Abstract
This study addresses the manner in which 4th–5th grade children from unrecognized Bedouin settlements in Israel’s Negev desert perceive waste and its effects on health and the environment, with an eye towards building a future model for their environmental education. These children participate in local practices with environmental repercussions, such as incinerating waste or collecting it for reuse and sale. These lead to injury, exposure to toxic chemicals and chronic disease. Understanding such dangers would not only help these children avoid future environmental and personal harm, but potentially allow them to influence the knowledge, affect and behavior of adults in their household as well. Data was collected by a combination of interviews and observations, with results divided into three main categories: knowledge, affect and behavior. We found that though waste is an integral part of the children’s domestic environment, their knowledge of it was only superficial, based in social and personal experience. In terms of affect, children’s reactions were ambiguous—demonstrating environmental responsibility whilst simultaneously describing a lack of interest towards environmental preservation. The children described several waste-related everyday behaviors: going to the valley to dump waste, burning or playing with it, making toys from discarded objects, and gathering metals, batteries, and bottles for sale. Together, the three aspects of this study reveal the extent and pervasiveness of waste’s impact on these children’s lives. They also highlight the areas that should be targeted in future environmental education if positive change is to be achieved.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abu Hamed, T., Al-widyan, M., & Cwikel, J. (2010). MERC grant proposal: Developing integrated waste recycling systems for agricultural and environmental safety purposes in rural communities in Jordan and Israel. Submitted by the Arava Institute of Environmental Studies (AIES), Israel, the Jordan University for Science and Technology (JUST), Jordan, and Ben-Gurion University (BGU), Israel, Identification number: M27-911.
Abu-Bader, S. (Ed.) (2011). The Negev Bedouin—Statistical data book—#3, 2010. Beer-Sheva, Israel: The Robert H. Arnow Center for Bedouin Studies and Development, Ben Gurion University of the Negev.
Alkaher, I., & Tal, T. (2013). The impact of socio-environmental projects of jewish and bedouin youth in Israel on students’ local knowledge and views of each other. International Journal of Science Education. doi:10.1080/09500693.2013.775610.
Al-Krenawi, A. (2004). Awareness and utilization of social, health/mental services among Bedouin-Arab women, differentiated by type of residence and type of marriage. Beersheba: The center for Bedouin Studies and development; The Spitzer Department for Social Work, Ben Gurion University.
Anderson, C. W., Sharma, A., Mohan, L., Cho, I.-Y., Jin, H., Wilson, C. (2006). Learning progressions toward environmental literacy. Paper presented at the NARST, San Francisco, April 3–6, 20061.
Avriel-Avni, N., Spektor-Levi, O., Zion, M., & Levi, N. R. (2010). Defining how urban children perceive their environment as home—Implications for aspiring environmental citizens. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 19, 241–259. doi:10.1080/10382046.2010.496987.
Barakat, H. (1993). The Arab world, society, culture and state. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
Ben-Zvi Assaraf, O., Eshach, H., Alamour, Y., & Orion, N. (2012). Culture differences and students’ spontaneous models of water cycle: A case study of Israeli Bedouin children. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 7, 451–477. doi:10.1007/s11422-012-9391-5.
Berkman, L. F., & Kawachi, I. (Eds.) (2000). Social Epidemiology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Boadi, K., Kuitunen, M., Raheem, K., & Hanninen, K. (2005). Urbanisation without development: Environmental and health implications in African cities. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 7, 465–500. doi:10.1007/s10668-004-5410-3.
Brown, B., & Perkins, D. (1992). Disruption in place attachment. In I. Altman & S. Low (Eds.), Place attachment (pp. 279–304). New York: Plenum Press. doi:10.1007/978-1-4684-8753-4_13.
Brulle, R. J., & Pellow, D. N. (2006). Environmental justice: Human health and environmental inequalities. Annual Review of Public Health, 27, 103–124. doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.27.021405.102124.
Cointreau, S. (2006). Occupational and environmental health issues of solid waste management: Special emphasis on middle and lower-income countries. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Creswell, J. W., Hanson, W. E., Clark, P. V. L., & Morales, A. (2007). Qualitative research designs: Selection and implementation. The Counseling Psychologist, 35(2), 236–264.
CSDH. (2008). Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Geneva: Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization.
Cwikel, J. G. (2006). Social epidemiology: Strategies for public health activism. New York: Columbia University Press.
Cwikel, J., & Barak, N. (2002). The health and welfare of Bedouin Arab women in the Negev. Beer Sheva, Israel: Center for Women’s Health Studies and Promotion, The Center for Bedouin Studies and Development, The Negev Center for Regional Development.
Dove, J. E., Everett, L. A., & Preece, P. F. W. (1999). Exploring a hydrological concept through children’s drawing. International Journal of Science Education, 21, 485–497.
Driver, R., Asoko, H., Leach, J., Mortimer, E., & Scott, P. (1994). Constructing scientific knowledge in the classroom. Educational Researcher, 23(7), 5–12.
Duan, H., & Fortner, R. W. (2005). Chinese college students perception about global versus local environmental issues. Journal of Environmental Education, 36, 23–32. doi:10.3200/JOEE.36.4.23-58.
Eilam, E., & Trop, T. (2010). ESD pedagogy: A guide for the perplexed. The Journal of Environmental Education, 42, 43–64. doi:10.1080/00958961003674665.
Evans, G. W., & Kantrowitz, E. (2002). Socioeconomic status and health: The potential role of environmental risk exposure. Annual Review of Public Health, 23, 303–331. doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.23.112001.112349.
Faber, D. R., & Krieg, E. J. (2002). Unequal exposure to ecological hazards: Environmental injustices in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Environmental Health Perspectives, 110, 277–288. doi:10.1289/ehp.02110s2277.
Fernandez-Manzanal, R., Rodriguez-Barreiro, L., & Carrasquer, J. (2007). Evaluation of environmental attitudes: Analysis and results of a scale applied to university students. Science Education, 91, 988–1009. doi:10.1002/sce.20218.
Frick, J., Kaiser, F. G., & Wilson, M. (2004). Environmental knowledge and conservation behavior: Exploring prevalence and structure in a representative sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 1597–1613.
Gallagher, J., Wheeler, C., McDonough, M., & Namfa, B. (2000). Sustainable environmental education for a sustainable environment: Lessons from Thailand for other nations. Water, Air, and Soil pollution, 123, 489–503. doi:10.1023/A:1005200612849.
Glazar, S. A., Vrtacnik, M., & Bacnik, A. (1998). Primary school children’s understanding of municipal waste processing. Environmental Education Research, 4, 299–307. doi:10.1080/1350462980040305.
Goldman, D., Ben-Zvi Assaraf, O., & Sharabani, D. (2012). The effects of an informal environmental training program on junior high school students’ environmental literacy. International Journal of Science Education. doi:10.1080/09500693.2012.749545.
Grigg, J. (2004). Environmental toxins; their impact on children’s health. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 89, 244–250. doi:10.1136/adc.2002.022202.
Hungerford, H. R., & Volk, T. L. (1990). Changing learner behavior through environmental education. Journal of Environmental Education, 21, 8–21. doi:10.1080/00958964.1990.10753743.
Hunt, C. (1996). Child waste pickers in India: The occupation and its health risks. Environment and Urbanization, 8, 111–119. doi:10.1177/095624789600800209.
Huss, E. (2009). A case study of Bedouin women’s art in social work. A model of social Arts intervention with ‘traditional’ women negotiating western cultures. Social Work Education: The International Journal, 28, 598–616. doi:10.1080/02615470903027298.
Hutchison, D. (2004). A natural history of place in education. New York: Teachers College Press.
Ifegbesan, A. (2010). Exploring secondary school students, understanding and practices of waste management in Ogun State, Nigeria. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 5, 201–215.
Israel Ministry of Health. (2008). Health status of Bedouin babies and children in recognized and un-recognized settlements in the Negev. Southern District: Israel Center for Disease Control.
Kahn, P. H., & Friedman, B. (1995). Environmental views and values of children in an inner-city black community. Child Development, 66, 1403–1417. doi:10.2307/1131654.
King, C. (2002). The ‘Explanatory Stories’ approach to a curriculum for a global science literacy. In V. J. Mayer (Ed.), Global science literacy (pp. 53–78). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Press.
Knesset Research and Information Center. (2008). The health status of Bedouin children aged under six years in the unrecognized settlements in the Negev. http://www.knesset.gov.il/mmm/eng/MMM_Results_eng.asp.
Kollmuss, A., & Agyeman, J. (2002). Mind the gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior? Environmental Education Research, 8, 239–260. doi:10.1080/13504620220145401.
Landrigan, P. J., Carlson, J. E., Bearer, C. F., Cranmer, J. S., Bullard, R. D., Etzel, R. A., et al. (1998). Children’s health and the environment: A new agenda for prevention research. Environmental Health Perspectives, 106, 787–794.
Levinson E, Abu-Saad A. (2004). Statistical yearbook of the Negev Bedouin. Beer Sheva: Negev Center for Regional Development and the Center for Bedouin Studies and Development, Ben Gurion University of the Negev.
Levy, A., Fraser, D., Vardi, H., & Dagan, R. (1998). Hospitalizations for infectious diseases in Jewish and Bedouin children in southern Israel. European Journal of Epidemiology, 14, 179–186. doi:10.1023/A:1007439908351.
Loughland, T., Reid, A., & Petocz, P. (2002). Young people’s conceptions of environment: A phenomenographic analysis. Environmental Education Research, 8(2), 187–197.
Loyens, S. M. M., & Gijbels, D. (2008). Understanding the effects of constructivist learning environments: Introducing a multi-directional approach. Instructional Science, 36, 351–357. doi:10.1007/s11251-008-9059-4.
Malandrakis, G. N. (2008). Children’s understandings related to hazardous household items and waste. Environmental Education Research, 14, 579–601. doi:10.1080/13504620802465046.
Malim, T. (1997). Social psychology (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan.
McKeown-Ice, R., & Dedinger, R. (2000). Socio-political-cultural foundations of environmental education. The Journal of Environmental Education, 31(4), 37–45.
Meallem, I. (2006). The management of solid waste in recognized and unrecognized Bedouin villages of the Negev: Social context, impacts and recommendations. Unpublished Masters Thesis, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Meallem, I., Garb, Y., & Cwikel, J. (2010). Environmental hazards waste disposal patterns—A multimethod study in an unrecognized Bedouin village in the Negev Area of Israel. Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health, 65, 230–237. doi:10.1080/19338244.2010.486426.
Nettleton, C., Napolitano, D. A., & Stephens, C. (2007). An overview of current knowledge of the social determinants of indigenous health—A working paper. Paper presented at the Symposium on the Social Determinants of Indigenous Health, Adelaide, Australia 29–30 April 2007.
Palmer, J. A., Grodzinska-Jurczak, M., & Suggate, J. (2003). Thinking about waste: The development of English and Polish children’s understanding of concepts related to waste management. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 11, 117–139. doi:10.1080/13502930385209201.
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Philips, D. C. (1995). The good, the bad and the ugly: The many faces of constructivism. Educational Researcher, 24(7), 5–12. doi:10.3102/0013189X024007005.
Proshansky, H. M., Fabian, A. K., & Kaminoff, R. (1983). Place-Identity: Physical world socialization of the self. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2, 57–83. doi:10.1016/S0272-4944(83)80021-8.
Pugh, C. (2001). Squatter settlements: Their sustainability and contributions, and socio-economic roles. Cities, 17, 325–337. doi:10.1016/S0264-2751(00)00029-9.
Raved, L., & Ben-Zvi Assaraf, O. (2011). Attitudes towards Science learning among 10th grade students: A qualitative look. International Journal of Science Education. 1219–1243. doi:10.1080/09500693.2010.508503.
Roth, C. E. (1992). Environmental literacy: Its roots, evolution, and directions in the 1990s. Columbus, OH: ERIC/SMEAC Information reference center.
Sadauki Abubakar, A., Inuwa Kuta, G., Onimisi, S., & Mairo, M. (2012). An assessment of some environmental effects of squatter settlement in Dutse Alhaji, Bwari Area Council, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria. Advances in Natural Science, 5, 10–28.
Shepardson, D. P. (2005). Student ideas: What is an environment? The Journal of Environmental Education, 36(4), 49–58.
Simmons, B. (1995). The NAAEE Standards project: Papers on the development of Environmental Education standards. Troy, OH: North American Association for Environmental Education.
Sobel, D. (2003). Place-based education: Connecting classrooms and communities. Great Barrington, MA: Orion.
Spradley, J. (1980). Participant observation. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
The National Council for Home and Leisure Safety, State of Israel. (2011). http://www.beterem.org/template/publicationpages.aspx?maincat=17&catid=51.
The Israel Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.sviva.gov.il.
United Nations (UN). (1993). Earth Summit: Agenda 21, the United Nations programme of action from Rio. New York: UN.
White, R. T., & Gunstone, R. F. (1992). Probing understanding. London: Falmer.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Lead Editor: G. Reis.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sedawi, W., Ben Zvi Assaraf, O. & Cwikel, J. Conceptualizations of waste-related implications on health and welfare among elementary school students in the Negev’s Bedouin Arab community. Cult Stud of Sci Educ 9, 935–976 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-014-9569-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-014-9569-0