From rhetoric to practice: enhancing environmental literacy of pupils in China

The purpose of this study is to attain environmental literacy of pupils in China. Operationally, environmental literacy draws upon four strands: knowledge, skills, affect and behavior. Environmental education provides a basic avenue for capacity building in environmental reform with the aim for society of acquiring environmental literacy. A prominent issue facing China is frustrated implementation of environmental education in the school agenda, in contrast with the growing support stated in the educational policy discourse. A rhetoric-practice gap is identified in this study which demonstrates a discrepancy among the policy discourse, the content of teaching materials, and the actual teaching practices. A design study is conducted to enhance the attainment of environmental literacy by fully formalizing the theoretical guidelines and policies into educational products and be implemented with appropriate understanding from the practitioners. At the school level, a path is recognized along which an educational product may optimally bring the ‘rhetoric’ into the ‘practice’.