Within the ELIPS project, Prof. Thomas Marcinkowski, Ph.D., professor in the field of natural sciences and environmental education, as well as program manager of STEM education at the Florida Institute of Technology, USA, gave a lecture on March 28th 2024 in the Atrium of the National Museum of Serbia on the topic: “Can we be environmentally literate if we are not sensitive to the natural environment and ecological problems? – How do we understand, measure and enhance environmental literacy?”.
After a brief historical overview of the development of environmental education, Prof. Marcinkowski gave an account of quantitative and qualitative research in the field of this educational concept, with an emphasis on the frameworks that led to the development of instruments that measure the level of environmental literacy. The lecture encouraged a lively discussion on the implications of environmental literacy research, its importance and development opportunities.
The lecture was announced by Zorica Veinović, Ph.D., associate professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Belgrade. Then, Milica Marušić Jablanović, Ph.D., senior research associate at the Institute for Educational Research and head of the ELIPS project, shared the latest research results with the attendees.
The audience was also addressed by Mladen Savić, the biology teacher of the students at the “Čaki Lajoš” elementary school in Bačka Topola, which achieved the best results in the environmental literacy research within the ELIPS project.
Before the start of the lecture, Miloš Nikolić, a kaval teacher at the Department of Traditional Singing and Music at Mokranjac Music School, performed the Shepherd’s improvisation on the kaval. During the performance of the composition, the audience had the opportunity to see a presentation of photos of Stara Planina by Milan Simonović.
