Abstract:

The undergoing globalization of the world, and the scientific and technical progress are associated with new opportunities for using human and material resources, overcoming cultural differences, geographical distance, or speeding information access. On the other hand, it brings epidemiological, economical, energetical, and environmental security risks. Human activities have significantly changed the quality of the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and pedosphere. The current task in the field of improving the quality of the environment is educating students in schools for adaptation to the climate change and mitigating its impact on the life a health of living organisms. It can be achieved by responsible human behaviour, appropriate adaptation measures, sustainable ways of production, and using environmentally appropriate technologies and procedures. It is also confirmed by the European Commission in the Council Recommendation in the field of teaching focused on environmental sustainability, that not only in all branches of economy, but also in education and professional training, it is important to introduce measures and to prepare graduates for the future as a reaction to the climate emergency situation and the planetary crisis. Teachers in schools should have expertise, sufficient amount of objective information and appropriate didactic means. In the Slovak school system, the cross-cutting theme environmental education provides space for their use. The authors of the paper focus on their application in teaching technically-oriented subjects on the level of lower secondary education. They carried out a research study on the sample of teachers in 57 schools in the Slovak Republic. Particular themes of environmental security were identified and teachers’ knowledge in the field was examined. Special attention was paid to the availability of material didactic means to be used when teaching environmental themes and the differences in their availability in towns and villages, between which significant differences were identified.
The presented contribution is an output of the KEGA grant project No. 001VŠDTI-4/2022 Teacher Training in Vocational Subjects in Accordance with the Requirements of Twin Transition Green and Digital.

Keywords:

Environmental education, environmental security, environmental sustainability, cross-cutting theme, didactic means.