Do textbooks respond to the requirements of Environmental Education? An analysis in Secondary Education

Abstract

Environmental education is indispensable in educational curricula, this is why it’s found in every textbook. The approach that is used to present the contents and the environmental issues influence values, attitudes and responsibilities acquired by the students. This is the aim of our research: to analyse how environmental contents are treated, the focus on human-nature relationship, what values and actions are promoted, etc. For this we review the most used Secondary Education textbooks of natural sciences and social sciences in Spain. The results of our analysis show that environmental contents are visible in all textbooks. Most commonly these textbooks favor memory-oriented activities versus those intending to improve students’ understanding of environmental complexity. This knowledge is also presented from an anthropocentric approach, highlighting the instrumental value of natural resources, and promoting actions at the individual level rather than global and social.