부산시 초‧중학생의 생태환경에 대한 인식 및 교육경험 분석

Analyzing ecological environment perceptions and educational experiences of elementary and middle school students in Busan

본 연구의 목적은 실천중심의 생태교육 방향을 모색하기 위한 기초작업으로서 학생의 생태환경에 대한 인식 및 소양, 생태환경교육 참여 경험, 생태환경교육의 중요도와 충분도, 기대 및 요구를 분석하는 것이다. 이를 위해 부산시 초‧중학생을 대상으로 설문조사를 실시하고 기술통계 및 학교급별, 성별, 학생회 참여여부에 따른 학생 집단 간 차이를 분석하였다. 주요 결과는 첫째, 부산의 초‧중학생은 대체로 기후변화를 둘러싼 문제가 심각한 수준이라고 자각하고 있으며 학교급별, 성별, 학생회 참여여부에 따라 인식의 차이가 나타났다. 둘째, 환경소양의 경우 초등학생은 환경정서와 환경실천 모두 높은 수준이었고, 중학생은 환경적 지식과 환경적 기능에 대한 소양은 높았으나 환경적 태도, 환경적 실천, 환경적 참여는 상대적으로 낮은 수준으로 나타났으며, 성별, 학생회 참여여부에 따라 차이가 있었다. 셋째, 생태환경문제에 대한 참여는 초등학생이 중학생에 비해, 남학생이 여학생에 비해, 학생회에 참여하는 학생이 그렇지 않은 학생에 비해 높았다. 넷째, 생태환경 관련 활동 경험에서는 50%이상의 학생이 환경 캠페인 활동, 물건 나누기 및 재활용 경험이 있는 반면 학교 밖 학생 환경단체 활동, 환경보호 활동가 지지 서명, 환경단체 기부, 담당 공무원과 소통 부분에서는 활동 경험이 적었으며 수업 중 생태환경을 주제로 이야기하는 빈도도 적었다. 다섯째, 생태환경교육의 중요도에 대한 학생 인식의 수준은 높은 데 반해 충분도는 다소 낮은 것으로 나타났다. 주요 결과를 토대로 실천중심의 생태환경교육의 새로운 학습체계에 관해 정책적으로 제언하였다.

The purpose of this study is to analyze students' perceptions of the ecological environment, their experiences in participating in ecological education, and their expectations and needs for ecological education as a basis for exploring the direction of practice-oriented ecological education. To this end, a survey was conducted among elementary and middle school students in Busan, and differences among student groups by descriptive statistics, school class, gender, and student council participation were analyzed. The main findings are as follows First, elementary and middle school students in Busan generally perceived that the problems surrounding climate change are serious, and there were differences in perceptions by school level, gender, and student council participation. Second, the analysis of students' environmental literacy showed that elementary school students had high levels of both environmental sentiment and environmental practice, and middle school students also had high levels of environmental knowledge and environmental function, but the average of environmental attitudes, environmental practice, and environmental participation were relatively low. Third, participation in ecological and environmental issues was higher among elementary school students compared to middle school students, among male students compared to female students, and among students who participated in student councils compared to those who did not. Third, when analyzing students' activity experiences related to ecological and environmental issues, more than 50% of students reported participating in environmental campaigns, sharing and recycling items, while less students reported participating in student environmental organizations outside of school, signing petitions in support of environmental activists, donating to environmental organizations, and contacting local officials about environmental issues. They also talked about ecology less often in class. Fourth, students' perceptions of the importance of eco-environmental education were high, but their perceptions of its sufficiency were somewhat lower. Based on the main findings, policy recommendations were made on a new learning system for practice-oriented ecological and environmental education.