Mainstreaming Environment and Sustainability in Pupils' Perception: Challenge for Tertiary Education in Kenya

Abstract

Education is acknowledged as the vehicle by which humanity establishes conceptual understanding. Alllevels of education (primary to Tertiary) are interlinked in a casual chain like pattern, with the preceding laying the foundation for the proceeding. Tertiary education (all learning levels after secondary education, including university education) in particular, has a catalytic role for the building of a learning society through: Conducting the scholarly research necessary to generate the new knowledge needed, Training leaders and teachers of tomorrow and, Communicating the needed knowledge, values, attitudes and skills to decision makers in particular and the public at large so as to empower them to bring about changes required to achieve sustainability (Copernicus-Campus, 2001). Calder and Clugston, (2006) equally concur that Education is critical for promoting Sustainable development and improving the understanding capacity of people 'to address environmental and development issues amicably. The concept "perception" is taken in this paper to mean "understanding." The perception of environment is therefore regarded as similar to the understanding of the concept of environment. Understanding is a psychological process that relates an abstract such as a person with another object whereby one who understands a concept reacts appropriately to the same (Wiklpedia, 2006). This premise implies that understanding the concept of environment is a pre-requisite to appropriate reactionwithin the environment. One that understands the concept of environment obeys the commands given by the environment. This is because understanding is the awareness of the connectedness of the concerned information in a concept, which allows one to put his/her knowledge into action (Reddy, 2006).