ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by considering the efficacy of environmental studies from a motivational and social rather than a cognitive point of view. It looks at the place of Environmental Studies in the present educational scene. In conventional schools, Environmental Studies almost always begins with the advantage of novelty. Children become accustomed to the familiar round of in-school activity. In selecting methods for environmental work, it is unnecessary to make a distinction between ‘activity’ and ‘instruction’. Activity, exploration, discovery, discussion, direct experience or concrete objects have none of them a magic formula for teaching success. The teacher of environmental studies must recognize, the fact that the environmental situation differs radically from the well-organized classroom, and anticipate the problems it poses.
