Volume 13 - Issue 74
/ February 2024
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2024.74.02.14
How to Cite:
Atorina, V., Imber, V., Viktorenko, I., Balakirieva, V., & Loboda, O. (2024). Environmental awareness for teachers: A sustainable
future. Amazonia Investiga, 13(74), 165-179. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2024.74.02.14
Environmental awareness for teachers: A sustainable future
Екологічна свідомість вчителів: стале майбутнє
Received: December 28, 2023 Accepted: January 28, 2024
Written by:
Viсtoria Atorina1
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4829-7010
Viktoriia Imber2
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2908-9654
Iryna Viktorenko3
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3887-4662
Viktoriia Balakirieva4
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5361-5568
Olha Loboda5
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1982-8364
Abstract
The article shows the significance of the
formation of environmental awareness of each
individual on a global scale. The approach of
scientists to the disclosure of the content of
ecological consciousness, its structure, and its
varieties has been studied. The position of
consideration of ecological consciousness is
proposed, which is presented from two positions
(the first position – based on the acquired
experience of ecological being, the awareness of
a person's mental sense of personal
responsibility; the second position – the
phenomenon of ecological consciousness in the
"society – nature" system). The main approaches
in preparing future primary school teachers for
the formation of environmental consciousness
are highlighted; principles that ensure the
development of environmental awareness of
primary school teachers; and components of
environmental awareness (technological,
managerial, communicative). To verify the
1
Doctor of Philosophy, Senior Teacher of Pre-School Pedagogy and Psychology Department, Oleksandr Dovzhenko Hlukhiv National
Pedagogical University, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: GZL-7328-2022
2
Ph.D in Pedagogical Science, Docent of the Department of Primary Education, Vinnytsia State Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi Pedagogical
University, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: AAE-8506-2020
3
Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Professor of the Department of Primary Education Theory and Practice, SHEI
“Donbas State Pedagogical University”, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: D-7706-2018
4
Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Pedagogical Technologies of Primary Education, South
Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynsky, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: IIX-4990-2023
5
Doctor of Philosophy, Instructor and Accompanist for Vocal Department in Conservatory, Minzu University of China, China.
WoS Researcher ID: KCK-0520-2024
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formation of the components of environmental
awareness among students of higher education in
higher educational institutions, an experimental
study of the formation of environmental
awareness among primary school teachers was
conducted and the need for the formation of
environmental culture among schoolchildren was
proven in primary school when a person develops
his personality as a future citizen, which proves
the relevance of the selected research topic.
Keywords: formation of environmental
awareness, future primary school teachers,
project activity, primary school, environmental
culture.
Introduction
The current ecological crisis in the world
actualizes the formation of ecological
orientations and attitudes in people and speaks of
the need to ecologies the consciousness of the
entire society. It is the environmental crisis in the
world that has reached a global level, which
requires the formation of a solid foundation for
the ecological thinking of the individual, which
must be provided by environmental education.
Therefore, the promotion of fundamental
ecological knowledge and the formation of
ecological consciousness and ecological culture
of each person and society as a whole is the main
goal of ecological education. Achieving this goal
will ensure the formation of people's ecological
thinking, which is necessary today for making
economic decisions – ecologically justified at the
level of regions, industries, enterprises, each
country, and the world in general (Vlasenko,
2019). Therefore, since the solution to urgent
modern environmental issues is impossible
without changes in the ecological consciousness
of the individual, the question of the formation of
ecological consciousness today belongs to the
global socio-psychological problems. At the
same time, primary school plays an important
role in the formation of environmental
awareness. The primary school itself is the
starting point of "abandonment from the
destructive consumerist way of life of a person to
a thrifty and restorative one (Gabarda Méndez et
al., 2021).
The new requirements of society for education,
starting from primary school, determine the need
for quality training of an ecologically literate
generation of young people who can implement
an eccentric approach to interaction with nature.
The modern Paradigm of education places the
education of environmental literacy at the center
of educational activity, which leads to the
formation of environmental awareness and the
formation of environmental competence of the
individual and society. Fulfillment of this task is
impossible without affirming the priority of life
forms as a condition for the existence of
humanity and, the accumulation of positive
practical and scientific experience of the
interaction of nature and man (Kotiash, 2019).
The development and functioning of the
environment, and the attitude of each person
towards it mostly depend on the formation of
environmental consciousness, emotional
relationships with nature, and the strength of the
foundation of primary environmental knowledge
formed in primary school age. Therefore, the
formation of environmental consciousness
among future primary school teachers plays a
major role in the training of future primary
school teachers in higher education institutions
and is the main factor in the development of the
ecological culture of the young generation of the
world. Our research will focus on such important
global issues.
The problem of the formation of environmental
consciousness of teachers acquires special
importance in the theory and methodology of
professional education. Therefore, in the article
we considered the main aspects of this problem.
Namely: the significance of the formation of
environmental awareness of each individual on a
global scale; the approach of scientists to the
disclosure of the content of ecological
consciousness and its varieties; positions of
consideration of ecological consciousness and its
structure; basic approaches to the formation of
environmental consciousness in the preparation
of future primary school teachers; principles that
ensure the development of environmental
awareness of primary school teachers;
Atorina, V., Imber, V., Viktorenko, I., Balakirieva, V., Loboda, O. / Volume 13 - Issue 74: 165-179 / February, 2024
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components of environmental awareness; the use
of project activities for the formation of
environmental awareness among primary school
teachers; conducted an experimental study of the
formation of environmental awareness among
primary school teachers.
Literature review
Depending on the orientation of ecological ideas,
scientists reveal the essence of ecological
consciousness in future specialists, distinguish
types of ecological consciousness, show its
importance for society, in the educational process
investigate psychological and pedagogical
problems of the formation of ecological
consciousness and age aspects of the problem of
ecological consciousness. In particular,
V. Rohoza (2020), within the scope of his
research, examines the problem of the formation
of eco-values among future teachers of natural
sciences.
Nowadays, in the process of project activities, the
problem of forming environmental competence
of the future primary school teacher is relevant.
V. Koval & A. Shevantaieva (2018), based on the
study of the experience of scientists from
different countries, analyzed the essence of the
concepts: of "project activity" and "ecological
competence". They devoted their research to the
justification of the need to use project activities
in the educational process to increase the level of
environmental competence of future teachers in
higher education institutions. The same problem
is dealt with by T. Ninova (2018), who
considered the concept of "ecological
competence" and substantiated the concept of
"ecological consciousness". It determined the
components and structure of the environmental
consciousness of the future teacher and analyzed
the survey of students, and future teachers of
primary classes to identify their level of
environmental consciousness and ecological
knowledge.
However, in the discursive field of the scientific
investigations outlined above, the problem of the
formation of ecological consciousness, its
essence, components, and levels of formation
was not highlighted. Taking into account the fact
that nowadays ecological culture is one of the
most important means of socialization of
students and a way of their self-realization, all the
efforts of the educational process should be
directed to the effective use of the necessary
levers of its formation, taking into account the
existing state of the natural environment,
ecological deformations that leave an imprint on
personal sphere, reveal the need for
unconditional fulfillment of ecological
imperatives and the search for optimal forms of
interaction between man and nature.
Contradictions were revealed, indicating the
need for future primary school teachers to
improve the process of forming environmental
awareness. I. Kotiash (2019) also studies the
process of training future primary school
teachers in a higher education institution. The
scientist reveals the content of forming the
readiness of future specialists to solve issues of
human health preservation, environmental
safety, nature protection, and rational use of
natural resources. Justifies the need for future
primary school teachers to develop a system of
environmental knowledge (scientific ideas,
concepts, facts, etc.), skills, and abilities; proves
the importance of the development of
consciousness and ecological thinking, indicates
the importance of the formation of an ecological
culture, the need to maintain a healthy lifestyle,
and the appropriate ecological behavior of the
individual in the natural environment. That is, it
proves the need for environmental culture, self-
awareness, environmental literacy, and the
formation of environmental competence of the
future primary school teacher, which is a
necessary component of the teacher's
professional training. Continues the study and
consideration of modern approaches to the
formation of environmental consciousness of
future teachers of primary school N. Vlasenko
(2021). The researcher, in the process of teaching
the integrated course "I Explore the World",
found out the ways of forming the ecological
consciousness of future primary school teachers,
analyzed the current state of the formation of the
teacher's ecological consciousness in the primary
school, with the aim of quality education of the
young generation, which will be able to
rationally reproduce and use natural wealth and
coexist harmoniously with nature. It represents
the professional training of a teacher by
integrating methodological approaches to
teaching (activity, axiological, competence,
interdisciplinary.
Despite a large number of scientific and
scientific-practical developments, in particular,
in the field of environmental education, the
environmental situation in the world is not only
not improving, but also worsening. Awareness of
environmental problems and acquired
environmental knowledge have almost no effect
on the environmental awareness and
environmental activities of the individual.
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H. Popova & O. Derkach (2021) not only
researched the state of development of the
concept of "ecological competence of the future
primary school teacher", but also derived their
own concept, which interprets it as: "an integral
quality of the personality, which includes its eco-
appropriate characteristics, properties; as a result
of environmental education, which integrates
relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities, which
are the basis for the formation of thinking,
consciousness, worldview of an individual; as
professional readiness for ecological pedagogical
activity.
O. Kuchai, N. Hrechanyk, A. Pluhina,
A. Chychuk, L. Biriuk & I. Shevchuk (2022)
revealed the content of information culture
formation of the future primary school teachers;
showed the world experience of using
multimedia technologies in the training of future
primary school teachers in an open democratic
society; researched the forms and methods of
introducing multimedia technologies into the
educational process. They described the
information culture of the primary school teacher
and revealed it as "a certain level of information
competence of a specialist, which allows him to
realize himself in the process of creative
information activity through the use of
information technologies, prepares him for
independent education".
R. Tuay-Sigua, M. Pérez-Mesa &
Y. Porras-Contreras (2023) in their study sought
to account for the ideas and experiences of
teachers in education for sustainable
development in the city of Bogotá, Colombia.
Based on a qualitative study with an interpretive
approach through an open questionnaire, the aim
was to investigate educational proposals
developed in institutions in urban environments.
The results intersect with the proposal of
sustainability typologies from the
epistemological, axiological, and ontological
components.
G. Lucenko, N. Hrechanyk, T. Gavrilenko &
O. Lutsenko (2022) analyzed the peculiarities of
the formation of research activities of primary
school students. The study showed that "the
introduction of project work allows the teacher to
create a pedagogical situation in which the
student formulates a goal and achieves it, while
simultaneously developing key skills that will
become the basis of their wider learning".
Scientists emphasize that the laid foundations of
the formation of environmental consciousness
have acquired further development in pedagogy
by the growing relevance of environmental
issues and their understanding as a vitally
important problem of society.
As a result of the research analysis, we note that
the ecological state of the modern planet has
caused a deep interest in solving this problem at
the level of education. It has been proven that
future primary school teachers need to have a
high level of environmental knowledge,
environmental thinking, and behavior. However,
with numerous studies by scientists from
different countries, the issue of the formation of
environmental consciousness of future primary
school teachers has been incompletely covered.
A study of the specialized literature on the issue
makes it possible to outline several
contradictions:
− between the ecological challenges faced by
humanity, attempts to solve them, which
involve an axiological component, and the
ability of modern education to prepare
people and society to solve environmental
problems measurement;
− between the importance recognized at the
level of society and the state environmental
values, involving the latter in everyday
practice and their real promotion and
affirmation, in particular using professional
pedagogical education;
− between the requirements of educational
standards, which contain value and meaning
components of professional competencies of
future teachers, and the lack of development
of relevant pedagogical technologies for
their formation in the process of professional
training;
− between the need for effective formation and
assimilation of ecological values in the
process of professional training of future
teachers and inadequately developed
pedagogical conditions for ensuring such a
process.
Taking into account the relevance of
environmental education and the education of
schoolchildren, the need to change current
approaches to the training of highly qualified
teachers, and the insufficient level of scientific
and methodical development of the outlined
problem, the topic of the article was chosen.
Purpose of the article. To show the significance
of the formation of environmental awareness of
each individual; single out the main approaches
in the preparation of future primary school
teachers to the formation of environmental
awareness; principles that ensure the
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development of environmental awareness of
primary school teachers; components of
environmental awareness and experimentally
verify the formation of environmental awareness
of higher education students.
Methodology
The modern ecological state of the planet caused
the solution of this problem at the level of
education and caused the expansion and
deepening of the methodological basis in
educational practice.
Methodological approaches to the formation of
environmental awareness are the basis of training
future primary school teachers.
In the article, we used research methods:
− theoretical – comparison and comparison of
scientific and methodical sources; analysis
of psychological, philosophical,
pedagogical, and sociological literature on
the researched question, to determine the
essence of the main concepts of the research
and the possibility of substantiating the
conceptual and methodological foundations
of the research;
− empirical – pedagogical observation,
monitoring, interviewing, questionnaires,
conversations, analysis of activity products;
− a pedagogical experiment – to check the
effectiveness of the formation of
environmental awareness among future
primary school teachers.
Statistical methods were used to generalize
qualitative and quantitative characteristics, and
process, and verify experimental data.
The research was conducted in three stages.
− the diagnostic stage involved the
organization of an ascertaining experiment.
At this stage, based on the conducted
monitoring analysis, we found out the actual
state of formation of environmental
awareness among future primary school
teachers and explored promising ways to
improve professional training;
− the content stage involved the accumulation
of empirical material on the formation of
environmental awareness among future
primary school teachers; clarification of the
hypothesis and selected research methods;
establishment of a structure for the
formation of environmental awareness
among future primary school teachers;
modeling of the pedagogical system of
training future specialists of primary school
for the formation of environmental
consciousness. Carrying out the formative
stage of the experiment;
− the control stage involved the processing,
analysis, and systematization of the obtained
results, the implementation of factor analysis
of the results, statistical processing of the
experiment data, their registration, and
implementation in the practice of work of
higher education institutions.
During the theoretical analysis, we found
insufficient attention to such elements of
environmental consciousness as interests, needs,
attitudes, motives, beliefs, etc., which contribute
to the environmental protection activities of
students and the orientation of the ecological
worldview.
To check the formation of the components of
environmental consciousness of higher education
graduates of higher pedagogical educational
institutions, an experimental study of the
formation of environmental consciousness
among primary school teachers was conducted.
58 students of the educational degree "Bachelor"
took part in the study. During the experiment,
diagnostic methods were used: questionnaires
and observations to simultaneously cover a
certain number of respondents and obtain
empirical materials by recording facts and
conditions, phenomena where they occur. During
the research, we singled out the most relevant
elements of the formation of environmental
consciousness among students of higher
education.
The experiment was conducted at several
universities: Oleksandr Dovzhenko Hlukhiv
National Pedagogical University; and Vinnytsia
State Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi Pedagogical
University. Permission to experiment was
approved by the academic councils of these
universities and considered by the ethics.
To assess the homogeneity of experimental and
control data, statistical processing was performed
using MS Excel and SPSS (Statistical Package
for Social Science).
Research relies heavily on the accuracy and
reliability of the data. In research work, the
quality of data collection and analysis not only
adds weight to the research but also contributes
to the formation of sound conclusions, which is
the key to academic success.
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The following digital data collection tools were
useful in the study:
− Google Forms – a simple tool for creating
surveys that allows you to collect data from
respondents, create different types of
questions, and collect answers in
spreadsheets.
− SurveyMonkey – a modern survey tool that
offers a wide range of customization options
and analytical tools for analyzing the
collected data.
− JSTOR, Google Scholar, and other academic
search engines provide access to scholarly
articles, books, and other academic
resources that may be useful for literature
review and theoretical data collection.
− Zotero or Mendeley – bibliography
management programs that help organize
research materials, store references, and
format bibliographies and citations
according to different citation styles.
− Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets –
spreadsheets are useful for organizing and
analyzing collected data when working with
quantitative data.
− SPSS, R, or Python for more advanced data
analysis, statistical analysis, and processing
of volumes of data.
Results and discussion
1. The significance of the formation of
environmental awareness of each
individual on a global scale.
In the 21st century, the priority of ecological
education for the younger generation and all
layers of society has been determined. On a
global scale, great importance is attached to
environmental education and the formation of
environmental consciousness of each individual.
The Cabinet of Ministers of the European Union
issued a resolution defining the priority tasks of
environmental education: raising public
awareness of environmental safety issues; ways
to overcome pollution in the environment are
proposed, among which the foundations of
active, full-fledged participation of every person
in preserving the environment are laid.
The European Parliament, starting in 1993,
emphasized the mandatory introduction of the
environmental component into all educational
spheres and directed the training of teachers to
the ecological education of young people. One of
the main tasks of the Fifth European Community
Environment Program was to integrate the ideas
of environmental policy into all spheres of life of
the population. The educational policy of Great
Britain, Denmark, Spain, Germany, Sweden, and
Finland states the fact that it is in these countries
that environmental education is of great
importance for all areas of the population, and
special attention is paid to the professional
training of teachers, in particular in primary
schools, for environmental education children
J. Castera, P. Clement, F. Munoz, F. Bogner
studied: features of the environmental attitude of
teachers when working at school; the influence
of higher education in training future teachers on
the formation of environmental awareness, key
competencies, value systems, behavior in the
natural environment, etc. and proved the
importance of environmental education in
teaching and developing the environmental
awareness of each individual (Castera et al.,
2018). Forstner-Ebhard's research is interesting
and important, which substantiates the
importance of the "Green Pedagogy" course,
which is available in Europe, which helps "to
ensure a holistic view of environmental
problems, to form an indifferent attitude towards
the environment" (Millán, 2021). To implement
the "Green Pedagogy" course, the following
teaching methods are used: trips and excursions,
case studies, problem-based learning, the use of
media and interactive learning, experimental
work, and reflective evaluation of each
completed task. The formation of ecological
awareness should begin with empathy for living
and non-living nature, studying the environment,
and understanding its interrelationships
(Cárcamo-Vásquez & Gubbins-Foxley, 2023).
The most important link in the system of
continuous environmental education, which
should carry out the formation of the ecological
consciousness of each individual, is the
elementary school, where the teacher lays the
foundations of a responsible, conscious attitude
to personal and social value, to the natural
environment. And it is possible only under the
condition of appropriate professional training of
teachers (Kotiash, 2019).
2. The approach of scientists to the
disclosure of the content of ecological
consciousness and its varieties.
Ecological awareness contains a set of theories,
views, and emotions that reflect the problems of
coexistence (relationship) of nature and society
in terms of their optimal solution to the
possibilities of nature and the specific needs of
society. Ecological consciousness is defined
from the practical side as:
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− awareness by society (individuals) of the
negative consequences of the environmental
crisis;
− aggravation of the ecological situation;
− the habit, concerning nature, the ability to
act in such a way as not to disturb the cycles
and connections of the natural environment;
− promote environmental protection;
− improvement and restoration of natural
resources for the sake of future generations,
not just their current existence.
It is the development of the ecological
consciousness of each person that determines his
activity, his behavior, and the ecological culture
of the individual. A person reveals his own
attitude to his living environment through
consciousness, he can adapt nature to his own
needs, change nature, and adapt to the
surrounding world space (Vlasenko, 2019).
Therefore, environmental consciousness is
defined as awareness by society or a person of
the negative consequences of the development of
the ecological crisis of society; aggravation of the
ecological situation; the habit and ability to act in
nature so as not to disturb the cycles and
connections of the entire natural environment; to
contribute to environmental protection and its
improvement.
We substantiate the varieties of ecological
consciousness (anthropocentric, ecocentric).
Anthropocentric ecological consciousness is
characterized by the following postulates:
− Man is the highest value;
− nature is the object of one-sided human
action;
− nature is the property of man;
− the nature of the goals and motives of
interaction between nature and man is
pragmatic.
Ecocentric ecological consciousness is
characterized by the following postulates:
− human understanding of the essence of
environmental problems, their sources, and
the nature of society's development;
− personal participation of an individual in
environmental protection measures;
− awareness of the possibilities and role of
environmental education in solving relevant
problems;
− the moral responsibility of a person
concerning nature;
− the ability to conduct educational work
(Prima et al., 2017).
Ecocentric environmental awareness is important
in the context of our research. It presupposes a
conscious understanding of the importance of
environmental education by future elementary
school teachers, their valuable, motivated
attitude to the identification of ecologically
appropriate behavior, nature conservation
activities, to manifestations of empathy to
problems that constantly arise in the natural
environment. The formation of an individual's
environmental consciousness takes place under
the influence of the close environment, parents,
and necessarily in the process of a person's
education. It is the personality of the teacher,
from primary school with a high level of
ecological culture, ecological awareness, and
competence, who is a model for students to
follow, is a model of appropriate environmental
behavior, is a person who will prove to students
of the educational space the value of preserving
their own health, will instill a caring attitude
towards natural resources, which will contribute
to the protection of the environment (Popova &
Derkach, 2021).
3. Positions of consideration of ecological
consciousness and its structure.
In the world, environmental awareness is
represented from two positions.
The first position is based on the acquired
experience of ecological existence, a person's
awareness of a mental sense of personal
responsibility.
The second position – the phenomenon of
ecological consciousness in the system "society
– nature" represents a spiritually established
responsibility based on the experience of the
ecological existence of the entire society. With
this approach, ecological consciousness is a set
of ecological knowledge, beliefs, ideas,
emotions, and views that reflect the relationship
between nature and people, the ecological
conditions of an individual's life in the process of
relating to nature, the regulation of the "society –
nature" system, which takes into account the
activities of each person in the natural
environment (Barbosa & Costa, 2020).
Environmental consciousness has a three-
component structure (Kuchai et al., 2023):
− cognitive component – a mental reflection of
the internal environment, social
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environment, natural environment, and
artificial environment;
− behavioral component – self-regulation and
self-reflection in the environment
(technology and interaction strategies);
− emotional component – attitude to the
internal, social, natural, artificial
environment.
Deterioration of the ecological situation on a
global scale, and aggravation of contradictions in
the relationship between nature and society can
lead to a violation of the ecological balance,
which will create a world catastrophe and this
causes anxiety for humanity. Getting out of this
situation requires the combined efforts of all
humanity and significant social and economic
transformations. Harmonization of such
relationships is possible only with the
development of an environmental awareness of
society, which is especially important for the
younger generation. Therefore, great attention
should be paid to the formation of the
environmental consciousness of primary school
teachers during studies in institutions of higher
education (Vlasenko, 2019).
4. Basic approaches to the formation of
environmental consciousness in the
preparation of future primary school
teachers.
Axiological approach. In the conditions of the
educational process, the nature and direction of
interaction of future primary school teachers is
determined by their value system. The
destructive or constructive nature of professional
and social activity depends on its correlation with
the value orientations of the team, society, other
people, and the entire social community.
Therefore, in the preparation of future primary
school teachers, during the formation of their
ecological consciousness, it is important to use
an axiological approach.
Active approach. When training future primary
school teachers and forming their environmental
awareness, an activity approach is necessary for
practical experience of environmental activities;
formation of independent and professional
planning of one's activities depending on the
situation; the ability to practically apply
environmental knowledge in solving, clarifying,
and preventing environmental problems;
improvement of the environment; effective study
of environmental disciplines.
Competency approach. The introduction of a
competency-based approach to the training of
future primary school teachers and the formation
of their environmental awareness solves the
problem of applying a significant amount of
knowledge to solve specific problem situations,
life tasks, and theoretical knowledge.
Interdisciplinary approach. Environmental
education and the formation of environmental
awareness among future primary school teachers
require a combination of different disciplines. An
interdisciplinary approach and its qualitative
application are the main things in solving this
problem. In practice, an interdisciplinary
approach can be implemented by introducing and
developing relevant topics in professional
disciplines (Vlasenko, 2019).
In all approaches, there are sensory, intellectual,
and activity components that provide the basis of
the structure of ecological consciousness as a
holistic formation (Kuchai et al., 2017).
Ecological culture formed based on ecological
awareness and ecological competence of future
primary school teachers is the main condition for
the sustainable development of the entire society,
and the coordination of social, ecological, and
economic factors of development (Zasiekina,
2020).
5. Principles that ensure the development of
environmental awareness of primary
school teachers.
The highest level of mental reflection of the
social, artificial, and natural environment and the
inner world of a person is ecological
consciousness, which is also a reflection of the
role and place of the individual in the ecological
world, taking into account the self-regulation of
such reflection. Ensuring the development of
environmental awareness among primary school
teachers is possible if the principles are followed
(Vlasenko, 2019):
− reflection (expansion and awareness) of
acquired knowledge about natural objects,
personal meaning and methods of
interaction, subjective attitude, and
empathy;
− communication with the natural world;
− identification (identification with objects of
nature of oneself);
− modeling in teaching actions, and
environmental situations (business
environment, plot, simulation, role-playing
games);
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− activity (participation in a practical
orientation in various types of
environmental work);
− the creation of an educational ecological
environment under the age characteristics of
the child to form the ecological
consciousness of the individual.
6. Components of environmental awareness.
Let's highlight the main components of
environmental consciousness: technological,
managerial, and communicative.
The technological component of the
environmental consciousness of the future
primary school teacher includes the creation of
environmental programs; accumulation of
practical experience in creating ecological trails;
the ability to organize scientific research,
educational research, and ecologically oriented
activities; implementation of projects;
organization of an ecological club of teachers and
students of higher education for practice-oriented
activities; using the possibilities of all types of
pedagogical practice, problem-based, interactive,
heuristic educational technologies, computer
technologies in environmental education, etc.
The management component of the
environmental consciousness of the future
primary school teacher exists to obtain results
that would correspond to the tasks of ecological
education and consists of the ability of the
teacher himself to organize various types of joint
work of schoolchildren. It is implemented based
on interconnected principles of selection of the
content of ecological concepts in the
management of the system of ecological
knowledge. The content of the management
component includes justification and selection of
one's own model of action; assessment of the
professional environmental situation; and
implementation of the selected solution. With
this approach, environmental education in
institutions of higher education is aimed at the
development of the personality of a person ready
for ecological and pedagogical activities as a
professional and individual.
The communicative component of
environmental awareness includes the teacher's
ability to convey knowledge in an accessible
form to younger schoolchildren; and the ability
of a future elementary school teacher to learn
new environmental knowledge throughout his
life. It is based on: knowledge of the means of
influence on schoolchildren and the content of
environmental awareness, taking into account the
individual, age-specific characteristics of the
child, it provides for the preparation of the
establishment of relationships "teacher and
parents", "children and teacher"; on the ability to
build communication and establish relations with
schoolchildren based on maximum democracy,
cooperation, the desire to establish a democratic
way of life while communicating with nature; on
the equality of schoolchildren and adults for
mutual demands, respect, and trust in nature
conservation practical activities (Kotiash, 2019).
7. The use of project activities for the
formation of environmental awareness
among primary school teachers.
When forming the environmental awareness of
teachers in institutions of higher education, it is
mandatory to use project activities to ensure the
formation of such key competencies as
communication, research, information, and
others. The method of projects in institutions of
higher education combines productive and
research activities with the process of acquiring
skills and knowledge, based on the personal
interests of a person. This approach ensures the
integration of knowledge and skills and promotes
the implementation of interdisciplinary
connections from various educational
disciplines. The form of the project can be in the
form of presentations for lessons; non-traditional
lessons; methodological manuals and
recommendations; systematization of the
development of didactic games; and
development of ecological holidays (weeks,
projects). This is inherent in the independent
choice by the students of higher education of the
methods and means of implementing the idea,
project topics, and presentation forms with the
aim of quality project work for the future teacher
(Koval & Shevantaieva, 2018).
The project is characterized by the following
requirements and features:
− use of research methods;
− integration of various learning tools and
methods;
− solving an important social problem;
− theoretical, cognitive, and practical
significance of the obtained results;
− use of interdisciplinary connections and, a
combination of knowledge from different
fields (Kuchai & Bida, 2018).
In the process of project activity in institutions of
higher education, almost all the work is done by
the student (from setting the problem, choosing
the topic of the project, and ending with the
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analysis of his activity and the presentation).
With this approach, the teacher performs the role
of a consultant, models various situations, directs
the activities of the student of higher education,
motivates the student to think, and transforms the
educational environment. The use of project
activities in the process of training future primary
school teachers allows for a form of
environmental awareness among primary school
teachers, raises the interest of education seekers
in nature; develops their creative independence;
contributes to the improvement of success and
the formation of environmental competence of a
specialist due to the expansion, deepening,
generalization of educational material; improves
the ability to choose the necessary information
from various sources; provides a combination of
collective and individual activity. Therefore, the
application of project activities in the educational
process plays a large role in the formation of the
environmental consciousness of future primary
school teachers and provides opportunities for
students to acquire skills and acquire new
knowledge (Koval & Shevantaieva, 2018).
8. An experimental study of the formation of
environmental awareness among primary
school teachers.
During the theoretical analysis, we found
insufficient attention to such elements of
environmental consciousness as interests, needs,
attitudes, motives, beliefs, etc., which contribute
to the environmental protection activities of
students and the orientation of the ecological
worldview.
An experiment was conducted to check the
formation of the components of environmental
awareness of higher education graduates of
higher pedagogical educational institutions. 58
students of the educational degree "Bachelor"
took part in the study. We used a complex of
psychological, pedagogical, and sociological
research methods. During the experiment,
diagnostic methods were used: questionnaires
and observations to simultaneously cover a
certain number of respondents and obtain
empirical materials by recording facts and
conditions, phenomena where they occur. During
the research, we singled out the most relevant
elements of students' environmental awareness.
Let's analyze the answers to the questions of the
questionnaire, which aimed to find out the
manifestation of the elements of environmental
awareness of higher education students.
The results indicated that the majority of
respondents see nature primarily as the
environment:
33.7% – the habitat of all non-living and living
organisms
26.8% – human habitat
1.0% is an environment hostile to humans
Thus, almost a quarter of future primary school
teachers perceive nature in the form of separate
components:
11.3% – components of inanimate nature
17.4% – living nature
5.4% of future primary school teachers see nature
as their native, close, own
3.8% – clean space
2.4% – rest
2.1% – neglect, dirt
1.6% – unclear, hidden
We have found out that the perception of nature
has a very wide spectrum in the minds of
students: to the hostile environment as a whole
and starting from the habitat. After analyzing the
data, we claim that the majority of respondents
perceive the natural environment in the form of
certain of its components.
Investigating the features of future elementary
school teachers' perceptions of their
environment, it was established that:
39.2% – with the image of the infinite and great
33.6% of respondents compare nature with the
image of spiritual, living, high 22.6% – see her in
poetic images 4.6% associate nature as negative,
and destructive
Thus, the analyzed data show that the majority of
future primary school teachers have an
appropriate attitude towards the environment and
a positive attitude towards nature.
The next question was aimed at the feelings that
future primary school teachers have about the
environmental condition of the area where they
live. We got the following results:
24.5% – hopelessness
20.5% – anxiety
15.3% – danger
11.1% – dissatisfaction
8.8% – uncertainty
4.3% – hope
2.1% – calming
4.0% – no special feelings
3.1% – satisfaction
3.1% – respect
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1.9% – confidence
1.9% – security
1.4% – fear
Therefore, such results highlight negative
feelings in the emotional and volitional sphere of
future elementary school teachers, they testify to
the concern and indifference of their locality to
the ecological state. Emotionality in the
perception of the surrounding nature by future
primary school teachers most often indicated
such emotions as joy (21.4%) and pleasure
(22.5%). And insignificantly – for emotions of
excitement (8.8%), beauty (9.4%), harmony
(9.1%), irritation (6.8%), curiosity (4.4%),
sadness (6.3 %), boundless sadness (4.3%),
indifference (2.7%), shame (4.3%), So, 65% of
future primary school teachers showed emotions
of beauty, beauty, harmony, which is the basis of
environmental awareness and 35.1% of future
primary school teachers have negative emotions.
Taking into account the chosen specialty of the
future primary school teacher, these indicators
testify to the positive attitude of students toward
nature, and only a third of respondents chose
indifference, sadness, and irritation, which
indicates an attitude towards nature. So, the
research suggests that nature is included in the
point of view of their interests, needs, and goals
in the category of the most valuable orientations
among the majority of respondents.
So, based on the analysis of the typological
features of the ecological consciousness of future
primary school teachers, it can be concluded that
this phenomenon exists in close interaction with
all forms of social consciousness, and has an
independent scientific status, which consists in
the interaction of society and nature. To ensure
the effectiveness of the formation of
environmental consciousness of future primary
school teachers, it is necessary that upbringing
and environmental education are aimed at
transforming the value characteristics, skills,
knowledge, principles, ideals, and attitudes
toward the nature of the whole society into the
internal worldview plan of the individual.
We, to form the ecological awareness of future
primary school teachers, have allocated
environmental educational activities, practical
training, educational work with students,
environmental psychological training, and the
creation of ecological pedagogical projects.
During the experimental period, different
teaching methods, forms, and different work
tools were used. Environmental-pedagogical
projects, which contributed to the formation of
environmental awareness of future primary
school specialists, played a significant role in
solving clearly defined problems. While
preparing the material for the project, the
students studied psychological and pedagogical
literature, a significant volume of scientific
environmental literature, applied material from
practice, and participated in student conferences,
scientific discussions, and round tables.
During the formation of ecological
consciousness, it was assumed that students of
higher education would be familiarized with the
content of ecological consciousness and its
structure. Ecological awareness is represented
from two positions. The first position is based on
the acquired experience of ecological existence,
a person's awareness of a mental sense of
personal responsibility. The second position is
the phenomenon of ecological consciousness in
the system "society – nature".
The students discussed the three-component
structure of environmental awareness, its
varieties, the main approaches in preparing future
primary school teachers for the formation of
environmental awareness, the principles that
ensure the development of the environmental
awareness of primary school teachers, the
components of environmental awareness
(technological, managerial, communicative).
During the experimental work, great importance
was attached to the application of project
activities for forming environmental awareness
among primary school teachers.
When studying professional disciplines, work
with information was given a creative ecological
character: students of education had the
opportunity to define an ecological-pedagogical
problem in the content of the work, draw up an
activity plan, develop their own methods of
solving ecological-pedagogical tasks, put
forward a hypothesis based on evaluative
judgments, write conclusions to creative work
and make generalizations; to analyze the work of
other students and self-analysis of one's own
activity.
Great attention was paid to: the content of
ecological material, clarity, the possibility of
considering the studied concept in various
aspects, the application of situational and
problematic tasks, the formation of intellectual
skills in students, conducting reflective training
of students, where they creatively approached the
solution of ecological and pedagogical tasks,
group reflections (video reflections – analysis of
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video recordings of lessons and events of
environmental orientation.
After conducting such in-depth work on
education seekers on the ecological and
pedagogical problem, we surveyed students.
As evidenced by the results of the survey of
students of higher education, insufficient
attention is paid to the formation of
environmental awareness during university
studies.
So, to the question: "What prevents the
successful formation of environmental
awareness among future primary school
teachers?" education seekers answered
differently: insufficient attention on the part of
teachers to the formation of environmental
awareness among future primary school teachers
(31%); detachment of people from nature (48%);
rapid scientific and technical progress (20%); a
negative example from adults for children in
matters of attitude to the environment (54%);
insufficient number of hours in the educational
process for studying environmental disciplines
(12%); insufficient attention of the state to
solving environmental problems (9%); 17% of
respondents could not answer.
In the course of the experiment with future
primary school teachers, it was found that they
have insufficient knowledge for the formation of
environmental awareness, do not know how to
carry out environmental education activities for
younger schoolchildren (49%); would like to
receive more information about the
environmental problems of their area (28%);
environmental disasters of a global scale (46%);
problems of demographic explosion (13%); on
issues of environmental law – 6%; environmental
problems of other countries – (33%) and others.
24% of higher education students do not feel the
need for additional environmental knowledge
and are consciously ready for the formation of
environmental awareness in primary school
students.
We believe that the formation of environmental
awareness among future primary school teachers,
and their environmental activity is one of the
health-preserving activities of all mankind, as it
contributes to the formation of environmental
awareness, health-preserving skills, and abilities
in primary school students. Under such
conditions, it is possible:
− caring attitude towards nature,
− formation of moral and spiritual health,
social health, psychological health, and
physical health of a person;
− formation of cultural behavior skills,
− interpersonal communication, etc.
Special attention should be paid to the formation
of ecological awareness among future primary
school teachers and the formation of the
environmental culture of schoolchildren in
primary school when a person is formed as a
future citizen. Therefore, institutions of higher
education face the task of forming environmental
awareness among future primary school teachers,
and their appropriate preparation for carrying out
such activities with children.
A literature review is an important task for the
researcher, so we made extensive use of
information available through published articles
or the Internet. Given the volume of literature
available, the literature review was subject to
substantial bias because only a few studies were
included, as the studies thus identified may well
be representative of all relevant studies. It was
felt that the best way to ensure an objective and
unbiased review of the literature was to conduct
a review that followed strict guidelines to
minimize bias in the selection and interpretation
of the reported studies, and generalization of
results. Knowing about some of the key
published studies helped us. However, we
checked that they were all identified using an
electronic database search. If not, a careful
review of the search strategy identified the reason
for this, and the search may have been modified
accordingly. Reference lists of all relevant
studies identified from the electronic database
search that were missed by this search but cited
in relevant papers were reviewed.
We will give specific examples of how primary
school teachers can raise the environmental
awareness of their students. Learning by doing
promotes a more frugal attitude to objects,
students understand that raw materials are
needed for their production of all objects, and this
harms the environment. After our conversations
about the importance of the environment, the
students began to use water and paper more
rationally, try to take care of their clothes, save
electricity at home and school, and make sure
that the front door is closed.
Scientific research and educational work,
ecological and local history, educational and
cognitive, educational and informational, and
environmental protection activities were carried
out to develop environmental awareness among
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students.
Educational and cognitive activities took place
through environmental games, trainings, and
participation of students in environmental
Olympiads, seminars, and debates.
Scientific and research work covered the
implementation of environmental projects,
monitoring, experiments, organization of
observations, work at the school site, and
landscaping of the arboretum.
Educational and informational activities
consisted of the release of newsletters, leaflets,
appeals to citizens, the presentation of the
environmental campaign brigade, and the
collection of photo materials.
Environmental and local history and nature
protection activities are participation in the
environmental actions such as "Plant a tree",
"Clean environment", Save the beauty of the
village".
For environmental education, students were
involved in work on the school grounds and
flower gardens, teachers conducted
environmental brainstorming sessions and
socializing hours.
Conclusions
The significance of the formation of
environmental consciousness of each
individual on a global scale has been proven,
and the approach of scientists to the disclosure
of the content of ecological consciousness, its
structure, and its varieties has been
investigated.
The position of consideration of ecological
consciousness is proposed, which is presented
from two positions, and the three-component
structure of ecological consciousness is shown.
The main approaches in preparing future
primary school teachers for the formation of
environmental consciousness are highlighted;
principles that ensure the development of
environmental awareness of primary school
teachers; and components of environmental
awareness (technological, managerial,
communicative).
The necessity of using project activities for the
formation of environmental awareness among
primary school teachers is shown.
During the theoretical analysis, we found
insufficient attention to such elements of
environmental consciousness as interests,
needs, attitudes, motives, beliefs, etc., which
contribute to the environmental protection
activities of students and the orientation of the
ecological worldview.
To verify the formation of the components of
environmental awareness among students of
higher education at higher educational
institutions, an experimental study of the
formation of environmental awareness among
primary school teachers was conducted and the
need for the formation of environmental
culture among schoolchildren was proven
precisely in primary school, when a person
develops his personality as a future citizen,
which proves the relevance of the selected
research topic.
The implications of the research results make
it possible to state that primary school teachers
can use the results to improve their teaching
practice because environmental consciousness
forms a worldview in the individual aimed at
ensuring environmental protection and is a
worthy platform for environmental education,
which is a collection of various environmental
knowledge, environmental thinking,
ecological ethics, ecological culture.
First of all, primary school teachers can use the
results to improve their teaching practice,
putting into practice such functions of a
teacher that are necessary for his work, these
are: diagnostic; orientational and prognostic;
constructive and design; organizational;
informative and explanatory; communicative
and stimulating; analytical and evaluative;
research-creative.
Secondly, take into account the fact that the
development of ecological awareness takes
place through the following activities:
deepening scientific knowledge in natural
disciplines that ensure a responsible attitude to
the environment and life; learning independent
ecological thinking, finding innovative
solutions to problems; promotion of ecological
education for awareness of the idea of
harmonious interaction between man and
nature; involving not only students, but also
parents, public organizations, and local
authorities in environmental protection
activities; formation of a sense of
responsibility for the state of the environment.
We will provide specific recommendations on
the formation of environmental awareness for
future primary school teachers. To give the
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process of students' familiarization with nature
a clear ecological orientation, educational
activities should be improved in the following
areas:
1) eliminate the anthropocentric approach to
studying the material;
2) highlight such tasks as the development of
personal responsibility for the state of
preservation of the natural balance of the
environment, development of ecologically
competent behavior in nature, assimilation
of ethical norms about members of society
and objects of nature, etc.;
3) to provide students with the formation of
elementary, but scientifically reliable
ecological ideas and concepts, the
disclosure of laws existing in nature;
4) for students to understand the need to
preserve natural balance, they should be
brought to the awareness of the general
regularity – "Everything in nature is
interconnected."
For this purpose, the teacher can apply verbal-
symbolic modeling, combine dynamic
modeling and verbal-symbolic, offer
schoolchildren to solve environmental
problems, and familiarize them with the rules
of ecologically competent behavior in nature
not in the form of moralizing, but by giving
them the right to choose a variant of behavior,
enable to motivate him, to create such
pedagogical situations that will have a
significant educational impact, will contribute
to the formation of the substructure of a
responsible attitude of students to nature.
Further research will be aimed at clarifying the
principles that ensure the development of
environmental awareness among primary
school teachers.
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