Process of Creation of Awareness and Sensitivity to the Total Environment

INTRODUCTION The issue of a healthy environment goes deeper than this and it’s often pointed out that people forget the structures in which they live and which surround them. Houses, buildings and highways are taken for granted. In creating a healthy environment, though, these cannot simply be ignored while people try to change behavior. Years of research have pointed out problems with things like lead paint in homes or with asbestos, but there are other features in structures that may prove as problematic. For instance, where a structure is built can have a total effect on environment. Schools built near highways could be subject to much higher levels of pollution that contribute to poor human health and higher development of disease. It’s common to think that simply urban environments are the problem. Studies of farm workers in many parts of the world show this not to be the case. Those who live in areas where pesticides are used frequently may have greater risk of respiratory diseases and development of cancer. Large structures anywhere tend to affect environment adversely, and they may rely on consumption of fossil fuels, which create greater pollution. They may also, while sheltering people, decimate populations of animals that protect people. There is often much fuss when a protected species is found near a planned building site, and some feel this is overrated. Yet, when that protected species has some positive effect on the human population (the consumption of disease-bearing mosquitoes, for example), effects of removing it could be devastating and hurt people. Given the complication of trying to create a healthy environment, it would seem almost futile to try. Many argue that this isn’t the case. Studying the environment helps people understand which issues may be causing the greatest problems. Certainly, understanding that lead paint could harm kids, or that DDT was creating high risk of disease were important findings which have helped eliminate these environmental hazards in certain parts of the world. Many people devote their lives to finding ways to create a healthy environment for all residents of the planet, and they may focus in different areas. They can examine human behaviors that risk things like lung cancer, diabetes, or perpetuation of abuse. Others study the effects of chemicals, gases, changes in climate, or changes to the total environment. Thus the answer of how to create a healthy environment is not likely to come from a single source, but instead it comes to humans in bits and pieces, like a puzzle. Each human then has the responsibility of deciding how to fit those pieces together to create a healthier world. The national system of education, as defined in the National Policy on Education, 1986, visualizes a national curricular framework which contains a common core including several elements having a direct bearing on the natural and social environment of the pupils. The National Policy on Education, 1986 (NPE) states that the “protection of the environment” is a value which along with certain other values, must from an integral part of the curriculum at all stages of education. The policy states: “There is a paramount need to create a consciousness of the environment. It must permeate all ages and all sections of society, beginning with the child. Environmental consciousness should inform teaching in schools and colleges. This aspect will be integrated in the entire educational process. “ There has been special emphasis on the need to give importance to environmental education, and this has been kept in view while designing curricula, framing the syllabi and developing text books. The philosophy behind the curricula is that environmental education could be infused into the curricula especially at the primary level. The National Council of Educational Training and Research (NCERT), the apex body in the area of developing curriculum for the formal education system. Currently there is a national debate going on about how to make EE not only widespread but also effective at all levels of education. The strategy under discussion envisages a four pronged approach. The four elements of the strategy are: The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India started The National Environment Awareness Campaign (NEAC) in 1986 with the aim of creating environmental awareness at all levels of society. It is a multi-media campaign which utilises conventional and nonconventional methods of communication for disseminating environmental messages to a wide range of target groups. Under NEAC, the Ministry provides financial assistance to selected non governmental organizations, education and training institutes, community organizations, etc. to create massive awareness among citizens of India. Diverse target groups ranging from students/youth/teachers to rural and tribal population, women, professionals and the general public are covered under this campaign. The Campaign programmes are basically composed of a spectrum of short duration programmes. The programme is being implemented through 33 designated Regional Resource Agencies (RRAs) for specific states/regions of the country. During 2009-10 total 11,738 organisations have participated in the campaign across the country.

To Develop the Self Learning Modules on Environmental Education for Prospective Teachers. To achieve the effect of Self learning modules for the acquisition of Environmental Education by Prospective Teachers.

Here the male arts group students shows the better performance in the case of total environment. The warning signs of this crisis appear in the form of specific problem viz. pollution of different components of environment, reduction in productivity of the major areas of land, increase in the number of pests and diseases, change in the regional and global climates, reduction in the flora and fauna, affecting the biodiversity, due to destruction of forests and wildlife habitats. As enough harm has already been done and if we do not check this squander of our natural resources and environmental pollution, we are bound to meet our dooms day in the near future. The ruthless exploitation of our environment can only be controlled if each citizen of the country considers it his moral duty and responsibility to keep his environment pollution free, neat and clean. In order to meet this challenge, Supreme Court of India has directed all the universities through the 'U.G.C.' to introduce compulsory paper on 'Environmental education' at all levels. Environmental Education is therefore the process of creation of awareness and sensitivity to the total environment, acquisition of knowledge, creation of appropriate attitudes and acquisition of skills for solving the environmental problems. The International conference on Environmental Education was held at Tibilisi, U.S.S.R. inn 1977. The conference recommended that 'A basic aim of Environmental education is to succeed in making individual and communities understand the complex nature of environment and to acquire the knowledge values and attitudes which will help in the management of quality of environment. As we witness the emergence of Environmental education as a major area of study, we have also experienced the growth of new instructional technology in the Environmental pedagogy. The new instructional technology emphasizes self-learning approaches in the field of Environmental education. The subject content of Environmental education can be rendered self instructional by developing programmed learning materials of linear, branching mathetic types and self learning modules. Programmed learning represents a systematic and empirical attempt to convert the craft of teaching into prescriptive theory and practice of instruction. It has been defined as a method of giving individualized instruction in which the student is active, proceeds at his own pace and is provided with immediate feedback of the results. Programmed instruction is a process of developing learning materials to be learned in a series of small steps, designed to lead a learner through self instruction from what he knows to unknown, or new and more complex subject matter. It is learner oriented system with emphasis on the method by which material can be presented so as to be auto-instructional.

At the end of the experiment it was found that group of students who were taught Environmental Education through self learning Modules…………….They have scored higher on Criteria test than the students taught through traditional method. The group of students taught through self learning modules achieved significantly higher scores on Environmental Education Acquisition Test (EEAT) than the group of students taught through the conventional method. So through this achievement we can say the SLM method is far better than the old traditional method. Student are more impressive by the SLM methods. Many private Institution has been started this SLM method around in the 1996 here in india and now we can say by our research that is the right method which have been accepted by the students in the modern era.

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