Abstract:

Research Objective:
The use of videos as curricular aids to promote knowledge, reflection and action pertaining to environmental issues has increased significantly in recent times. Yet few studies highlight teacher perspectives on integrating such videos in classroom practice. The current paper focuses on teacher perceptions towards using videos for facilitating environmental awareness among middle-school learners.

Research Methodology:
Data for this study was collected through interviews of ten middle-school teachers teaching the science and social-science subjects, from semi-urban government schools in Rajasthan, India. The thematic analysis approach was used to analyze teacher narratives of employing videos as aids beyond textbooks; to engage students in topics related to waste management, pollution, biodiversity, climate change, water and energy resources.

Key Findings:
Overall the findings indicate that videos are seen merely as a tool, rather than as a strategy for environmental education. Major themes identified include: teachers’ motivation to use videos for teaching conceptual and procedural content within environment-related topics, their approaches to content selection, techniques of integration, and perceived effectiveness of videos. Teachers prefer using videos to make the topics enjoyable for the learners, but the potential of the videos for promoting discussions around environmental issues remains largely under-explored. Searching appropriate video content for the socio-scientific elements of environmental topics is perceived by teachers as more complex than the typical science or social-science dimensions. The teachers’ narratives reflect their struggles with opting for videos that comply with the syllabus versus those that may provide an expanded view of an environmental problem.

Research Implications:
Through re-examining existing teacher beliefs, the study reveals gaps between teacher practices and curriculum design. The paper provides insights for education policy makers, curriculum designers and teacher trainers regarding teachers’ perceived possibilities and constraints in positioning video content within their pedagogical practices for environmental education.

Conclusion:
While teachers generally value the integration of videos in the classroom due to the medium-specific affordances and wider accessibility, they face several challenges in breaking free from the dominant pedagogical frameworks and initiating critical dialogue on environmental issues through the medium. The present study is relevant as it allows deeper investigation towards re-envisioning learning ecologies and teacher preparedness for using video content to support the sustainable development goals in formal classroom practice.

Keywords:

Video, Environmental awareness, Sustainable development, Teacher perspectives.