Teaching Environmental Health in Costa Rica: Educational Framework

Abstract

The reason for this paper was to answer the question of how to teach Environmental Health in a university context. The challenges it faces, as a field of knowledge, in order to meet the needs of the country are discussed herein. Hence, the purpose of this article is to discuss the educational models and learning strategies that are employed in the Environmental Health Degree from the University of Costa Rica’s School of Technology to instill the teaching-learning process in students. The data were gleaned from the analysis of the syllabuses of the courses that are part of the curriculum and from a questionnaire given to professors. Seventeen teaching techniques were identified, of which the most commonly used are lectures, followed by exhibitions, field trips and group work in class. On the other hand, exams were identified as being the most commonly used technique for assessing the knowledge gained by the student population, followed by quizzes and reports on field trips. The complexity involved in the Environmental Health curriculum is quite evident: It requires a faculty that, in addition to having a suitable approach to and understanding of the subject of study, clearly understands that students are undergoing a learning process that should first change their attitudes so that, as professionals, they may also be able to change society’s attitude towards the environment with the firm intention of improving the health conditions of people.