Learning emerging from the formal curriculum through interactions in class

Students and adults are learning through classroom and field work interactions based on environmental topics and objectives prescribed in the formal curriculum. The learning interactions are facilitated mostly by teachers with occasional support from parents and environmental organizations as indicated by most research participants in Sections 4.2.5 and 4.3.5. Evidence in each Eco-School implies that the formal curriculum provides opportunities for the construction of both scientific and every-day knowledge with support from the learning support materials and methods used by teachers when facilitating learning. Some of the scientific knowledge illustrated in Sections 4.2.5 and 4.3.5 is knowledge on the flora and fauna of Seychelles, the sustainable use of waste, water and energy and also socio-ecological issues such as climate change. On the other hand, the sharing of every-day knowledge was taking place in the formal learning interaction in class discussions between the teachers and students (Sections 4.2.5 & 4.3.5). Some of the every-day knowledge was about the materials that teachers use in classroom interactions, the name of living things in a habitat, and the materials in the environment that are considered as waste, amongst others.

Occasionally organizations conduct presentations in class to facilitate learning on environmental topics prescribed in the formal curriculum, namely, marine ecosystems, climate change and endangered species in Seychelles (Sections 4.2.5, 4.3.5, 2.2.3.3, 2.2.3.4, 2.2.3.6, 4.2.8 & 4.3.8). In case 2, one interviewee added that the Wildlife Club of Seychelles which is one of the non-governmental organizations working with the school does not only facilitate learning in class but also on field trips alongside teachers (Section 4.3.5). Teachers are also learning from the presentations conducted by the organizations as indicated by one member from the Eco-School committee in case 1 (Section 4.2.5) and one teacher from case 2 (Section 4.3.5). Environmental organizations such as the Wildlife Club of Seychelles have also donated learning support materials to support environmental learning in schools as indicated by research participants in Sections 4.2.5 and 4.3.5.

Findings in case 1 from some interviewees and one teacher from the Eco-School committee added that some parents are also facilitating environmental learning. One of several examples was in relation to a parent who facilitated learning on a field trip for a lesson on rivers and brought samples of water collected at the river to be tested at the laboratory for any signs of contamination. The findings from the water tested was then compiled by the students with support of their teacher and presented in a school exhibition (Section 4.2.5).

Across case 1 and case 2, the methods that teachers use influence the way that students participate and learn in environmental learning. Some of the methods indicated in case 2 such as role plays and debates create excitement amongst students to apply knowledge (Section 4.3.5). Both methods also encourage discussion more than other methods, and some of the methods such as field trips and educational visits build on or consolidate what has been discussed in class on an environmental topic (Sections 4.2.5 & 4.3.5). Even if the methods provide students with the opportunity to participate and learn in the lessons facilitated by the teachers there are other methods such as peer learning that the teachers could potentially consider. This is because one parent from case 2 argued that from her experience she is not aware of the school providing opportunities for students to facilitate learning with other students (Section 4.3.5). Moreover, most research participants in cases 1 and 2 pointed out that students are mostly participants and learners

in the formal learning interactions and there is no evidence that suggest their involvement as facilitators of learning amongst peers (Sections 4.2.5 & 4.3.5).

In each school, evidence suggests that students are developing knowledge while they interact with peers and teachers on an environmental topic in class such as through class discussions (Section 4.2.5 & 4.3.5). There are several examples in each case that provide evidence of students developing knowledge in the learning interactions and three of them are discussed below. One of the students from case 1 shared her experience of developing knowledge on the plants that are endangered, extinct and native in Seychelles (Section 4.2.5). Another student from case 1 shared her experience of how the programme has provided her with the opportunity to discover the things that exist in the environment (Section 4.2.5). The third example was outlined by a teacher from case 2 who pointed out that she noticed a change in the students’ eating habits at school, namely a reduction of the amount of junk food eaten during break/lunch time (Section 4.3.5). In addition, students were then given the opportunity to engage in activities such as poems to apply what they have learnt on an environmental topic from the classroom interactions (Section 4.2.5 & 4.3.5).

In case 1, there are instances when some parents have learnt from the teachers while they have attended lessons at school covering an environmental topic (Section 4.2.5). One interviewee in Section 4.2.5 pointed out that the parents share what they have learnt from the teachers with other parents in the community outside school.

In the process of adults facilitating learning on environmental topics, students and adults such as teachers learn how they can live sustainably in nature, identify and respond to socio-ecological issues in school grounds and in their community outside school and manage resources, amongst others (Sections 4.2.5 & 4.3.5). One of several examples that have been mentioned by most research participants in each school is in relation to students and teachers learning how to produce new things out of recycled materials as one way to sustainably manage materials that are regarded as waste in the environment (Sections 4.2.5 & 4.3.5). One student from the focus group discussion expressed her gratitude towards the programme and outlined that the Eco-School programme provides the opportunity for her to learn about the environment of the school (Section 4.2.5).

The learning situations above illustrate that students are learning from the experiences of the teachers who are predominantly the facilitators of environmental learning within the school context. This relates to Hung’s (2002 – Section 2.3.1) argument that learning is not limited to the minds of the learners but occurs through a process of social participation, where the learners participate in an activity and learn from the experienced people within a specific socio-cultural context.