La Biodiversità : una risorsa essenziale della natura. Conoscenza e valorizzazione attraverso la scuola

Abstract

The report presents data from a survey carried out by the Irpps-CNR in the context of its participation with the Accademia delle Scienze to the project funded by the Ministry of Education, L.6/2000 "Biodiversity: an essential resource of nature. Knowledge and appreciation through education". The main purpose of the survey is the evaluation of educational activities arranged for the teachers, as well as relapse in the training of students. In the construction of the questionnaires we followed an articulated model for knowledge evaluation, divided into three parts, which has been used in recent Eurobarometer surveys, relating to interest, knowledge, attitudes. To these we added the aspects of trust and participation. Among the main conclusions: in the various aspects of biodiversity, students have expressed an interest higher than their level of knowledge of these topics. Moreover, students have expressed the need to use even more diverse channels of information, in addition to school, including events, internet, scientific text. Teachers, for their part, have highlighted both the need for them to acquire more knowledge in the field, that the deficiencies of textbooks in treating many of the issues related to biodiversity. The project has been matched by a positive assessment, both by students and teachers. Both the teachers and the students said they had found the increase of their level of knowledge on the subject. In particular, the teachers have identified a further expansion of their knowledge in those areas not covered by the textbooks and which would have been more difficult to bridge the gap of knowledge outside of the course held in the Biodiversity Project. It is very interesting to note that in addition to a knowledge improvement, recognized by nearly all students participating in the project, almost half have also developed a greater interest as a result of this experience, a factor which is particularly positive about the possible long-term impact of the project.