Environmental education at Kwantlen Polytechnic University: Hidden curriculum, informal learning of Pro-environmental Values
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Issue Date
2024
Editor
Authors
Drury, Melissa, Champagne
License
Subject
School of environment and sustainability
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify if and how the hidden curriculum (informal teaching and learning) on Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) campuses influences students’ pro-environmental behaviour and ideas. The study aims to make the invisible visible. A phenomenographic approach involved interviewing 14 KPU students, individually, to collect their perceptions of pro-environmental examples on campus, and potential improvements. I grouped data from interviews into themes and also incorporated the lens of environmental worldviews into my analysis of the results. Consequent recommendations to KPU and post-secondary counterparts include environmental communications incorporating understanding of different worldviews, efforts to move towards zero-waste (making green behaviour convenient) as well as fostering stronger community and student sense of belonging. It is hoped the KPU community, as well as other post-secondary institutions, can better model environmentally responsible practices on all campuses to positively influence environmental literacy and pro-environmental values of students.
Description
2024