From anthropocentrism to ecocentrism in teaching science and social studies

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to present the ways in which the attitudes of science, technology and society towards nature and the place of mankind in it have been reflected in the Science and Social Studies curricula from the mid-20th century up to this day. We wanted to explore the manner in which the relationship between mankind and nature (man as a master of nature or a part of it) and our role in its preservation (instrumental reasons or intrinsic value of nature) were presented in the Science and Social Studies curricula over a longer period of time. Content analysis method was implemented in our research. According to the analysis, the timeline of the Science and Social Studies curricula goes from marked anthropocentrism and anatagonism between man and nature (the 50s and 60s of the 20th century), through moderate anthropocentrism with hints of ecocentrism (from the 70s up to the end of the 20th century), to the dominant ecocentrism (in the contemporary 21st century curricula). This process was slow and often out of sync with the development of scientific thought and social circumstances caused by the global environmental crisis. On the other hand, although environmental protection has been included in the analysed curricula, the reasons for its inclusion are either vague or of instrumental nature. Environmental protection arising from intrinsic values of natural entities, and not (only) serving human interests, has not found its place in the Science and Social Studies curricula yet. The opportunities for improvement of the curricula in this context have been problematised in this paper.

Keywords

• аnthropocentrism
• ecocentrism
• environmental protection
• curricula
• teaching Science and Social Studies.