Abstract
M.A.
This study concerns the evaluation of the Further Diploma in Environmental
Education at the Rand Afrikaans University’s Center for Distance Education, by
exploring former students’ experiences and critical viewpoints pertaining the
course. The investigation took place in Gauteng Province and Northern
Province, and involved students who had graduated from the course.
My intention in carrying out this inquiry was to evaluate the effectiveness of the
Further Diploma in Environmental Education in training teachers and people in
the Environmental Education field, so that they could continue with the
environmental instruction. The course was introduced at the center in 1995, and
is offered as distance learning. Ever since the course was introduced, no
research had been done to evaluate its effectiveness. Therefore, there was a
need to conduct an inquiry, hopefully identifying the strengths and weaknesses of
the course, while suggesting various forms of improvement.
The two traditional methods of research, quantitative and qualitative methods,
including questionnaires, interviews and observations, were used to collect data,
followed by data analysis representing the results from all the instruments
utilised.
The research findings showed that the Further Diploma in Environmental
Education can be rated as effective in training teachers and people in the
Environmental Education field to carry on environmental instruction. The course
content was found to be relevant, and it incorporated important Environmental
Education teaching methods, including teaching ‘about’, ‘in’ and ‘for’ the
environment. It was also found that other parts of the course are not clearly
presented and need restructuring to include more recent environmental issues.
Prof. H.G. Van Rooyen