Development of an environmental education programme for waste management with local communities in Sabah, Malaysia
type: CreativeWork
description: Environmental education can play a major role in achieving sustainability. In the context of this research, environmental education is defined as a process to impart and instil knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations and commitment among the population to work towards environmental solutions, problem prevention and to live sustainably. This research focussed on non-formal environmental education with adults in communities in Sabah, Malaysia. In Sabah, solid waste is a significant problem, and oil palm plantations are one of the main agricultural activities that produce solid agricultural waste or by-products in rural areas. This research focussed on co-constructing an environmental education programme for waste management with villagers, including the independent oil palm smallholders, in local communities in Beaufort, Sabah. This research has elements of both interpretivism and a critical theory approach. It has elements of interpretivism because of the interaction with the local communities to obtain their views and perceptions on waste management practices in their own areas. It was also partially aligned with the critical theory paradigm because it sought to create positive changes among the communities in terms of waste management practices by providing an avenue for discussions, creating empowerment and collaboration. The theoretical principles of community environmental education drawn from the areas of community education and environmental education guided the framing of the research design. Data were collected in two stages. Stage one involved interviews with government officers, a community survey and a focus workshop with two rural communities. This data combined with the theoretical principles of community environmental education guided a co-construction of an educational programme on waste management for the two communities. Stage two involved the programme implementation, and an evaluation process which included a survey, interviews and observation. …
abstract: Environmental education can play a major role in achieving sustainability. In the context of this research, environmental education is defined as a process to impart and instil knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations and commitment among the population to work towards environmental solutions, problem prevention and to live sustainably. This research focussed on non-formal environmental education with adults in communities in Sabah, Malaysia. In Sabah, solid waste is a significant problem, and oil palm plantations are one of the main agricultural activities that produce solid agricultural waste or by-products in rural areas. This research focussed on co-constructing an environmental education programme for waste management with villagers, including the independent oil palm smallholders, in local communities in Beaufort, Sabah. This research has elements of both interpretivism and a critical theory approach. It has elements of interpretivism because of the interaction with the local communities to obtain their views and perceptions on waste management practices in their own areas. It was also partially aligned with the critical theory paradigm because it sought to create positive changes among the communities in terms of waste management practices by providing an avenue for discussions, creating empowerment and collaboration. The theoretical principles of community environmental education drawn from the areas of community education and environmental education guided the framing of the research design. Data were collected in two stages. Stage one involved interviews with government officers, a community survey and a focus workshop with two rural communities. This data combined with the theoretical principles of community environmental education guided a co-construction of an educational programme on waste management for the two communities. Stage two involved the programme implementation, and an evaluation process which included a survey, interviews and observation. …
author: Pudin, Susan
keywords: environmental education, community development, waste management, Sabah, Malaysia
license: https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstreams/187c5d01-f667-4492-99a0-af1d273caad8/download
date published: 2015
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:57:55Z
provider: University Waikato
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Waikato