Environmental education and its principles

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Introduction
Environmental issues have become increasingly prominent in recent years, as the negative impact of human activities on the environment has become more apparent.The need to address these issues is not only a matter of ethical responsibility but also a necessity for ensuring the sustainable development of society.In this context, the responsible attitude of individuals towards the environment plays a critical role in promoting sustainability.The concept of sustainable development is based on the idea of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.This requires a balance between economic development, social progress, and environmental protection.Environmental issues such as climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity can have significant negative impacts on all three aspects of sustainable development.Therefore, addressing these issues is essential for ensuring the long-term sustainability of society.
Individuals play a critical role in promoting sustainability through their responsible attitude toward the environment [1,2,3].This includes actions such as reducing energy consumption, recycling, using public transport, and choosing environmentally friendly products.By making these choices, individuals can reduce their environmental impact and set an example for others to follow.Moreover, responsible environmental behavior can have positive economic and social impacts, such as reducing energy costs and improving public health.Education and awareness-raising are key components of promoting a responsible attitude towards the environment [4,5,6].Schools and universities can play an important role in promoting environmental education and encouraging sustainable practices.Additionally, governments and non-governmental organizations can develop campaigns and initiatives to raise awareness of environmental issues and promote responsible behavior.However, promoting a responsible attitude towards the environment is not without its challenges [7].Many individuals may lack the knowledge or resources to adopt sustainable practices, and societal attitudes toward the environment may be a barrier to change.Moreover, some may prioritize short-term economic gain over long-term sustainability.
Considering the topic of ecology, it is necessary, first, to note that the very understanding of the term has undergone certain changes.The initial interpretation of ecology as a "section of biology" from the second half of the 20th century has been gradually transforming and spreading in various scientific fields, including social sciences and the humanities.As a result, the scientific circulation includes phrases denoting interdisciplinary connections, such as the ecology of life, the ecology of creativity, and environmental education.The meaning of the term "ecology" is expanding -it becomes ambiguous [8] and it is directly related to the question of the possibility of the continuation of the existence of mankind, with the question of its survival.characteristics of various manifestations of social and individual beings, which makes it possible to determine the ontological foundations for understanding ecology as integrity, harmony, non-destructiveness, and stability in the system of being in the conditions of the interconnectedness of everything.
The lack of a clear single definition leads to different meanings of the term in different fields of knowledge.Thus, ecological thinking or consciousness implies a reflection by a person of the global nature of the world, the interconnectedness of all its parts, responsibility for the impact on the environment, and solving problems arising from anthropogenic impact [9,10,11].The history of mankind shows that such thinking is uncharacteristic for most people.People are interfering in the environment to change it for their needs, and to extract resources, even if this leads to the degradation of the environment and, as a result, the existence of people themselves in the future.Such a consumer attitude of man to nature gives rise to alienation between them and leads to an ecological catastrophe.It is necessary to build a dialogue between people and nature, abandoning total utilitarianism.The formation of ecological thinking can be the result, for example, of individual and social reflection on negative changes in the environment or the result of purposeful external influence.Thinking, and consciousness must be embodied in the appropriate behavior, and the performance of actions, which implies the solution to various ethical issues.The formation of ecological thinking at different stages of human development becomes necessary for the transition to sustainable environmental behavior."Necessarily, the education system must be aimed at forming a value system focused on preserving the natural and socio-cultural environment" [12].
Environmental issues have become a pressing concern in recent times, with the negative impact of human activities on the environment becoming more and more apparent.The concept of sustainability, which involves meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, has emerged as a critical framework for addressing these issues.In this context, media education can play a crucial role in promoting sustainability by raising awareness of environmental issues and encouraging responsible behavior.One way in which media education can promote sustainability is by encouraging critical analysis of media messages related to the environment [13,14,15].This involves examining the language, tone, and framing of environmental issues in the media, as well as considering the sources and credibility of the information presented.By developing these critical thinking skills, individuals can better understand the complexities of environmental issues and make informed decisions about their behavior.
Media education can also help to raise awareness of environmental issues by providing information and resources to individuals.This process can include educational materials, documentaries, and news coverage of environmental issues.By providing accurate and engaging information, media education can help to promote a greater understanding of environmental issues and encourage individuals to act.Moreover, media education can play a role in promoting sustainable behaviors.By highlighting examples of sustainable practices, such as reducing energy consumption or using public transport, media education can encourage individuals to adopt more sustainable behaviors in their own lives.Additionally, media campaigns and initiatives can be used to promote sustainable practices, such as recycling or reducing plastic waste.

Materials and methods
We must recognize that environmental education is becoming relevant on the agenda today.It is necessary to implement the principles of sustainable development goals and ESG in the educational field.The concept of «environmental» in the title of the article opens the space of problems in modern education and involves an appeal to ethical existentials.To study the problem of environmental education, the authors analyzed the philosophical, sociological, psychological, and pedagogical literature.The study of the problem of environmental education lies in the field of all modern culture and society.
Environmental education will be effective if it meets the following criteria: it covers all levels (stages) of education [16] and ensures the continuity of environmental education.Here we are talking about the implementation of the model of lifelong learning.So, at the preschool level [17,18], the foundations of future environmental behavior are laid, frugal consumption, and waste sorting.In school and higher education, environmental skills should be included in the block of universal ones.We emphasize that for the implementation of such an approach, open online courses accessible to everyone will be effective; master classes, practices, excursions to garbage museums, and recycling factories will provide the practical nature of the environmental skills being formed.It should be noted that the world community is already creating similar e-green educational platforms.Let's name the well-known and global among them: Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), An Environmental Education Platform Erin & Out, and Green Education.European Commission, Eco-Schools, Environmental Education for Youth.These platforms popularize environmental education, organize, and involved in environmental projects, and contain a huge array of information resources about ecology. of funding and resources, as well as societal attitudes towards the environment.The authors suggest that overcoming these challenges requires a collaborative effort from various stakeholders, including policymakers, educators, and the wider community.
The inclusion of environmental education in the model of lifelong learning involves the formation and implementation of environmental behavior at work [21,22].This process will allow not only to form environmental knowledge but practical skills: environmental ethics, and environmental values.In the context of engineering education, environmental education is particularly important as engineers play a key role in designing and implementing solutions that can mitigate the negative impact of human activities on the environment [23].
The authors of the present article believe that the formed environmental skills can be quantified through the economic and environmental indicators of the country.The idea is that environmental education is effective if and only if it finds its application in practice: people and businesses exhibit environmental ethics and environmental behavior.As real indicators, we propose the following Environmental indicators: Environmental Sustainability Index [24] as an integral indicator; detailed indicators: Number of Patents on environmental technologies Data OECD [25,26,27]; Total natural resource rents as a % of GDP [28]; Renewable energy consumption per capita; Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita (cub.m.), Natural resources depletion, Fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total), [data from World Bank Open Data,29].
We summarize the requirements for the model of environmental education (Table 1).Most experts in strategic development in the field of ecology establish the need to recognize nature as a universal value, as opposed to the existing attitude towards the perception of nature as a utilitarian value.The universal value of nature is revealed in an integrated approach that includes aesthetic, moral, cognitive, and sacred aspects.
The concept of sustainable social development affirms the need to move from the values of an aggressive consumer society to the values of spiritual and creative self-realization of a person, while including objects of nature, primarily wildlife, in the field of ethical interactions.
Ecophilosophy, despite the diversity and sometimes inconsistency of certain concepts, recognizes life as the highest value.On Earth, life, as a form of existence of matter in all its variety of manifestations and all the complexity of its ecosystem organization, provides the conditions for the existence of mankind on the planet.Anthropocentrism has been replaced by bio-ecocentrism since the value is ecosystem-based life on the planet, which creates the basis for the existence of various living beings, including humans.
The main task of environmental education is to change values and the transition from anthropocentrism to bio-ecocentrism.The main principles of environmental education are: 1. Integration.Environmental education should not be isolated from other areas of knowledge.On the contrary, it is in an organic, inseparable unity with many sciences.Meshcheryakova I. V. believes: "Currently, ecology has gone beyond the scope of a biological discipline that studies the diverse relationships between biological systems and their environment, it has become a whole scientific direction that also reflects the social context" [30].
2. Generality and continuity.Education in environmental values should be extended to all categories of students, from preschool education to university courses, graduate programs, and research projects.
3. Practicality.Environmental education is based on practical knowledge and skills that can be used in everyday life.Examples include the ability to properly use resources or the skill of conserving energy.We cannot allow ecology, as in the previous scientific paradigm, to exist only for ecologists and a wide range of their followers.It is important to educate ecoskills for everyone: "The highest and ultimate goal of environmental education and upbringing is the formation of an eccentric type of environmental consciousness, only consciousness determines a person's behavioral reactions, his actions, expressed in ecological culture" [31].
4. Consistency.Environmental education is based on a systematic approach to the study of nature and human interaction with it.As N.V. Zorkina notes: "The principle of complexity implies the organization of environmental education as an interdependent, comprehensive and multifactorial psychological and pedagogical interaction to build an integrated system of knowledge, taking into account scientifically based methodological requirements" [32].
5. Responsibility.Environmental education fosters a responsible attitude towards natural resources and the planet, thereby forming a connection between citizens and the future of our planet.
Thus, environmental education contributes to the formation of a new, informational scientific worldview and a noospheric worldview based on the bio-ecocentric paradigm, the environmental imperative, and the high personal responsibility of each person for the preservation of all forms of life on our planet.

Conclusions
It is the adherence to ecological behavior that will ensure the improvement of the ecological state of the environment, the development of a circular economy, the intensification of the introduction of green technologies, products, and works, and will preserve of the ecological balance and supply of resources for future generations.Which will ensure the achievement of the SDGs.
Orientation toward an innovative type of development of society based on the effective use of scientific knowledge and new, "breakthrough" information technologies will make it possible to reduce resource consumption and reduce the anthropological burden on our planet to a level that ensures the sustainable development of civilization [33,34].
In environmental education, the orientation of the education system to the future is important, which is reflected in the concept of advanced education.Advanced education involves the non-linearity of the presentation of the material, the introduction of new material in small portions into the context of what is being studied (submission of some topics that will be studied in the future, and which are in a certain way related to the material being studied at present).The rejection of the linear sequence of studying topics allows a more holistic understanding of the subject.Advanced education is necessary to have time to prepare people for life and professional activities in the new conditions of the digital age, ensure the continuity of environmental knowledge, overcome fragmentation in the assessment of reality, and expand understanding of the global nature of environmental problems.The creation of an environmentally oriented model of education in the modern world is becoming a necessity [35].Only the widespread development of ecological behavior can ensure the harmonious interaction of people and nature and improve the ecological situation in the world.

Table 1 .
Requirements for the Model of environmental education