Recent analyses of the field of environmental education research have highlighted its rapidly expanding size and increasingly diverse nature (e.g. Hart & Nolan, 1999). This article reports on a review of a particular part of this field - namely, recent empirical studies of learners and learning in primary or secondary school environmental education. The review focuses specifically on the nature and quality of the evidence generated by the work in this area. The concern with evidence is motivated by the tendency of previous reviews to focus on methodological trends more than research findings. Claims have also been made that environmental education theory and research have overlooked 'the children who are the subjects of environmental education' (Payne, 1998a, p. 20). This review contends that efforts to address such shortcomings need to be informed by a thorough and grounded understanding of what studies have, and have not, been undertaken on students and learning, and what is known, and not known, from t...

Learners and Learning in Environmental Education: A Critical Review of the Evidence.

(1999). A Critical Analysis of Research in Environmental Education. Studies in Science Education: Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 1-69.

A Critical Analysis of Research in Environmental Education

Environmental literacy has been defined in numerous ways and attempts have been made to measure how environmentally literate people are. Many attempts to measure literacy have instead measured people's knowledge about pollution and their attitudes toward the environment. According to many environmental education experts, knowledge and attitudes are important components of environmental literacy, especially if the goal of environmental education is to change behavior. However, the experts also indicate that, to change an individual's behavior, knowledge about the environment must be associated with environmental sensitivity, personal beliefs, and decisionmaking and problem-solving skills. The research presented in this article contributes to environmental literacy research by offering a tested, valid survey instrument to measure ecological knowledge—one component of environmental literacy. In this article, we provide an example of how this instrument can be applied by comparing knowledge levels am...

Development of a Metric to Test Group Differences in Ecological Knowledge as One Component of Environmental Literacy

In this study, the responses of teachers and their pupils to the educational programme “Nature on the Way to School” were investigated with the help of questionnaires. The main objectives of the programme were the promotion of opportunities for children to experience nature first‐hand on the way to school, the promotion of children’s awareness of nature in their daily lives, and the promotion of interest in and tolerance of local plants and animals. More than 3000 children (8–16 years old) from 166 primary and secondary school classes in Switzerland and 117 teachers participated in the study. Children of all age groups particularly enjoyed observing nature directly. Teachers gave the programme very high ratings on average. The ratings given by the teachers and the learning gains of the pupils were positively related. Teachers from rural and urban areas carried out similar activities during the programme and regarded the programme as a success. The high satisfaction of both pupils and their teachers with t...

Investigating Nature on the Way to School: Responses to an educational programme by teachers and their pupils

The aim of this study was three-fold: (1) to determine 6th, 8th and 10th grade students’ environmental knowledge and attitudes in Turkey; (2) to investigate the effect of the grade level and gender on students’ environmental knowledge and attitudes; (3) to explore how environmentally responsible behaviour is related to environmental knowledge, affects, behavioural intentions, and demographic variables. Data were obtained by the administration of the Turkish version of Children’s Environmental Attitudes and Knowledge Scale to 1,977 students from 22 randomly selected schools located in urban areas. The data were analysed using one-way analyses of variance, independent samples t-test, and multiple regression analysis. A statistically significant effect of grade level was found on environmental knowledge and attitudes. While the effect of gender on attitudes toward the environment was statistically significant in favour of females, the gender difference on environmental knowledge was not statistically signifi...

A Statistical Analysis of Children's Environmental Knowledge and Attitudes in Turkey.

The education system in Greece has responded promptly to the need for environmental education (EE). However, the existing lack of relevant research may limit the functionality of EE programs in Greece. In this study the goal was to develop a baseline database that would allow effective planning of EE. Specifically, the study was conducted to provide information on the environmental knowledge of 5th and 6th graders in a Greek city. A total of 686 students were surveyed. The results indicated that children's knowledge about the environment is influenced by their immediate experience as well as by the content of their textbooks.

S. Padeliadu

Papers

Environmental Knowledge of Elementary School Students in Greece.