Geography Pre-Service Teachers’ Perspectives on Multimedia Technology and Environmental Education

Fengtao Guo, Michael E Meadows, Yushan Duan and Changhai Gao
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Fengtao Guo: School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
Michael E Meadows: School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
Yushan Duan: School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
Changhai Gao: School of Resources Environment and Tourism, Anyang Normal University, Anyang 455000, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 17, 1-16

Abstract: Multimedia technology (MT) is now widely used in primary and secondary classrooms and has excellent potential for environmental education. The discipline of Geography has strong synergies with environmental education. The paper uses the Q methodology to investigate the responses of pre-service geography teachers regarding the use of multimedia in environmental education (EE). The viewpoints of respondents were clustered into three broad perspectives relating to the use of multimedia: Perspective 1: the use of multimedia is regarded as valuable but difficult to apply; perspective 2: the use of multimedia is rewarding and practicable; perspective 3: the use of all types of multimedia is seen as highly valuable, although in the case of GIS the attitude is more equivocal. All three perspectives align with the idea that MT can improve EE, although the respondents suggest it cannot be a direct replacement for fieldwork. While all three perspectives are consistent with the view that multimedia teaching has many functional advantages in relation to environmental education, concerns are expressed regarding teachers’ capacity to fulfill its potential. The authors suggest that understanding these perspectives can help improve pre-service teacher education and advance environment education in middle school.

Keywords: environmental education; Information and Communication Technology; multimedia teaching; Q methodology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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