Textbooks are a foundational component of environmental education in Ethiopia, yet textbooks are not neutral sources of information and can present specific value systems. One such system is anthropocentrism, in which nature is valued and protected insofar as it is useful to humans. However, research suggests that a non-anthropocentric worldview can promote firmer environmental conservation. In this paper, the researchers qualitatively analyzed the content of Ethiopian textbooks to measure the promotion of anthropocentrism.
The researchers qualitatively analyzed Ethiopian Environmental Science textbooks for grades 1-4 to identify recurring themes. They coded these into broader categories of "depictions of nature,” "human-nature relationship,” "representations of environmental problems,” and "views about environmental actions.” The researchers then interpreted the themes they identified.
Throughout the textbooks, humans and nature were presented as wholly separate entities. Outdoor activities outlined in the textbooks asked students to identify "natural” features, implying the students were not a part of nature themselves. The textbooks also emphasized the instrumental value of nature in meeting human needs. Students were taught about the benefits of natural resources in human health, agriculture, and markets. Combined, these themes present a hierarchical view of humans dominating the natural world, and do not acknowledge reciprocity or interconnectedness between humans and nature. When the textbooks discussed harms to the natural world such as hunting and habitat destruction, the textbooks simply described "humans” as responsible, without identifying specific groups that are directly responsible for these damages. However, the textbooks did emphasize the vulnerability of natural resources to human threats such as overharvesting and pollution. The textbooks encouraged using natural resources responsibly so that environmental harms would not negatively impact human growth in the future. The textbooks made weak suggestions for national policymakers to prevent environmental harms and made little mention of what students can do to help.
This study had limitations. For one, the study was based in Ethiopia, an African country with a unique history and population. The results may or may not be generalizable to other educational systems in other countries. In addition, the qualitative nature of the analysis makes its findings dependent on subjective interpretation by the researchers.
The researchers found that Ethiopian textbooks presented a wholly anthropocentric view of nature, with humans presented as dominant over nature and entitled to its resources. This view may lead students to accept environmental degradation as a necessary consequence of human life, which is unlikely to inspire positive environmental behavior. The researchers called for a fundamental reform of Ethiopian textbooks so that they encourage a love of nature and concern for environmental issues. They also recommended revising outdoor activities to be more hands-on and immersive, instead of presenting nature as a separate and alien entity, and for the textbooks to propose actions that are understandable and doable for students.
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