1、 外文翻译 原文 The Formation of an Ecological Consciousness Material Source: Russian Education and Society, vol. 47, no. 12, December 2005,pp. 3445. Author: N.A. BIRIUKOVA Realization of the ideas of humanistic pedagogy and psychology serves as the foundation for the development of value attitudes toward
2、nature and the surrounding world, for the formation of a new type of ecological consciousness. It is obvious that the interaction between human civilization and the earths biosphere has reached a dead end. This is acknowledged by most scientists, politicians, and civic leaders. A possible solution c
3、an be through a radical restructuring of human activity in accordance with the laws that govern the life of the biosphere. More and more in the recent past, problems of the humanization of education and the search for an effective mechanism to regulate ecologically vital activity have been linked to
4、 the formation of an ecological consciousness, a consciousness that is based on value attitudes oriented toward the preservation, restoration, and rational use of the natural world. Against the background of our understanding that it will not be possible to overcome the ecological crisis unless chan
5、ges are made in the dominating anthropocentric consciousness that serves as the psychological basis of the crisis, it is necessary to make concerted efforts to shape a system of ecological values that represent a part of universal human values. A vital characteristic of ecological consciousness is t
6、he perception of natural objects from the standpoint of subject (D.S. Deriabo,V.A. Iasvin). When it comes to the adult population, the shaping of a subjects attitude toward the natural world involves certain difficulties, and some authors say that it is virtually impossible to do it in a short amoun
7、t of time under current conditions. For this reason, it is essential to get started on strategic work in this sphere with the younger generation, whose consciousness is not yet as weighed down with anthropocentric and technocratic attitudes. In todays society, there is an entrenched contradiction be
8、tween the need to shape an ecological consciousness in the younger generation, one that is capable of undertaking an ecocentric approach in interactions with other members of the socium and objects of the natural world, and the absence of a sufficiently effective approach to the organization of this
9、 kind of education and upbringing. Technologies that we have worked out and tested in practice can be utilized to optimalize the process of ecological education and upbringing, to shape an ecocentric consciousness. The historiography of the issue The ideas of the unity and interconnection between hu
10、man beings and the natural world became developed in V.I. Vernadskiis teachings about the noosphere, which are in tune with the basic directions of American environmentalism. The interaction between society and the habitat of human beings became a focus in science for the first time. It was an orien
11、tation manifested in sociology, philosophy, political economy, jurisprudence, ethics, and esthetics. A vital step forward was made by Russian religious philosophy (N.A. Berdiaev, I.V. Kireevskii, V.S. Solovev, N.F. Fedorov,P.A. Florenskii, and others), whose central idea was the conception that man
12、is a part of nature, that the two ought not to be pitted against one another but must be seen as a unity. On the whole,Russian religious philosophy, teachings about the noosphere, and environmentalism conditioned the necessity of the unity of human beings and the natural world. A key role in the har
13、monization of relations between human beings and the natural world, in the need to eradicate the tendency to view the natural world as an object of human activity, was played by “universal ethics” (L.N. Tolstoy, M. Gandhi, A. Schweitzer,and others). The chief problem on the level of human qualities,
14、 as stated by Tolstoy and Gandhi, was that of replacing the aggressive consumerist type of personality with the loving creative type. In a rethinking of the preachings of the moral teachers of the past, they substantiated in theory and implemented in practice the principles of nonviolent development
15、. The ideas of “universal ethics” came to serve as the ideologicalbasis of biocentrism, which sees nature as the most perfect being,invested with spiritual qualities and embodying the most fundamentalprinciples of the vital activity of everything that lives and reasons. The emergence of the ecologic
16、al movement (G. Pinchot,B. Fernow, and others) can be seen as the first stage in the new tendency for the development of a civic ecological consciousness. Inevitably, the focus was on the necessity of improving the system of interactions between human beings and the natural world. The new ecological
17、 consciousness can be called ecocentric, as it is characterized by these features (S.D. Deriabo, V.A. Iasvin, 1994): the highest value is the harmonious development of human beings and the natural world, and moreover human beings are not the owners of the natural world; they do not enjoy any special
18、 privileges; rather, they are members of the natural community. Acting on the natural world is to be replaced by interaction with it: the only things that are proper and permitted are those that do not upset the ecological balance that exists in nature; the development of human beings and the natura
19、l world is a process of coevolution. Ethical norms and rules extend equally both to interaction among human beings and to interaction with the world of nature. The normative legal basis of the system of continuous ecological education By the early 1990s there was an increasingly widespread orientati
20、on in this countrys pedagogy toward the ideals of humanismand universal human values. The tasks of humanization and ecological education became the focus of state policy. The Russian Federation Law “On Education” (1992), the Russian Federation Presidential Edict “On the State Strategy of the Russian
21、 Federation to Protect the Environment and Ensure Stable Development”(1994), and the Russian Federation Government Decree “On Measures to Improve the Ecological Education of the Population”(1994) determined that ecological education and upbringing were to be given top priority in the improvement of
22、the entire system of education in the Russian Federation. In the Conception of General Secondary Ecological Education (written by I.D. Zverev, I.T. Suravegina, and others, 1994) we read:“The goals of ecological education, namely to enhance the ecological culture of the individual and society as an a
23、ggregate of practical and spiritual/intellectual experience of the interaction between human beings and the natural world, in order to ensure humanitys survival and development, are designed to form and develop the ecological consciousness of the individual.” The “National Strategy of Ecological Edu
24、cation in the Russian Federation” (2000) mapped out the goals, tasks, principles, and basic directions of ecological education, with the purpose not only of shaping every citizens understanding of the physical and biological components of the environment but also of enabling him to comprehend the so
25、cial and economic situation, the problems of societys development, the assimilation of ecological and ethical norms, a way of life that is in tune with the principles of stable development. The document calls for the creation of a unified system of continuous ecological education of every citizen of
26、 Russia. The stages or levels of the system of continuous ecological education were reflected in the Russian Federation Law “On the Protection of the Natural Environment” (2002): “For the purpose of enhancing the ecological culture of society and the professional training of specialists, a system of
27、 universal, comprehensive, and continuous ecological upbringing and education shall be created in the country, designed to encompass the entire process of preschool and school upbringing and education as well as the professional training of specialists in secondary and higher educational institution
28、s, upgrading their qualifications” (Section IX, Article 73). The characteristics of preschool ecological education The process of the upbringing of the ecologically literate personality has to start in the preschool educational institutions, because the ages of three to six are favorable to the shap
29、ing of a conscious emotional and positive attitude toward the environment. Drawing upon it in the future it is possible to instill in the child certain essential scientific concepts about the natural world and to provide the basics of a body of knowledge about the unity and diversity of the biospher
30、e and interactions between human beings and the natural world. In other words, it is possible to help to formulate an integral understanding of the environment and the human beings place in it, to lay down the foundations of an ecocentric consciousness. In the process it is essential that the ecolog
31、ical knowledge that is imparted to the children goes hand in hand with making sure that natural objects have an emotional effect on them, and that the pedagogical organization of their practical activity serves to stimulate their cognitive involvement under conditions of the ecological educational e
32、nvironment, including a program of ecological upbringing, the resources necessary to implement it and the appropriate facility (interior facility and nature plot), ecocentric orientation of the interaction between the teachers of the preschool institution and the childrens parents. In preschool inst
33、itutions, ecological teaching and pedagogical activity is facilitated most fully by the use of visual aids and images and emotional methods of work. These requirements are met by didactic games, the leading kind of activity in the preschool age. In playing, a child not only pinpoints and reenforces
34、the knowledge that he gains, he also experiences an emotional feel for familiar phenomena and situations; he acquires an urge to make a difference in the world around him. The body of knowledge that is acquired through play, as directed by the teacher, helps the children to form the correct “concept
35、ion of the world,” a conception that makes the child a part of the environment not as its master but as a participant in the natural process. It is essential that in the process of the didactic games comprehensive efforts are made as well to accomplish the tasks of ecological, esthetic, mental, and
36、moral upbringing, the comprehensive development of the children. Play is a very important device for the inculcation of moral feelingsand ideas, moral actions and cultivated behavior. The characteristics of general ecological education The responsibility for the full-fledged ecological education and
37、 upbringing of children is basically assigned to the schools. A positive factor in this regard is the fact that the Conception of General Secondary Ecological Education (I.D. Zverev, I.T. Suravegina, and others) was formulated in 1994, and for the practical implementation of it joint documents were
38、adopted by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources. Standard Programs on Ecology were drawn up. However, in spite of a vast legal base, ecological education in the schools is not mandatory, inasmuch as the school discipli
39、ne “Ecology” is not included in the federal component of the Basic Syllabus of the State General Educational Standards; instead, it is subject to regional jurisdiction. The situation is made worse by the absence of a unified approach to the implementation of ecological education in general education
40、 institutions. On the whole,it is sporadic, consisting of individual, poorly coordinated parts;the ecologization of the teaching and upbringing process is implemented on the basis of scattered courses, modules, and blocks. There is no coordination and continuity on the different levels. However, the
41、se problems do not diminish the vital importance of ecological education in the schools. The purpose of ecological education in the schools is to shape a system of scientific knowledge, views, and convictions that enable school students to form a responsible attitude toward the world around them in
42、all types of activity. The process of instruction and upbringing is oriented toward the development of qualities of personality, instilling ecologically meaningful stereotypes of behavior and the ability to assess ones impact on the natural environment from the standpoint not only of ones own wellbe
43、ing but also the harmony of interactions between “society and the natural world,” a consciousness of environmental ideals. In the schools of Russia, ecological education is implemented in the teaching and upbringing process by means of the following models. The single subject model calls for the stu
44、dy of ecology in the framework of a single, independent school discipline. The adoption of this model was recommended by the World Nature Charter, which states that “a course in environmental protection ought to be a component part of the system of education.” This model was implemented in our count
45、ry in the 1990s, when the integrated, comprehensive school subject included a system of fundamental knowledge of the basics of general, social, and applied ecology (courses such as “The World Around Us,” “Principles of Ecology,”“The Use of Natural Resources,” and others). The multiple subject model
46、calls for the thorough ecologization of the content of the traditional school disciplines of both the natural sciences and those of humanities profile, so that their content includes issues relating to ecology and environmental protection. It was in widespread use in the 1970s and 1980s, which were
47、a time of the emergence of ecological education even though there were no independent programs, textbooks, and specially trained pedagogical cadres. A successful variant of the multiple subject model was the publication of supplements and inserts to go with the basic textbooks. The mixed model invol
48、ves the adoption of a specialized course entitled “Principles of Ecology” going hand in hand with the ecologization of school subjects in the natural sciences and the humanities cycles, as well as the conducting of special elective courses of an ecological orientation and the organization of active
49、extracurricular activity. This was the model that became the most widespread in the schools of Russia at the end of the 1990s, because it was the most flexibly adapted to the different conditions and types of educational institutions; it affords broad possibilities for the use of different methods and approaches, and it is acknowledged to be the most promising way to achieve the goals of ecological education. In the system of todays ecological education of school students there are two directions that stand out prominently: the ecological ethical direction (for the most part i
