Mail and telephone surveys: The total design method.

The authors report the environmental attitudes and knowledge of 765 1st-year students in 3 teacher-training colleges in Israel and examine the relationship between these variables and background factors and their relationship to environmental behavior. Although the students' environmental knowledge was limited, their overall attitudes toward the environment were positive. The authors found a positive relationship between the environmental knowledge and environmental attitudes of the students and the level of their mothers' education. Students majoring in fields related to the environment were more knowledgeable and had more environment-oriented attitudes in comparison with other students. The authors discuss the relationship between knowledge, attitudes, and behavior and the influence of background factors on the students' environmental literacy.

Environmental Literacy in Teacher Training: Attitudes, Knowledge, and Environmental Behavior of Beginning Students

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Environmental Literacy in America: What Ten Years of NEETF/Roper Research and Related Studies Say about Environmental Literacy in the U.S.

Assessing pre-service teachers’ environmental literacy in Turkey as a mean to develop teacher education programs

The authors measured the level of environmental behavior of new students in 3 major teacher-training colleges in Israel and investigated the relationship between behavior and background factors. Factor analysis of students' responses resulted in grouping of environmental behavior items into 6 categories that represent increasing levels of environmental commitment. Findings indicated that graduates of the educational system who chose to prepare themselves to be teachers were characterized by a low level of environmental literacy, as reflected in their environmental behavior: Students demonstrated limited performance of behaviors that require a high level of commitment, and hence, reflect a high level of environmental literacy, and visa versa. The authors discuss the influence of background factors on environmental behavior and its implications for environmental education in teacher training. Analysis of responsible environmental behavior from the viewpoint of environmental commitment may provide an alterna...

Environmental Literacy in Teacher Training in Israel: Environmental Behavior of New Students

The status of the environmental education component of preservice teacher education programs is unknown nationally. This study surveyed 715 institutions of teacher education using a mail questionnaire. The response rate was approximately 63%. The results indicate that most schools have few requirements related to environmental education, and in the majority of schools environmental education is not institutionalized.

Environmental Education in the United States: A Survey of Preservice Teacher Education Programs

A national study of colleges and universities offering teacher-preparation programs was undertaken to ascertain how environmental education (EE) might be better incorporated into their curricula. Six questions guided the descriptive, explorative mail survery relating to satisfaction and fit into EE with current program offerings, what environmental issues are included in curricula, barriers to EE in the curricula, awareness and use of EE resources, perceived resource needs, and relationship between barriers and EE course concepts. Although 30.3% of the respondents were private institutions, 74.8% were public and .08% were private/public. Findings support and extend prior research in the area and lead to several conclusions.

Environmental Education and Preservice Teacher Preparation: A National Study

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Guidelines for the Preparation and Professional Development of Environmental Educators.

This research project identified concepts from the social sciences that are prerequisite for understanding or analyzing environmental issues. Concepts were identified through a review of social science textbooks and educational materials and through interviews with social scientists. A list of 57 concepts was sent to a validity panel to rate each concept for clarity, acceptability to environmental education, and importance to environmental education. Means and standard deviations were calculated. Results showed that the panelists generally thought the concepts were acceptable and important to environmental education. Concepts were then revised and 6 were added based on panelists' comments.

Socio-Political-Cultural Foundations of Environmental Education

Geography is an ideal disciplinary vehicle for environmental education; however, non-geographers are rarely aware of the vast geographic interest, research, and literature related to the environment. Geographers study the environment in four major ways: 1) the natural environment using scientific methods and techniques; 2) the impact of human behavior on the environment; 3) environmental influences on human behavior; and 4) the different cultural perceptions of the environment and how these perceptions are expressed in the surrounding landscape. Within these avenues of inquiry, geographers examine spatial patterns of environmentally related topics at different scales—local, regional, and global—and the interconnections of the global environment and economy. The future role of geography in environmental education is shaped by four current activities: the development of science and geography standards and assessment frameworks, the formulation of environmental literacy standards, and the creation o...

Rosalyn McKeown-Ice

Papers

Environmental Education in the United States: A Survey of Preservice Teacher Education Programs

Environmental Education and Preservice Teacher Preparation: A National Study

Guidelines for the Preparation and Professional Development of Environmental Educators.

Socio-Political-Cultural Foundations of Environmental Education

Environmental Education: A Geographical Perspective