Ekološka edukacija - Utjecaj na oblikovanje novog identiteta?
Ecological Education - Acquiring New Identity?

Summary/Abstract: Modern society, as well as the postmodern condition, is faced with a new phenomenon called ‘the ecological crisis’, which is, in fact, not only ecological, but social too. Its causes are attributed, for the most part, to anthropogenic influences – to the way of production and the way of consumption, hence the solutions to the ecological crisis are being searched for in various sciences and fields of human activity, from economy to technology. Both noninstitutional education and the institutional system of education – ecological education – have an important role in the above. Does modern society shape the ecological dimension of its identity? On the other hand, society is also faced with the problem of the ineffectiveness of the current system of education – as with respect to the acquisition and application of expert knowledge,so with respect to the acquisition and application of social values, particularly those that influence changes in behaviour. Is the ecological dimension of the identity of education being formed? Society as a whole is responsible for both the existing and the future condition of the relationship of man to environment. It is society that creates (or does not create) the climate, in which different reflections on the ecological crisis, i.e. different paradigms of thought and action, are (or are not) possible. The educational system (school) bears its part of responsibility in imparting the values of new paradigms. The school mediates knowledges and social values, and, in order that it be as effective as possible in this mediation, it must itself be modernised. How possible is ecological education in such conditions? This paper discusses the possibilities and the role of ecological education within the context of the modernisation of modern society, with particular focus on Croatian society. The paper particularly focuses on the social climate, the system of social values and the difficulties of ecological education.

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