Showing papers in "The Journal of Environmental Education in 2007"

An Elementary School Environmental Education Field Trip: Long-Term Effects on Ecological and Environmental Knowledge and Attitude Development

Abstract: Using phenomenological analysis, the authors examined the long-term effects of an environmental education school field trip on fourth grade elementary students who visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The authors' findings suggest that one year after the experience, many students remembered what they had seen and heard and had developed a perceived proenvironmental attitude. The authors discuss the phenomenological analysis, cite interviews with students, and draw conclusions on the effect of the field trip.

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

Abstract: 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.

Assessing Children's Environmental Worldviews: Modifying and Validating the New Ecological Paradigm Scale for Use With Children

Abstract: The authors revised and validated the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale for use with upper elementary students Researchers use the NEP Scale extensively with adults, but it was not designed for children Interviews with 5th grade students helped the authors revise the NEP Scale for use with children The authors spent 2 years validating the modified instrument with larger numbers of students After analyzing their results, the authors suggest that a 3-dimensional modified NEP Scale for Children, with 10 instead of 15 items and revised wording, is appropriate for use with children aged 10-12 years

Conservation and Education: Prominent Themes in Zoo Mission Statements

Abstract: In this study, the authors examine the mission statements of 136 zoos in the United States that the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) has accredited, and report on the predominant themes of education and conservation in the statements. To explore the relation between these two themes, the authors present a literature review of the roles and purposes of zoos and discuss how the literature compares with the roles and purposes of zoos as found in the zoo mission statements. They conclude that with more than 134 million visitors a year, zoos are in a unique position to provide environmental education and conservation education to large numbers of people.

A Review of Research on the Effectiveness of Environmental Education in Promoting Intergenerational Learning

Abstract: How to design environmental education (EE) programs in ways that encourage children to influence the environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of adults has intrigued researchers for more than a decade. The authors review and synthesize results from 7 studies that sought to answer this question. The studies reviewed were conducted between 1992 and 2003 in England, Costa Rica, Australia, Canada, and the United States. All of the studies involved formal K—12 EE programs that ranged from a 1.5-hr program on endangered species to a 1-year program integrating ecological concepts throughout the curriculum. Based on these studies, the authors identify several factors that contribute to intergenerational learning, including actively involving parents in student activities and focusing on local environmental issues.

Expanding the Field: Revisiting Environmental Education Principles Through Multidisciplinary Frameworks

Abstract: In response to calls for discourse that builds on the substantive structure of environmental education in efforts to further the scope of the field, this article reexamines key principles of environmental education through the multidisciplinary lenses of critical pedagogy, the environmental justice movement, and more recent definitions of place-based education. Understanding that environmental education's key concepts of environment and environmental literacy are culturally specific—not universal—ideas opens the field for more diverse, locally appropriate, and inclusive pedagogies. By reflecting on environmental education's shortcomings in the field, revisiting its foundational concepts and themes, and integrating multidisciplinary methodologies, the author makes a case for broadening the scope of what is included in environmental education discourse and continuing to challenge the present and future of its theory and practice.

Factors Associated With K-12 Teachers' Use of Environment-Based Education

Abstract: The term environment-based education describes a form of school-based environmental education in which an instructor uses the local environment as a context for integrating subjects and a source of real world learning experiences. Despite the growing body of evidence that supports the educational efficacy of this instructional approach and its foundation of high-quality environmental education, relatively few teachers seem to practice environment-based education (University of Maryland Survey Research Center, 2000). In the context of encouraging more widespread adoption of this formal instructional approach, the author used exploratory survey research with a convenience sample of 287 teachers to investigate influences on teachers' decisions to use and their abilities to implement environment-based education. The author used analysis of variance and discriminant function analyses, and results suggest that environmental literacy knowledge and skills and environmental sensitivity are important in teachers' d...

Environmental Concern and Sociodemographic Variables: A Study of Statistical Models.

Abstract: Studies of the social bases of environmental concern over the past 30 years have produced somewhat inconsistent results regarding the effects of sociodemographic variables, such as gender, income, and place of residence. The authors argue that model specification errors resulting from violation of two statistical assumptions (interval-level measurement and parallel regression) may contribute to such inconsistency. Using data from an April 2000 Gallup poll commonly known as the Earth Day Survey, they found that violation of the former assumption has little effect on analysis results, whereas violation of the latter assumption leads to inconsistent effects of sociodemographic variables.

The Impact of a Place-Based Professional Development Program on Teachers' Confidence, Attitudes, and Classroom Practices.

Abstract: The purposes of this study were to determine the impact of a professional development program on the confidence levels and classroom practices of the participants and their attitudes toward the environment. The program had immersed teachers in a watershed study that took them from the headwaters of a 310-mile river to its confluence with the Ohio River over a 6-day period during the summer. The teaching approaches used were based on national standards, best teaching practices, and current trends in environmental education. Pre-, post-, and long-term postsurvey data were analyzed using a MANOVA and univariate tests to measure changes in confidence levels and classroom practices in the use of various technology; standards-based teaching strategies; community resources; field investigations; and in the teaching of watershed topics, real life topics, societal issues, and career education. The results of a separate pre-, post-, and long-term postsurvey were analyzed using a paired samples t test to measure cha...

Childhood Play and Environmental Interests: Panacea or Snake Oil?

Abstract: Both wildland recreationists and conservationists report that wildland childhood play is an important socialization experience. However, researchers know little about the details of play experiences during the formative childhood years. In this article, the authors describe the content and physical and social components of childhood play as recalled by 51 young adults involved in serious leisure and environmental professions related to natural history and a contrast group of 10 adults not participating in natural history activities. On the basis of their interviews, the authors identified stationary and exploratory play, social facilitation of play, play away from the home restricted only by distance, fantasy play, creative play, gaming play, searching and trapping play, and play interspersed with outdoor chores. The authors distinguish between playing with nature and playing with friends within nature and discuss the implications for further research and environmental education programming.

Enhancing Teachers' Beliefs and Practices Through Problem-Based Learning Focused on Pertinent Issues of Environmental Health Science

Abstract: The authors examined teachers' beliefs and classroom practices during a 2-year professional development program that required middle-school teachers to develop, implement, and revise problem-based, interdisciplinary curricula focusing on locally relevant environmental health issues. The results of the study indicate that over the course of the program, teachers' self-efficacy, beliefs about the classroom learning environment, and reported use of reform-based classroom practices increased significantly. The results also indicate that teachers' beliefs about the likelihood of support from the school environment declined significantly, and their outcome expectancy beliefs did not change significantly. The authors offer related data showing the impact of the program on other teacher and student outcomes and advocate for the use of problem-based learning curricula that use local environmental health science issues as an integrative context.

Social Cognitive Predictors of Interest in Environmental Science: Recommendations for Environmental Educators.

Abstract: The authors examined the influence of social cognitive variables on students' interest in environmental science careers and investigated differences between White and ethnic minority students on several career-related variables. The sample consisted of 161 undergraduate science majors (124 White students, 37 ethnic minority students). Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses found self-efficacy, outcome expectations, role model influence, perceived supports and barriers, and environmental concerns contributed significant variance to the prediction of these students' interest in environmental science. When compared with White students, ethnic minority students perceived greater barriers to pursuing a career in environmental science, exhibited less concern about environmental problems, and had less interest in environmental science. The authors highlight implications for environmental educators who are in a position to increase diversity within the field.

Evaluating Long-Term Effects of the Golden Lion Tamarin Environmental Education Program in Brazil

Abstract: The authors evaluated the environmental education program of the Golden Lion Tamarin Association in Brazil by comparing results of a 2001 survey with baseline data from 1986. Responses of 666 residents and results from 4 focus groups revealed an increase in public support for the tamarin and its habitat and an increase in general environmental knowledge. The evaluation identified gaps in knowledge about the biology and conservation status of the tamarin and gaps in women's participation in the education program.

Evaluating the Implementation Process of Environmental Education in Preservice Teacher Education: Two Case Studies

Abstract: The authors report on the implementation process of environmental education (EE) in two Flemish (Belgian) teacher education colleges. One college had a long history of cross-curricular education, whereas the other college did not. Initially the implementation processes in the two institutions stagnated because of personal and organizational obstructions. After inserting EE in the curriculum for preservice teacher education and in the job descriptions of the participating teachers, the implementation goals. The authors took initiatives and made progress toward the institutionalization of EE. Conflicting priority between mandatory and EE-course time was, however, experienced as a major dilemma in providing EE.

Diversity and Equity in Environmental Organizations: The Salience of These Factors to Students.

Abstract: Diversity in environmental institutions is of increasing concern to scholars and practitioners. The author examined student perceptions of the importance of 20 diversity and equity factors in their decisions to accept a job. A national sample of 1,239 students in 9 environmental disciplines (biological sciences, geosciences, natural resources, agricultural sciences, forestry, geography, environmental science, environmental engineering, and social sciences) participated in the study. Although most respondents assigned some importance to diversity and equity factors, large ethnic and gender differences existed in the significance that respondents assigned to each factor. Ethnic differences in assessing the importance of the diversity and equity factors also occurred in the extent to which respondents distinguished between factors that did or did not mention subgroups of workers.

Environmental Service-Learning Programs in Florida High Schools and Colleges: Nature, Status, and Effects as Determined by a Statewide Program Census

Abstract: The authors describe environmental service-learning (SL) programs in Florida high schools and colleges through a statewide program census that explored (a) academic, service, and reflection program features; (b) effects of Furco's SL outcome domains on student outcomes; and (c) program partnerships. The results of the study reveal that secondary schools and colleges in Florida practice environmental SL in a variety of ways. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for environmental SL and offer recommendations for further research and educational practice.

Using a Partitioned Treatment Design to Examine the Effect of Project WET.

Abstract: Although young people in 50 U.S. states and 21 countries learn about water resources through Project WET (Water Education for Teachers), few researchers have conducted summative evaluations of the program. The authors employed a partitioned, or differential, treatments design in which two groups of 6th-grade students received overlapping but unique lesson components. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the authors found that classrooms from both groups had similar pre- to posttest gains on a test of the common material, but each group outperformed the other group on tests of the unique material a group experienced.

A Reinvestigation of Teachers' Motivations Toward and Perceptions of Residential Environmental Education: A Case Study of the New Jersey School of Conservation

Abstract: The author presents the findings of a study that explored teachers' motivations toward and perspectives of the residential environmental education (EE) program at the New Jersey School of Conservation (NJSOC). Thirty-five program coordinators were administered a 24-item instrument that explored the variables of interest. The findings revealed that (a) the coordinators feel strongly that a residential EE experience should be included as part of their students' academic preparation because of the positive effect it has on them, (b) the coordinators were involved with the effort because they perceive it as a requirement of their position, and (c) the cost of a residential EE program and the administrative duties or responsibilities associated with it are two of the biggest challenges.