Environmental education and quality of life
One of the key assumptions in environmental education for sustainable development is that environmental education should improve and ultimately sustain people's 'quality of life'. The main question the paper addresses is how we can measure 'quality of life'. Earlier debates...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Environmental Association of Southern Africa
1997-12-01
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| Series: | Southern African Journal of Environmental Education |
| Online Access: | https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/137442 |
| _version_ | 1818178391123165184 |
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| author | Nelleke Bak |
| author_facet | Nelleke Bak |
| author_sort | Nelleke Bak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | One of the key assumptions in environmental education for sustainable development is that environmental education should improve and ultimately sustain people's 'quality of life'. The main question the paper addresses is how we can measure 'quality of life'. Earlier debates focussed on measuring quantitative factors but more recent surveys are concerned with developing a matrix of measurement that addresses qualitative factors as well in order to give a more meaningful picture of the state of well-being in a society. The problem with such a matrix is that the factors are couched in particular cultural interpretations, which tempts us to think that we cannot have an intercultural notion of human flourishing. I argue that not only can we have such a notion, but given the assumption of interdependence which underpins environmental education, we must start to spell out a shared concept of what constitutes 'quality of life'. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T20:47:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-da683b643b7f464192497ad85c245fdd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2411-5959 2411-5959 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T20:47:14Z |
| publishDate | 1997-12-01 |
| publisher | Environmental Association of Southern Africa |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Southern African Journal of Environmental Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-da683b643b7f464192497ad85c245fdd2022-12-22T00:51:20ZengEnvironmental Association of Southern AfricaSouthern African Journal of Environmental Education2411-59592411-59591997-12-0117Environmental education and quality of lifeNelleke BakOne of the key assumptions in environmental education for sustainable development is that environmental education should improve and ultimately sustain people's 'quality of life'. The main question the paper addresses is how we can measure 'quality of life'. Earlier debates focussed on measuring quantitative factors but more recent surveys are concerned with developing a matrix of measurement that addresses qualitative factors as well in order to give a more meaningful picture of the state of well-being in a society. The problem with such a matrix is that the factors are couched in particular cultural interpretations, which tempts us to think that we cannot have an intercultural notion of human flourishing. I argue that not only can we have such a notion, but given the assumption of interdependence which underpins environmental education, we must start to spell out a shared concept of what constitutes 'quality of life'.https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/137442 |
| spellingShingle | Nelleke Bak Environmental education and quality of life Southern African Journal of Environmental Education |
| title | Environmental education and quality of life |
| title_full | Environmental education and quality of life |
| title_fullStr | Environmental education and quality of life |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental education and quality of life |
| title_short | Environmental education and quality of life |
| title_sort | environmental education and quality of life |
| url | https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/137442 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nellekebak environmentaleducationandqualityoflife |