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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2018

Students' Conceptions about Geothermal Energy in the Caribbean

Thomas Forissier
Yves Mazabraud
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Résumé

The increase in greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, fossil resource depletion and energy dependence bring the world in a common effort for renewable energy transition. The environmental and geological contexts of the Caribbean islands offer valuable opportunities for the development of renewable energies. In fact, those islands are located in subduction zone (Lesser Antilles) where the volcanic and geothermal activities provide useful resources for the geothermal energy exploitation. For example, 20 % of electricity in Guadeloupe comes from renewable energy, of which 5 % is generated by geothermal energy. Even if this percentage seems low, Guadeloupe is the only island of the Caribbean where the geothermal industry has grown since 1986 (Bouchot et al., 2010). Today, many islands as for example St Kitts, Dominica, Montserrat or St Lucia are exploring the possibilities for the development of their own geothermal production (Laplaige, Durimel, & Mompelat, 2013). At the same time, Guadeloupe is working for a geothermal center of excellence with the support of national and European funding. The increase of such projects and the demand of professionals in Guadeloupe and in the Caribbean require the development of a local education for this discipline. This paper aims to carry out a strategic and intelligent thinking for the construction of such education in the Caribbean context. In this purpose, and as one of the first steps of this research framework, a questionnaire survey has been conducted with a representative sample of 15-16 years old students from three Caribbean islands: Guadeloupe, Dominica and Martinique. Geothermal is very different in those three island. In Guadeloupe, geothermal industry produces around 5% of the electricity. In Dominica, geothermal has a well known potential that could supply neighboring islands with energy. Exploration drillings have been process since a decade but no production plant exist. In Martinique the resource is not as important as in Dominica and Guadeloupe, and the exploration studies realised in 2000 did not give away. A total of 1,350 students were interrogated in different high schools, about their conceptions towards geothermal concepts (Clément, 2010; Forissier, 2003). The questionnaire was set up between October 2016 and Jun 2017. It includes open and closed-ended questions, and drawings, exploring their knowledge, opinions and experiences regarding the geothermal energy concept. Quantitative and qualitative analysis made with descriptive and statistical methods have revealed different results, depending on the island in question. Cross table and khi² test as well as multiple correspondence analyses were set up. Strong links and similarities between schools from a same island have also been demonstrated. Students from Guadeloupe convey conceptions related to the industrial, technologic and technical dimension of geothermal. Dominican students express conceptions linked with the industrial, economical and utilitarian aspect of the geothermal exploitation. Students from Martinique show an environmental and phenomenological point of view of the geothermal concept. Furthermore, it has also been demonstrated that students' opinions in Dominica, although broadly positive, are sometimes negative, and geothermal energy can be perceived as an annoyance. As a first conclusion toward the development of a geothermal education in the Caribbean, this study reveals the importance of territory geothermal context for the construction of conceptions. These contextual specificities of conceptions should now be used to design a more efficient geothermal education. Furthermore, the study has revealed that sometimes, conceptions are strongly linked to contextual elements such as the geothermal plant or the volcano. Those conceptions could become obstacle for the learning if they are not taken into account during the teaching. Identification of alternative conceptions can be a support for the teaching and improve the learning process.

Domaines

Education
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Dates et versions

hal-03184874 , version 1 (30-03-2021)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-03184874 , version 1

Citer

Claire Anjou, Thomas Forissier, Yves Mazabraud. Students' Conceptions about Geothermal Energy in the Caribbean. Caribbean Academy of Sciences 21st General Meeting and Conference, Nov 2018, Kingston, Jamaica. ⟨hal-03184874⟩

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