Use of ecological concepts by secondary school students: the prediction of changes in ecosystems

Abstract

The role of ecology, although significant in environmental terms, has attracted criticism from various quarters. Such criticism extends to the way ecology is taught in schools, making it difficult to use in environmental education. There is a clear relation between the way in which we understand a phenomenon and how we act and this is especially relevant when we are concerned with environmental affairs. The theory of conceptual change involves the search for models, structures and concepts fundamental for achieving quality scientifc learning. According to this theory, the passage from everyday knowledge to scientifc knowledge requires restructuring on ontological, epistemological and conceptual levels. This work examines the knowledge of students (16 and 18 years old) of ecological succession on these three levels. We establish whether a rearrangement of these structures is required in order to understand the concept of succession and to provide the students with competences to take environmental decisions.