This article has been translated into Japanese and published in Tanomi Sajima & Kazuhiko Nakayama (Eds) (1993) World E n vironmental Education ((pp. 201-219)) Tokyo: Kokudosha Pty Ltd. Environmental education in Australia Noel Gough and Annette Greenall Gough Introduction Itisdifcult inabriefreporttodojusticetothebroadrangeanddiversityofenvironmental educationactivitiesinAustralia.Inpart,thisisbecauseAustral iaisaederationinwhichmost policydecisionsabouteducationalmattersaremadeatthestateortenitory(ratherthannational) levelandschoolsthemselveshaveagreatdealofautonomyi ncuniculumdecision-ming, especiallyduringthecompulsoryyearsofp1 imaryandsecondaryschool ing.However,most stateandteitoryeducationsystemshavebeenactive indevelopingpol icies,implementation guidelinesandothermate1ialsandresourcessupportingenvironmentaleducation.Thereisalso agrowingbodyofcasestudyresearchonschoolandcommunityprograms.Inaddition, environmentaleducationhasbeenthefocusofconsiderableactivityatthenationalleveduring thepasttwodecades.Inthispaper we willdesc1ibesomecurrentapproachestoenvironmental education inAustralia,withparticularreferencetoschools,andoutlinesomekey issuesaising omtherelativelyb1 iefhistoryofenvironmentaleducation s afocus fornationalactivities. Conceptions of environmental education in Australia Thenatureofenvironmentaleducationhasbeenthesubectofm uchdisc ussionanddebatein Australiaoverthepasttwodecadesî Amongthemostc  mmonlyacceptedgoals,objectivesand guidingp1 inciplesfrenvironmentaleducationarethoserecommendedandendorsedatthe 1 977UnescoUNEPI ntergove nme ntaConerenceonEnvironmentalEducationinTbilisi (Unesco1978:26-7)andsubseuentlyconξrmedatthe1987Unesco-UNEPIntenational CongressonEnvironmentalEducationandTraining inMoscow(Unesco-UNEP1988): 1. The goals o f environmental education are: (a) to foster clear awm·eness of, and concen about, economic, social, political m1d ecological interdependence in urbm1 mid rw·al areas; (b) to provide every person with opp01tunities to acquire the knowledge, values, atitudes, commitment and skills needed to protect and improve the environment; (c) to create new pattens of behaviour of individuals, groups and society as a whole towards the enviromnent. 2. The categories of environmental education objectives: Awareness: to help social groups ancl individuals acquire an awmeness of and sensitivity to the total environment and its allied problems. Knowledge: to help social groups and individuals gain a vaiiety of experience in, and acquire a basic understanding of, the environment and its associate problems. Attitudes: to help social groups and individuals acquire a set of values and feelings of concen or the enviromnent, ai1d the motivation for actively pai·ticipating in environmental improvement and protection. Skills: to help social groups and individuals acquire tiie skills for identifying and solving environmental problems. Participation: to provide social groups and individuals with an opportunity to be actively involved at all levels in working toward resolution of environmental problems. Aversionoftheseobjectiveswascontained in Environmental Education.for A ustralian Schools (Greenall1980)whichwas disr ibutedtoallscoolsin1980aspartofthenat ionalCTiculum DevelopmentCentresenvironentaleducationprogram. Noel Gough is a senior lecturer in administration and curriculwn studies at Deakin University, Rusden Campus. He is Australasian Editor of ti1e Journal of Curriculum Studies, a former member of the Executive of ti1e Australian Association for Environmental Elucation and was for some yeai·s the Convenor of ti1e Victorian Ministry of Education's Environmental Education Curriculum Committee. His research interests include naiTative inquiry in cmTiculum studies, witi1 special reference to science and environmental educaion. Annette Greeall Gough is a lecturer in science ai1d environmental education at Deakin University, Geelong Cainpus. She is a former Director of EnvirmunentJ Education in ti1e Australian Commonwealth Govenment's Depitment of tile Enviromnen. and a former President (ancl now Honorary Fellow) of ti1e Australian Association for Enviromnental Education. Her research interests inclucle the political history of environmenal education and feminist ecopolitics.