Future directions of international environmental science and conservation curricula
Start Date
10-8-2010 1:30 PM
End Date
10-8-2010 3:00 PM
Description
Less than twenty years ago most universities in the United States did not offer environmental science curricula, rather most colleges offered the biology major as the primary vehicle through which the life sciences were studied. However, as we enter into the second decade of the 21st century, a fundamental shift has occurred in the offerings universities provide regarding the life sciences. As evidenced by 2010 university course catalogs, the Environmental Science major has become ubiquitous throughout most U.S. universities and has become a primary life science major. This rapid, fundamental change, due to a host of factors, in offerings in the life sciences has permanently altered the way in which natural resources are studied and perceived in academia. Such a shift in focus, from the examination of the basic sciences such as Biology to the proliferation of studying the life sciences in an applied capacity such as that of Environmental Science, has precipitated a change in the principal subject matter that is focused upon in the life sciences curricula. It is probable that this shift will continue as society and the natural resource base face major challenges. This paper will discuss changes in environmental science curricula and potential directions for its future in general and in the international context.
Future directions of international environmental science and conservation curricula
Less than twenty years ago most universities in the United States did not offer environmental science curricula, rather most colleges offered the biology major as the primary vehicle through which the life sciences were studied. However, as we enter into the second decade of the 21st century, a fundamental shift has occurred in the offerings universities provide regarding the life sciences. As evidenced by 2010 university course catalogs, the Environmental Science major has become ubiquitous throughout most U.S. universities and has become a primary life science major. This rapid, fundamental change, due to a host of factors, in offerings in the life sciences has permanently altered the way in which natural resources are studied and perceived in academia. Such a shift in focus, from the examination of the basic sciences such as Biology to the proliferation of studying the life sciences in an applied capacity such as that of Environmental Science, has precipitated a change in the principal subject matter that is focused upon in the life sciences curricula. It is probable that this shift will continue as society and the natural resource base face major challenges. This paper will discuss changes in environmental science curricula and potential directions for its future in general and in the international context.