Environmental Clubs as Vehicles for Promoting Education for E ...

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Abstract

Mauritius, being a small island developing state, is ecologically vulnerable due to its isolation, small size and low resources base. It faces numerous environmental problems such as waste disposal, pressure on limited space, degradation of the quality of natural resources and loss of biodiversity. The government is therefore aiming for Mauritius to become a green island and has already developed various strategies to increase environmental awareness among the Mauritians, especially from early age. This implies revisiting various aspects of our education system, such as national curriculum, and also reflecting on the roles of ‘small organisations’ in and out of the school. This paper therefore addresses part of a study linked with environmental education and sustainability. It mainly focuses on the role of a particular organisation entitled ‘environmental club’ which is usually considered as vehicle for environmental education in secondary schools of Mauritius. It also critically analyses the roles and efficiency of such clubs and reflect how they can help both teachers and learners to develop necessary skills and positive attitudes towards the environment. The study involves use of the survey based method to collect primary data among students and managers/rectors of sixteen secondary schools of Mauritius. The findings tend to show various factors influencing the roles of environmental clubs and eventually support the development of a framework to ensure future sustainability of these clubs, and also promote environmental education among young generation.