中国における環境教育の現状と課題 : 特に高等教育に焦点を合わせて

China has undergone very rapid economic growth during the past decades. This development, however, has not been achieved without significant costs. The costs include serious environmental problems, such as air and soil pollution, desertification and deforestation. China’s vast resources have enabled the unsustainable use of the natural resources and the environment for several decades, however, as the problems are getting more and more serious and evident, the consciousness is slowly shifting towards the realization of the environmental impacts of economic growth. Traditional environmental education concentrating mainly on cleaner technology has been present in China since 1979, however, not enough attention has been paid to comprehensive environmental quality that encompasses the education of emotions and attitudes, that is aesthetic education, towards the environment. This includes the need for comprehensive environmental education training of teachers, as they have the responsibility of conveying the environmental awareness to the next generation of primary, middle and high school students. This article looked at the present state of environmental education in China, paying special attention to the curricula for students in higher education including teacher education programs, and the amount and quality of environmental education they receive. It was found that while environmental education was present in some curricula, it was few in number. Several issues were pointed out as 1) formation of students’ awareness about environment rather than technology, 2) introduction of practical and experiential methods to environmental education, 3) consideration of environmental education in non-professional general education, and 4) strengthening environmental education in teacher education programs.