Pengetahuan Tentang Kearifan Tempatan Berkait Alam Sekitar dalam Kalangan Guru Geografi
Local Wisdom on Environmental Knowledge among Geography Teachers
Keywords:
teachers’ knowledge, geography teachers, local knowledge, local environmental knowledgeAbstract
The aim of this article is to obtain local environmental knowledge among geography teachers. An instrument consisting of questions from six aspects of rice cultivation; fisheries; rubber, coconut and fruit; medical/health; logging/forestry products; and the environment in general was developed and administered to 75 geography teachers that has been selected randomly from schools in southern Kedah. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (independent samples t test) were performed. Based on the scores of local knowledge, teachers are divided into three groups: high, medium and low. The findings indicated that local environmental knowledge of teachers is at a moderate level. The study also showed there is no significant difference among geography teachers based on location (urban and rural) on local environmental knowledge. The teachers have a high level of local knowledge in aspects related to rubber, coconut and fruit but less in aspects related to logging / forestry products. This article suggested that efforts such as short courses need to be conducted to improve local environmental knowledge among geography teachers so that they can infuse in their teaching.