Education for Ecological Values in Croatian Language Textbooks for Lower Primary Schools

Abstract

Our research on environmental topics in textbooks is based on the assertion that life must have its own ideals and values because they give life a human meaning, an ethical connotation and beauty as well. In reflecting on the importance of education for values and the fact that the Croatian education system lays more emphasis on the educational aspect than that of formation, one may conclude that environmental education must occupy a much more important place in modern teaching. Seeing as the Croatian Language as a subject in Primary and Secondary Schools in the Republic of Croatia includes — structurally and organizationally — three related fields of study (The Croatian Language and Communication, Literature and Creativity, Culture and the Media), one must consider the numerous possibilities which the teaching of this subject provides. This paper analyses texts found (N=861) in Croatian Language textbooks for Primary Schools, Grades 1–4 (N=60), the content of which could easily mediate educational environmental values.