Showing papers on "Environmental education published in 2005"
TL;DR: This article explored the complexity and contested nature of the research-teaching nexus in different national and institutional contexts, with particular reference to geography, and argued that the relationship depends on how the terms "research" and "teaching and learning" are conceptualized.
Abstract: Linking research and teaching is a topic of international interest. The links may take many different forms and may be found in all types of higher education institution. The main aim of the paper is to explore the complexity and contested nature of the research-teaching nexus in different national and institutional contexts, with particular reference to geography. It is argued that the relationship depends on how the terms ‘research’ and ‘teaching and learning’ are conceptualized. It is suggested that undergraduate students are likely to gain most benefit from research in terms of depth of learning and understanding when they are involved actively, particularly through various forms of inquiry-based learning. The development of such research-based curricula provides challenges to staff across the sector, not least because they may lead to finding new ways for staff and students to work together.
452 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors conducted a literature review of published and unpublished articles, conference proceedings, university reports, books, and website documents to explore some of the factors that could obstruct the implementation of sustainability initiatives in higher education institutions as a way for assisting key players to improve the effectiveness of their potential or current sustainability initiatives and being ready for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
Abstract: Purpose – To explore some of the factors that could obstruct the implementation of the sustainability initiatives in higher education institutions as a way for assisting key players to improve the effectiveness of their potential or current sustainability initiatives and being ready for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.Design/methodology/approach – It was conducted a literature review of published and unpublished articles, conference proceedings, university reports, books, and website documents. It was not target any specific discipline. However, most of the material was from engineering, economics, sociology, and related sciences. The time frame of the literature review was from 1990 to 2002. Important references prior to 1990 were also analyzed.Findings – The adequate conditions for the successful implementation of sustainability programs do not exist. There are many obstacles preventing the success of sustainability initiatives on campuses around the world. However, su...
419 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the conservation benefits of environmental management practices and nature experiences provided at a major Australian ecotourism resort and found significant effects of visitor awareness of, and involvement in, the environmental management practice, and participation in nature tour activities on environmental attitudes and behaviours.
Abstract: This study explored the conservation benefits of environmental management practices and nature experiences provided at a major Australian ecotourism resort. To achieve this purpose the study investigated changes in tourists' environmental knowledge, awareness, attitudes and behavioural intentions between pre-visit and post-visit stages. Overall, there were few statistically significant differences between the pre-visit and post-visit samples. This study found, however, significant effects of (1) visitor awareness of, and (2) involvement in, the environmental management practices, and (3) participation in nature tour activities on environmental attitudes and behaviours. It is suggested that awareness of in-resort environmental practices and satisfying experiences in ecotourism accommodation may lead to reinforcing visitors' favourable environmental attitudes, thus increasing their interest in further ecotourism experiences. Through these cumulative effects, ecotourism accommodation could achieve its educative goal.
321 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the role of free-choice learning experiences in promoting sustainable attitudes and behaviour in environmental education has been explored, and the factors contributing to the effectiveness of these endeavours are discussed.
Abstract: Environmental education, both in and outside of the classroom, aims to facilitate adoption of sustainable practice by both school students and the general public. This paper explores the role of free‐choice learning experiences in this regard. An overview of theoretical approaches underpinning free‐choice learning research is provided, examples are presented of the ways in which informal educational settings can promote environmentally sustainable attitudes and behaviour, and the factors contributing to the effectiveness of these endeavours are discussed. By reviewing research evidence in relation to these issues, the paper identifies the current ‘state of the game’ and areas where new research is needed.
302 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a framework for thinking about free-choice environmental learning and set the stage for the other articles in this special issue, including a brief overview of environmental learning, the nature of learning, and the educational infrastructure.
Abstract: Education is a lifelong endeavor; the public learns in many places and contexts, for a diversity of reasons, throughout their lives. During the past couple of decades, there has been a growing awareness that free‐choice learning experiences – learning experiences where the learner exercises a large degree of choice and control over the what, when and why of learning – play a major role in lifelong learning. Worldwide, most environmental learning is not acquired in school, but outside of school through free‐choice learning experiences. Included in this article are brief overviews of environmental learning, the nature of learning, the educational infrastructure, and free‐choice learning as a term. This article provides a framework for thinking about free‐choice environmental learning and sets the stage for thinking about the other articles in this special issue.
300 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a range of published works relating to sustainable development education are critiqued, an introduction to complexity theory is given, and a case study is provided to demonstrate an example of incorporating sustainability into course delivery and to demonstrate problem-based interdisciplinary learning.
Abstract: Purpose – To distinguish sustainable development education from environmental education and stress the importance of problem‐based interdisciplinary learning to sustainable development education.Design/methodology/approach – A range of published works relating to sustainable development education are critiqued, an introduction to complexity theory is given and related to sustainable development education, and a case study is provided to demonstrate an example of incorporating sustainability into course delivery and to demonstrate problem‐based interdisciplinary learning.Findings – Our discussion supports our claim that reconciling sustainability and development requires a complex interdisciplinary approach beyond that found in some areas of traditional environmental education.Research limitations/implications – Our literature search is not exhaustive and focuses on sustainable development education. A much greater body of literature relating to environmental education exists.Practical implications – Our d...
275 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a set of recommendations that will aid universities planning to create sustainability education programs, which are not specific to curriculum or programs but are instead recommendations for academic institutions considering a shift towards sustainability education in the broadest sense.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper describes a set of recommendations that will aid universities planning to create sustainability education programs. These recommendations are not specific to curriculum or programs but are instead recommendations for academic institutions considering a shift towards “sustainability education” in the broadest sense. The purpose of this research was to consider the possible directions for the future of sustainability education at the university level.Design/methodology/approach – Through a series of workshops using a “value focused thinking” framework, a small team of researchers engaged a large number of stakeholders in a dialogue about sustainability education at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada. Recommendations were compiled from workshop data as well as data from 30 interviews of participants connected with decision‐making and sustainability at UBC.Findings – The recommendations include infusing sustainability into all university decisions, promoting and p...
261 citations
01 Sep 2005
252 citations
TL;DR: In their review of evidence-based research entitled A Review of Research on Outdoor Learning, the authors identified five key constraints that limit the amount of outdoor learning and explored whether green school grounds might be a location where these constraints could be minimised.
Abstract: In their review of evidence-based research entitled A Review of Research on Outdoor Learning, Rickinson et al. (2004) identify five key constraints that limit the amount of outdoor learning. This paper explores whether green school grounds might be a location where these constraints could be minimised. Specifically, it reports on a study that sought to investigate the use of green school grounds as sites for outdoor learning, to identify barriers that impede such use, and to examine how these barriers differ from those cited in Rickinson et al.’s review. A mixed method approach was used: (1) 149 questionnaires were completed by administrators, teachers, and parents associated with 45 school ground greening initiatives in a Canadian school board; (2) 21 follow-up interviews were completed at five of the schools. Study participants reported that green school grounds are used regularly for teaching some subjects, notably science and physical education, but considerably less for teaching language arts, mathem...
185 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an action-oriented research project regarding the University of British Columbia's engagement with sustainability is presented. But the authors highlight a range of institutional barriers that impede the implementation of sustainability education including: the problems of disciplinarity, the competitive environment of the university, misdirected criteria for evaluating students and faculty, and multiple priority-setting by the administration.
Abstract: This article outlines an action‐oriented research project regarding the University of British Columbia’s engagement with sustainability. In 1997, the University of British Columbia (UBC) created a sustainability policy that suggests all UBC students should be educated about sustainability. Using data from a series of in‐depth interviews the author outlines a range of institutional barriers that impede the implementation of sustainability education including: the problems of disciplinarity, the competitive environment of the university, misdirected criteria for evaluating students and faculty, and multiple priority‐setting by the administration. The article concludes with recommendations on how to create institutional change and sustainability education programs at the university level.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider interdisciplinary approaches to education for sustainable development (ESD) in initial teacher training (ITT) partnerships in the light of recent national policy initiatives.
Abstract: This article considers interdisciplinary approaches to education for sustainable development (ESD) in initial teacher training (ITT) partnerships in the light of recent national policy initiatives. In identifying challenges for interdisciplinary innovation, it brings to bear research evidence from three sources: questionnaires sent to ITT partnership schools; questionnaire surveys of geography and science graduate student teachers; and questionnaire surveys of their school mentors. Key findings are that: schools are not yet well developed as sites for student teacher learning in the domain; student teachers generally have greater understanding of sustainable development than their mentors; geography mentors perceive themselves to be better prepared for mentoring in this area than their science counterparts (who feel ill‐prepared); for both students and mentors, there are significant gaps in understanding of ESD compared with representations found in the literature. Some implications and possible ways forw...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that managers in the Canadian pulp and paper industry perceive the government and the public, but not financial and consumer markets, as the most important sources of pressure, and that involvement of the firm's higher level management and environmental education of employees are important determinants of environmental performance.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an approach to empower today's youth to meet the challenges of climate education, which they call climate education: Empowering Today's Youth to Meet Tomorrow's Challenges.
Abstract: (2005). Climate Education: Empowering Today's Youth to Meet Tomorrow's Challenges. Studies in Science Education: Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 3-49.
TL;DR: The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), Resolution 57/254, February 2003, provides the best yet occasion for higher education institutions (HEIs) to green their curricula as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The declaration of the ‘United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development’ (ESD), Resolution 57/254, February 2003, provides the best yet occasion for higher education institutions (HEIs) to ‘green’ their curricula. The idea for the Decade emerges from a progression of high-level international conferences, beginning with Stockholm, 1972, that have seen ESD thinking move from general statements of intent to increasingly detailed specifications for action. There has also been a growth in awareness that the changes to the curriculum for sustainable development must suffuse all areas of education provision. They cannot be restricted to the environmental disciplines or ‘ecoliteracy’ modules or even to the classroom, but must be demonstrated by the whole of an HEI's approach to the world. Obstacles to implementation include: funding and perverse subsidies, departmental and disciplinary barriers, ivory-tower traditions in teaching that externalize and objectify the subjects studied and persistence o...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an assessment of short-term study abroad (STSA) for students not likely to participate in semester-long or yearlong international study abroad programs.
Abstract: Short-term study abroad (STSA) is an important alternative for students not likely to participate in semester-long or yearlong international study abroad programs. The authors present an assessment...
TL;DR: The authors examined changes in environmental awareness among 3rd-and 5th-grade participants in the Open Spaces as Learning Places program in New Haven, Connecticut and found a significant positive effect of the program on students' awareness of the local environment and on their knowledge of environmental concepts.
Abstract: In this article, the author examines the effects of an urban environmental education program on children's awareness of their local biophysical environment. She examined changes in environmental awareness among 3rd- and 5th-grade participants in the Open Spaces as Learning Places program in New Haven, Connecticut. Results showed a significant positive effect of the program on students' awareness of the local environment and on their knowledge of environmental concepts. Improvements in environmental knowledge were uncorrelated with the children's socioeconomic status, whereas improvements in local environmental awareness appeared only among students living in high socioeconomic neighborhoods.
01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: A National Review of Environmental Education and its Contribution to Sustainability in Australia is presented in this paper, which provides a snapshot of the current context and identifies a number of key themes which assist with constructing a picture of environmental education experiences in the community sector.
Abstract: This report is Volume 3 in a five part series that reviews Environmental Education and its contribution to sustainability in Australia. The research which underpins it was undertaken between May and July 2004 by the Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability (ARIES) for the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage. The series is titled 'A National Review of Environmental Education and its Contribution to Sustainability in Australia' and covers the following areas: This volume is the first national review undertaken in Australia and one of few attempts to capture needs and opportunities in this area. It provides a snapshot of the current context and identifies a number of key themes which assist with constructing a picture of Environmental Education experiences in the community sector. These themes reflect how programs targeted at the community vary considerably from having a main focus in providing environmental information through to more action orientated approaches. The document provides analysis as well as recommendations to improve sustainability practice through Environmental Education. Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government, and the Government does not accept responsibility for any information or advice contained herein. Many Environmental Education thinkers and experienced practitioners have contributed to this research document. We are grateful to them for their input. Community and Sustainability Unit) acted as key informants for this review. We are also grateful to the National Environmental Education Council (NEEC) for feedback on initial drafts.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose the construction of environmental education as a public policy implemented by the Ministry for Education and Culture (MEC), which includes processes of direct intervention, regulation and contractualism that strengthen the articulation of various social actors and their ability to carry out sustainable and educative territorial management, training of environmental educators, socio-environmental educommunication, and other strategies that promote a critical and emancipative environmental education.
Abstract: Environmental education emerges as one of the possible strategies to face up to the double-order, cultural and social, civilization crisis. Its critical and emancipative perspective intends to trigger processes in which the individual and collective searches for cultural and social change are dialectically intertwined. The articulation of State and community principles, with the sanction of the community, establishes the State as the latter's partner in the process of transformation of the status quo referred to by Boaventura de Souza Santos as a "brand new social movement". Such State must play the role of strengthening civil society as the mainstay of superstructure. In the environmental field, the State has advanced in terms of regulatory marks without an operational capacity befitting the demand, owing to the reduction of the State (in the 1990s) and to the absence of reforms other than that of the minimal State. Environmental education must, therefore, contribute to a State-civil society dialectical process that allows the definition of public policies based on dialogue. In this sense, the construction of environmental education as a public policy implemented by the Ministry for Education and Culture (MEC) and by the Ministry for the Environment (MMA) includes processes of direct intervention, regulation and contractualism that strengthen the articulation of various social actors (in both formal and non-formal education contexts) and their ability to carry out sustainable and educative territorial management, training of environmental educators, socio-environmental educommunication, and other strategies that promote a critical and emancipative environmental education. The public policies in environmental education will require a growing capacity of the State to respond, even if with minimal direct intervention, to the demands emerging from the articulated set of institutions acting on the critical and emancipative environmental education.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the level of environmental knowledge of Michigan State University students relative to the results of a biannual national study of the environmental knowledge in the general population of the United States.
Abstract: The reported research examines the level of environmental knowledge of Michigan State University students relative to the results of a biannual national study of the environmental knowledge of the general population of the United States. While the university students were found to possess higher levels of environmental knowledge than the general public, the students' overall environmental knowledge, on average, was deficient with only 66% of them receiving a passing grade. The findings suggest a positive correlation between academic level, field of study and environmental knowledge.
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01 Jan 2005
01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: McKenzie as mentioned in this paper discusses the role of nature in post-post approaches to environmental education research, but she is mostly silent about how to assess the legitimacy of such representations, and what are the limits and possibilities of such approaches when nature is taken into account.
Abstract: While McKenzie mentions in passing her concern about anthropocentrism and human oppression of the natural world, she is mostly silent about the role of ‘nature’ in post‐post approaches to environmental education research. If one takes feminist poststructuralist ideas about voice and representation seriously, surely the place of ‘nature’ in environmental education research must be interrogated? Is there space for ‘nature’ in multivocal representations of research? How might our own polyvocality include our experiences of our animality? How might we assess the legitimacy of such representations? What are the limits and possibilities of post‐post approaches to environmental education research when ‘nature’ is taken into account?
01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose a download and print policy for any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research, which is based on the principle that the authors do not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain.
Abstract: • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Download policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors make the case that place-based and environmental education theory and practice must be responsive to, while attempting to transform, the institutional dynamics of schooling, drawing especially on Foucault's analyses of disciplinary power and governmentality.
Abstract: This article makes the case that place-based and environmental education theory and practice must be responsive to, while attempting to transform, the institutional dynamics of schooling. In the present climate of education in the USA two dynamics of schooling deserve particular attention with respect to the possibilities for place-based and environmental education: the discourse of accountability and the discourse of collaboration. Drawing especially on Foucault's analyses of disciplinary power and governmentality, I show how practices associated with accountability and collaboration limit or preclude the deepening and spreading of place-based and environmental education. However, I also argue that even given the serious limitations imposed by current trends of collaboration and accountability, these trends offer place-based and environmental educators powerful entry points through which to initiate change within the formal school setting. The conclusion of the paper outlines three models of collaboratio...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss three case studies, an exhibition on biodiversity, a hotel water conservation program, and a partnership between a nature center and urban public schools, to establish parameters for designing learning experiences that accommodate the varied worldviews and attitudes of learners.
Abstract: This paper discusses three case studies – an exhibition on biodiversity, a hotel water conservation program, and a partnership between a nature center and urban public schools – to establish parameters for designing learning experiences that accommodate the varied worldviews and attitudes of learners. Positive outcomes occurred in all three cases, but could best be interpreted if sub‐samples of participants were distinguished based on their readiness to embrace conservation messages. The studies demonstrated the limitations of narrowly defined learning outcomes as benchmarks for success or failure. The role that visitor/participant agendas, needs, abilities and interests play in shaping free‐choice learning experiences will be discussed.
TL;DR: The World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg made it clear that political leadership the world over is incapable of rising to the challenges of sustainability as mentioned in this paper, yet, most of the hundred or so world leaders who attended have a higher education degree from some of the world's most prestigious universities.
Abstract: The World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg made it clear that political leadership the world over is incapable of rising to the challenges of sustainability. Yet, most of the hundred or so world leaders who attended have a higher education degree from some of the world's most prestigious universities. This paper tries to address some of the key challenges this poses for universities. It looks at the changing professional landscape within the EU, parameters of a higher education (HE) that would produce Earth-literate leaders, at the concept of a sustainable university and ecological footprinting as a tool to measure this, and at the implications all this has for the HE and geography curriculum.
TL;DR: In this article, 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 is presented.
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.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the different informal learning contexts for children, home (family and play), museums, zoos, nature parks and wilderness, and offer an explanation for how learning occurs in these settings, and how such domains or sectors can contribute to free-choice environmental learning.
Abstract: Free‐choice learning and, derivatively, free‐choice environmental learning emerges as a powerful vehicle for supporting diversity in learning styles (Falk & Dierking, 2002). In this article, I argue that free‐choice environmental learning holds great potential for enabling us to understand what is at stake in environmental learning and thus help us build a sustainable future. I examine the different informal learning contexts for children, home (family and play), museums, zoos, nature parks and wilderness, among many others, and offer an explanation for how learning occurs in these settings, and how such domains or sectors can contribute to free‐choice environmental learning. This article also examines the nature of environmental learning in free choice settings to establish a connection with stages of childhood development. In the final section of this article, I draw on these examples to discuss research issues that emerge within various free‐choice settings.
TL;DR: This paper explored the cultural influences on children's self-reported environmental behaviors, perceptions, and understandings; investigated the differences between two culturally distinct groups; and developed models of children's responsible environmental behavior.
Abstract: The multicultural nature of today’s elementary school classrooms in Australia, Europe, and North America bring interesting cultural and linguistic influences to constructivist-oriented environmental education programs. Students’ prior knowledge, beliefs, values, and attitudes might affect their understandings about and actions toward the environment. This study explored the cultural influences on children’s self-reported environmental behaviors, perceptions, and understandings; investigated the differences between two culturally distinct groups; and developed models of children’s responsible environmental behavior. English and Mandarin questionnaires developed with reasonable validity and reliability were used to collect data regarding children’s environmental behaviors, attitudes, concerns, emotional dispositions, knowledge, and situational factors causing children’s irresponsible behavior. Useable data collected from 278 grade 5 children from Victoria, BC, Canada, and 483 grade 5 children from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and multiple regression analyses. The results revealed more similarities than differences with small to moderate effect sizes within and between these Canadian and Taiwanese children. Television was the most popular source of environmental information for both groups of children. Canadian children had much more variety and frequency of nature activities than Taiwanese children. Children from both countries expressed positive environmental behavior, positive attitudes toward the environment, high concern about the environmental problems, high emotional disposition toward current environmental situations, and moderate environmental knowledge. The original model of children’s responsible environmental behavior did not fully reflect these Canadian and Taiwanese data; therefore, alternative models were developed. Affective variables appear to be stronger influences on children’s responsible environmental behavior than the cognitive variable.