Factors Affecting the Implementation of a Curriculum Based on Environmental Legal Literacy Education in Primary Education
Keywords:
Environmental Legal Literacy, Curriculum, Environmental Education, Primary Education, Educational SystemAbstract
Purpose: This study aimed to design and validate a curriculum model based on environmental legal literacy education for primary education to enhance students’ environmental awareness, attitudes, and responsibility.
Methods and Materials: This study employed an exploratory mixed-methods design. In the qualitative phase, thematic analysis was used to identify the main dimensions of the proposed curriculum model. The participants included experts in curriculum planning, environmental education, and environmental law, who were selected through purposive sampling until theoretical saturation was reached. Overall, 19 experts participated in semi-structured interviews. The interview data were coded and organized into initial codes, basic codes, organizing themes, and overarching themes. In the quantitative phase, the content of primary school textbooks was analyzed purposefully, and Shannon entropy was applied to determine the relative importance of the identified components. In addition, partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships among the constructs of the proposed model. The statistical population included specialists in curriculum planning and environmental education, from whom 98 participants were selected using G*Power software and convenience sampling.
Findings: The inferential results of the structural equation modeling indicated that all identified constructs had significant effects on the curriculum model based on environmental legal literacy. Among the constructs, the principles governing curriculum content had the strongest effect on curriculum quality, indicating its central role in shaping an effective environmental legal literacy curriculum. The results also confirmed the meaningful contribution of the model’s philosophical foundations, current situation analysis, objectives and competencies, teaching–learning strategies, implementation requirements, and evaluation mechanisms. These findings demonstrated that the proposed model has acceptable explanatory capacity for designing and implementing an interdisciplinary curriculum in primary education.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that environmental legal literacy should be systematically integrated into primary education through interdisciplinary content, active teaching–learning strategies, performance-based evaluation, and clear implementation requirements. Strengthening this area of the curriculum can support the development of environmentally responsible students who are familiar with their rights, duties, and legal responsibilities toward the environment.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Nooshin Baradari (Author); Shahram Ranjdoust; Edris Islami (Author)
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