Applied Environmental Education & Communication 

About: Applied Environmental Education & Communication is an academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Environmental education & Sustainability. It has an ISSN identifier of 1533-0389. Over the lifetime, 500 publications have been published receiving 5602 citations. The journal is also known as: Applied environmental education & communication.

A Framework for Environmental Education Strategies

Abstract: Environmental education (EE) includes a broad range of teaching methods, topics, audiences, and educators. EE professionals have worked over the last 30 years to provide distinct definitions, guides, objectives, and standards that will help educators know how to differentiate environmental education from other educational efforts and how to deliver it effectively. This article incorporates several recent frameworks of educational strategies into one that has usefulness to formal and nonformal educators as well as communicators. Our purpose is not to redefine EE, but to provide a framework that can help practitioners consider a suite of possible purposes and interventions that can belong under the umbrella of EE. We define four categories of EE according to their purpose: Convey Information, Build Understanding, Improve Skills, and Enable Sustainable Actions.

Does Participation in Citizen Science Improve Scientific Literacy? A Study to Compare Assessment Methods

Abstract: This study investigated the use of a contextually sensitive instrument to assess the effect of invasive species monitoring training on the scientific literacy of citizen volunteers The authors measured scientific literacy scores before and after 57 citizens participated in a 2-day event to learn to monitor invasive species with an instrument including 1 general-measures (Science and Engineering Indicator [SEI]) item and 4 newly developed contextual items Ninety control subjects were also tested with a mailed survey that included the SEI item and the contextual items Control scores, compared with trainees’ pretest scores with the chi-square (SEI) and independent-samples t-test (contextual), did not differ significantly from the pretest scores of trainees on either the SEI (p = 68) or the contextual (p = 11) items The authors compared trainees’ pretest scores with their posttest scores using McNemar's chi-square (SEI) and a paired-samples t-test (contextual) Posttest scores on the SEI item were not s

All Mixed Up? Instrumental and Emancipatory Learning Toward a More Sustainable World: Considerations for EE Policymakers

Abstract: World wide, policymakers are looking for ways to use education and communication strategies to create a world that is more sustainable than the one currently in prospect. They often find themselves trapped between instrumental (behavior change) and emancipatory (human development) uses of such strategies. This study sheds light on this apparent divide by investigating four exemplary cases representing both orientations and mixes thereof. One outcome of the study is that EE policymakers but also EE professionals first need to reflect on the kind of change challenge that is at stake. Only then are they able to determine what kind of education, participation, communication, or mix thereof is most appropriate, what kinds of results can best be pursued, and what monitoring and evaluation system can best be employed.

Sustainable Schools: Renovating Educational Processes

Abstract: This article discusses findings from a recent evaluation of the experiences of six Sustainable Schools engaged in Stormwater Action Project in terms of their achievement of educational, environmental, economic, and social indicators of quality education. It also discusses the change strategies of the Sustainable Schools initiative within the broader context of quality education for a sustainable future, and the relationship between visions of environmental education/education for sustainable development and visions of quality education. The article concludes that Sustainable Schools is a most appropriate strategy for renovating educational processes and achieving quality education.

The Seeds of Learning: Young Children Develop Important Skills Through Their Gardening Activities at a Midwestern Early Education Program

Abstract: Using teachers as co-researchers to collect and analyze data, this case study explored preschool and kindergarteners' learning when they were engaged in hands-on activities in the garden and greenhouse areas of a model outdoor classroom. Key findings suggest that when young children are participating in garden and greenhouse activities they are: (1) communicating their knowledge about the world to others, (2) conveying (and learning to process and manage) emotions, and (3) developing important skills (e.g., initiative, self-confidence, literacy, math, science skills) that will help them be more successful in school and better navigate the world.