Studying the impact of practical works on the geography of Yakutia on the formation of environmental literacy of students

Abstract

The content of the concept of “environmental literacy”, formulated by various authors, has significant differences, both in essence and in the stage of its formation. Based on the approaches of B.S. Gershunsky to the stages of the effectiveness of education, we are of the opinion that environmental literacy is the initial stage in the formation of environmental culture, the process of which takes place in communication with the geographical environment. The purpose of the study was to identify the peculiarities of teachers’ carrying out practical work on regional geography, aimed at the formation of environmental literacy. The study involved members of the republic’s informal association of teachers of geography. The respondents’ answers testified to the inappropriate position of regional geography in the education system: slightly over a quarter (26.9%) of teachers teach the geography of Yakutia as a separate course; 76.5% - as a topic within the Geography of Russia course. Despite the fact that 92.3% of the teachers are confident that practical work contributes to the formation of environmental literacy, it is carried out only by 58.4% of the respondents. The respondents, on the whole, rated the results of their activities low: 70.1% evaluated the level of students’ mastery of environmental literacy as average; and a fifth of them - below average. Consequently, geography teachers should pay more attention to conducting environmentally oriented practical work to increase the level of environmental literacy of their students.