The Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature in School Science Education: How Science Learning Can Help Raise Environmental Awareness

Yannis Hadzigeorgiou, Mary Kampouropoulou, Persa Fokiali

School of Humanities, University of the Aegean, Rhodes, Greece.

DOI: 10.4236/ce.2015.68077                

Abstract

This paper focuses upon the problem of raising environmental awareness in the context of school science education through an aesthetic appreciation of natural phenomena. In distinguishing between school learning and what could be called “conscious learning”, the paper explores the role that such an aesthetic appreciation of nature, and more specifically of natural entities, such as trees, laves, water drops, crystals, and phenomena, such as, flashes of lightning, aurora borealis, the water cycle, volcanic eruptions and stellar explosions, can be an integral part of science teaching, which, in turn, can help raise in students environmental awareness.

Keywords

Environmental Awareness, Environmental Education, School Science, Aesthetics, Aesthetic Appreciation, Wonder

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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