Teaching Environmental Themes within the “Scientific Awakening” Course in Moroccan Primary School

Approaches, Methods and Difficulties

Bibliographic Data

ID22046074
AuthorsBouchta El Batri (0000-0001-6428-8478, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University), Lhoussaine Maskour (0000-0002-9966-3474, Université Ibn Zohr, corresponding author), Jamal Ksiksou (0000-0002-7608-4576, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University), Eila Jeronen (0000-0001-8610-2355, University of Oulu), Jalal Ismaili (0000-0002-4753-4363, Université Moulay Ismail de Meknes), Anouar Alami (0000-0002-3951-9382, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University), Mohammed Lachkar (0000-0002-6358-5363, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University)
Year2022
Volume12
Issue11
Pages837
Publication date2022-11-20
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducation Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2227-7102 • E-ISSN: 2227-7102
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/educsci12110837
OpenAlexW4309682765
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited60

In addition to identifying the pedagogical approaches favoured by teachers in environmental education, the study aims to reveal the impact of the teaching methods and tools used as well as the teaching difficulties encountered on the effectiveness of teachers’ pedagogical action, particularly in the “Scientific Awakening” course.The study concerns a sample of 636 primary school teachers from the urban and rural areas of the Fez-Meknes Regional Academy of Education in Morocco. The data was collected using a 37-item questionnaire covering the following variables: the teaching methods adopted, the preferred pedagogical approaches, the teaching material used, and the teaching difficulties encountered. The study fits under a descriptive correlational design. The most used teaching methods were the teacher-centred oral methods (dialogue and demonstration method) lacking learner-centred activities (working in small groups, discovery method). The least used ones were laboratory experiments and ICT-based demonstrations. The study shows that teachers who use active methods are the most aware of difficulties in teaching environmental issues and were the most capable of effectively solving learning problems and achieving pedagogical objectives. The study shows that Moroccan primary school teachers need in-service training for the adoption of a systemic and interdisciplinary pedagogical approach. In addition, to address the issue of the alarming failure to complete the “Scientific Awakening” program, we recommend continuous training for the benefit of teachers. This training should cover the appropriate active methods to effectively complete this program. Finally, the study underlined the need to solve the problem of the enormous lack of teaching tools. Certainly, this shortage significantly influences the pedagogical action of teachers regardless of the pedagogical methods adopted

Action research · Environmental education · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · School teachers · Teaching method · Animal and Plant Science Education · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Psychology · Science Education and Pedagogy

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