall be reached with more education and environmental awareness of the residents. The empirical research was directed toward action operation in hometown. Pupils learned about the influence of location and surface on air pollution in Polje, the quality of air in Polje and its vicinity, and damage on spruces in school park. With greater knowledge of the environmental issues in hometown and a direct experiencing of the environment in field work, we influenced the formation of positive attitude toward environment in pupils