Showing papers on "Environmental education published in 2015"

The future we want: Key issues on sustainable development in higher education after Rio and the UN decade of education for sustainable development

Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to provide a description of the achievements of the United Nations (UN) Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) with a focus on higher education, and it describes some of the key issues which will guide sustainable development in the coming years. Design/methodology/approach – The paper initially presents an analysis of past developments, complemented by an assessment of the emphasis on sustainable development by the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. In particular, it makes cross-references to the deliberations held at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012, with a special emphasis to the document “The Future we Want”. It concludes by listing a set of suggestions and measures that both industrialised and developing countries may consider to translate the principles of sustainable development into reality. Findings – Sustainable development is and will continue to be a matter of subst...

Hope in the Face of Climate Change: Associations With Environmental Engagement and Student Perceptions of Teachers’ Emotion Communication Style and Future Orientation

Abstract: Is hope concerning climate change related to environmental engagement, or is it rather associated with unrealistic optimism and inactivity? This study on Swedish high school students identified two ...

Environmental education in a neoliberal climate

Abstract: This introduction to a special issue of Environmental Education Research explores how environmental education is shaped by the political, cultural, and economic logic of neoliberalism. Neoliberalism, we suggest, has become the dominant social imaginary, making particular ways of thinking and acting possible while simultaneously discouraging the possibility and pursuit of others. Consequently, neoliberal ideals promoting economic growth and using markets to solve environmental and economic problems constrain how we conceptualize and implement environmental education. However, while neoliberalism is a dominant social imaginary, there is not one form of neoliberalism, but patterns of neoliberalization that differ by place and time. In addition, while neoliberal policies and discourses are often portrayed as inevitable, the collection shows how these exist as an outcome of ongoing political projects in which particular neoliberalized social and economic structures are put in place. Together, the editorial and...

Education for sustainable development in early childhood education: a review of the research literature

Abstract: The aim of the study is to describe and analyse research articles relating to the subject of education for sustainable development (ESD) for early childhood education (ECE), published during the years 1996–2013. This is done by answering three specific questions: (1) How is ESD defined by researchers in ECE? (2) What are the major research inquiries and results? (3) What does the research say about young children acting for change in relation to sustainability? Our analysis identified two different definitions of ESD: first, as a threefold approach to education based on questions concerning education about, in and for the environment; and, second, as an approach to education that includes three interrelated dimensions: economic, social and environmental. Two major research areas are identified in this study. The first area relates to how teachers understand ESD, while the second area focuses on how ESD can be implemented in educational practice. During the period studied, the research has evolved from tea...

Climate Change Education in the Context of Education for Sustainable Development: Rationale and Principles:

Abstract: Although the role of education in addressing the challenges of climate change is increasingly recognized, the education sector remains underutilized as a strategic resource to mitigate and adapt to climate change Education stakeholders in many countries have yet to develop a coherent framework for climate change education (CCE) This article underscores the critical role that education can and should play in addressing and responding to climate change in all of its complexity It provides rationales as to why CCE should be addressed in the context of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Advancing CCE in the context of ESD, or Climate Change Education for Sustainable Development (CCESD), requires enhancement of learners’ understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change and their readiness to take actions to address it The article presents key organizing principles of CCESD and outlines key knowledge, skills, attitudes, dispositions and competences to be fostered through it

The Project-Based Learning Approach in Environmental Education.

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of project-based learning on students’ attitudes toward the environment. In the study that was performed with 39 students who take the “Environmental Education” course, attitude changes toward the environment were investigated in students who developed projects on environmental problems. A mixed-method explanatory design was used to flesh out study results. After being informed about basic environmental concepts and project-based learning, students engaged themselves in group work to develop projects regarding environmental problems. The developed projects were presented with the aim of informing students. According to research results, although a significant gender difference in environmental attitudes was not found, project-based learning had a positive effect on students’ environmental attitudes. Students defined project-based learning use in environmental education as an approach that is beneficial, enhancing creativity, encouraging research and p...

A National Investigation of Teachers’ Environmental Literacy as a Reference for Promoting Environmental Education in Taiwan

Abstract: Taiwan's government enacted the Environmental Education Act in June 2011. In the beginning of the implementation of the Act, a national assessment of schoolteachers’ environmental literacy was performed in order to establish the baseline for evaluating the effectiveness of environmental education policy. This large-scale assessment involved a large sample size of in-service teachers across schools at all levels and regions in Taiwan using the stratified random sampling method. Data showed that the teachers have satisfactory levels of environmental knowledge and attitudes, but presented low degrees of environmental action. Differing from previous research results, elementary teachers performed better than high school teachers on this assessment, which may be attributed to their teacher training experiences. Results from this study may provide implications for teacher professional development programs and school environmental education policy.

Energy saving: Views and attitudes of students in secondary education

Abstract: Energy and its usage constitute one of the most important environmental issues nowadays that substantially affect economic and social development and the improvement of the quality of life in all countries. The risk of climate change and environmental degradation is real with the global development process and human intervention being the key components in dictating the nature of environmental problems. Education on energy issues should be the means for helping students cope with present and future energy needs and the adoption of appropriate, attitudes, lifestyle practices and behavior is deemed necessary. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the complex of student׳s views and attitudes about energy and its usage related to the environment. A questionnaire has been used as a research tool most appropriate to these research׳s goals. The results expose the need for a radical change in patterns of human behavior towards an environmentally sustainable orientation and the dominant role that environmental education possesses in realizing this direction.

Building a co-created citizen science program with gardeners neighboring a superfund site: The Gardenroots case study.

Abstract: IntroductionTypically community members living in contaminated communities are the ones who initially identify adverse ecological and health outcomes associated with toxic exposures (1), although a state agency, regional US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) office, or the responsible party may make this discovery The USEPA may add the site to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System, which can lead to a cascade of regulatory and/or remedy events Typically at National Priorities List (NPL) sites with groundwater contamination, the time from discovery to remedy implementation can go beyond 20 years, and long-term management (ie decades to centuries) is needed at many sites (2) As time passes, site managers are responsible for monitoring the progress of remediation and engaging the community to inform them of the cleanup progress and describe potential risks associated with the siteTraditionally, site managers engage the community in a one-way communication model that solely aims to inform, change behavior, and assure populations that the determined risk is acceptable and that cleanup is underway (3, 4) This communication strategy has a low rate of success, primarily because it excludes those most affected (3) and fundamentally does not aim to increase environmental education or involve the community in the decisions about their risk Historically, because communities were not involved in the decision-making process, mistrust often eroded the relationships between scientists, regulatory officials, and the affected communities (5, 6)The lack of public participation at contaminated sites is a great loss, as community members have been contributing to science since the 17th century (7, 8) and in general, volunteerism is considered critical to civic life in the United States (9, 10) Volunteers have monitored watershed health in more than 700 programs in the US, involving over 400,000 local stakeholders (11) and most ecological research once fostered public participation in most or all of the steps in the scientific process (8) However, due to the professionalization of science, the role of the amateur scientist has diminished (8) The value of public participation in addressing environmental and health issues has received renewed attention in the past couple of decades through efforts such as public participation in scientific research (PPSR)/ citizen science (12), community based participatory research (CBPR) (13), popular epidemiology (14), and street science (15)Public participation in scientific research, often termed citizen science, is a form of informal science education, and is broadly defined as a partnership between scientists and non-scientists in which authentic data are collected, shared, and analyzed (12, 16, 17) Citizen science projects are meant to increase a participant's scientific literacy (12), to collect field data to monitor a variety of environmental conditions (7), and as a framework to support and enhance decision-making in modern society (17, 18) Previous research in science education and sociology has demonstrated the need to engage communities in scientific research and that this level of engagement can be successfully facilitated via community-academic partnerships Members of a community neighboring a contaminated site are typically intrinsically motivated to learn more about the issues regarding the contaminated site in their community and in most cases, have already begun to gather additional scientific data hypothesize other potential routes of exposure and areas that need additional monitoring Research related to inquiry-based education has elucidated how people have a greater motivation to engage and learn when the subject matter is directly related to their lives and if the learning process is interactive (19) Popular epidemiology, a community-driven practice, was proposed after observing the activities of communities experiencing contamination and entails community initiation of investigations, gathering of scientific knowledge, and, if necessary, recruiting of scientific professionals (14) …

Neoliberalism, New Public Management and the Sustainable Development Agenda of Higher Education: History, Contradictions and Synergies.

Abstract: This paper explores the ideological and the practical relationship between neoliberalism and New Public Management (NPM) and the sustainable development agenda of western higher education. Using the United Kingdom and specifically English universities as an example, it investigates the contradictions and the synergies between neoliberal and NPM ideologies and the pursuit and practice of the sustainability agenda, focusing in particular on education for sustainable development (ESD) and ESD research. This paper reveals a range of challenges and opportunities in respect of advancing sustainability in higher education, within the prevailing neoliberal context. It illustrates using examples how neoliberal and managerialist control mechanisms, which govern institutional, departmental and individual academic, as well as student behaviour, are working conversely to both drive and limit the sustainability education agenda. The case is made for further exploration of how ‘nudging’ and ‘steering’ mechanisms within ...

Undergraduate Understanding of Climate Change: The Influences of College Major and Environmental Group Membership on Survey Knowledge Scores

Abstract: A survey covering the scientific and social aspects of climate change was administered to examine U.S. undergraduate student mental models, and compare knowledge between groups based on major and environmental group membership. A Knowledge Score (scale 0–35, mean score = 17.84) was generated for respondents at two, central East Coast, U.S. universities (n = 465). Elements of student mental models examined include environmental issue confusion, skepticism, and self-reported understanding. This study finds that students frequently confuse climate change with other environmental issues, and that a substantial majority of students do not have an understanding of climate change that closely matches the scientific model. These misconceptions extend to their understanding of mitigation actions. Environmental group membership is shown to be a greater determinant of climate change knowledge than enrollment in a science major.

Education policy mobility: reimagining sustainability in neoliberal times

Abstract: This paper is concerned with the twinning of sustainability with priorities of economic neoliberalization in education, and in particular via the mobility or diffusion of education policy. We discuss the literature on policy mobility as well as overview concerns regarding neoliberalism and education. The paper brings these analyses to bear in considering the uptake of sustainability in education policy. We ask to what extent sustainability as a vehicular idea may be twinning with processes of neoliberalization in education policy in ways that may undermine aspirations of, and action on, environmental sustainability. Toward the end of the paper, we draw on data from an empirical study to help elucidate how the analytic frames of policy mobility can inform our analyses of the potential concerns and possibilities of sustainability as a vehicular idea. In particular, we investigate how sustainability and related language have been adopted in the policies of Canadian post-secondary education institutions over ...

Early Childhood Education for Sustainability: The OMEP World Project.

Abstract: At the closure of the UNESCO decade on Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014), this article reports on large research projects on sustainability conducted within the World Organisation for Early Childhood Education (OMEP) through 2009–2014 The overall aim of the projects within OMEP was to enhance awareness of Education for Sustainable Development among young children, OMEP members and the international early childhood community, with a special focus on taking a child-oriented perspective The OMEP research comprised four studies which are described in this paper The rich data in the research were drawn from 28 participating countries, involved more than 44,330 children aged from birth to 8 years, as well as 13,225 teachers These participants were from various early childhood educational contexts The research methods used included child interviews, children’s dialogues, and child-driven, theme-based projects as part of children’s early education programs The results showed that young children have significant knowledge about the Earth and important ideas about environmental issues, as well as knowledge of the responsibilities which individuals carry with respect to sustainability In the research findings, it was strongly apparent that adults often underestimate the competencies of young children It is argued that education for sustainability can be a driver for quality early childhood education

STEM policy and science education: scientistic curriculum and sociopolitical silences

Abstract: This essay responds to the contribution of Volny Fages and Virginia Albe, in this volume, to the field of research in science education, and places it in the context of the plethora of government and industry policy documents calling for more Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in schools and universities and the tension between these and students’ declining interest in studying STEM subjects It also draws attention to the parallels between the silences around sociopolitical issues in government policies and curriculum related to STEM, including nanoscience, and those found with respect to environmental education two decades ago, and relates these to the resurgence of a scientific rationalist approach to curriculum

Sustainability education: researching practice in primary schools

Abstract: Many teachers are keen to implement sustainability education in primary schools but are lacking the confidence, skills and knowledge to do so. Teachers report that they do not understand the concept and cannot integrate sustainability into an already overcrowded curriculum. Identifying how teachers successfully integrate sustainability education into their teaching practice can offer important insights into how these perceived problems can be overcome. The paper is based on data from the third year of a longitudinal study about teacher education and teacher professional learning for sustainability in primary education. The third year of the study investigated teachers’ understandings of sustainability and how sustainability education is manifested in eight rural and regional primary schools in Victoria, Australia. Data included photographs of school grounds and sustainability projects, audio recordings of focus groups with teachers and principals, and field notes of meetings with school staff. Sustainabil...

Middle and high school students’ conceptions of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies

Abstract: Both scientists and policy-makers emphasize the importance of education for influencing pro-environmental behavior and minimizing the effects of climate change on biological and physical systems. Education has the potential to impact students’ system knowledge – their understanding of the variables that affect the climate system – and action knowledge – their understanding of behaviors that can impact the system. Research on climate change education has largely focused on system and action knowledge that address mitigation while overlooking equally necessary adaptive responses. This study used a pre/post-test format to identify aspects of middle and high school students’ climate system knowledge and action knowledge of both mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. Results indicate that adolescents currently conflate climate change mitigation strategies with unrelated environmental problems far less than in previous surveys. However, students demonstrated limited understanding of adaptive responses ...

Environmental Identity Development Through Social Interactions, Action, and Recognition

Abstract: This article uses sociocultural identity theory to explore how practice, action, and recognition can facilitate environmental identity development. Recognition, a construct not previously explored in environmental identity literature, is particularly examined. The study is based on a group of diverse teens who traveled to South Asia to participate in a global education program focused on climate change impacts. Kempton and Holland's (2003) environmental identity model is applied to find that different types of social interactions fostered different types of identity development. Interactions with people affected by climate change helped participants move toward salience, while interactions with their peers helped youth in environmental action. An additional finding was the importance of diversity within social interactions in shaping environmental identity.

Development of Ecological Place Meaning in New York City

Abstract: Urban environmental education helps students to recognize ecological features and practices of cities To understand the value and practice of developing such ecological place meaning, we conducted narrative research with educators and students in urban environmental education programs in the Bronx, New York City Narratives showed that educators are cultivating ecological place meaning to help students appreciate ecological aspects of cities, and develop their imagination of how their environment could be improved Such ecological place meaning is nurtured through direct experiences with the urban environment, social interactions within educational programs and communities, and development of students’ ecological identity

Ecopedagogy and Citizenship in the Age of Globalisation: connections between environmental and global citizenship education to save the planet

Abstract: Teaching the connections between environmentally-harmful acts and social conflict is essential but is often ignored in education. This article presents two ways in which these are not taught because of the policies of those who benefit from the ignorance of these connections: first, the avoidance of teaching global-local connectivity and second, the devaluing of non-dominant cultures. Ecopedagogy is a democratic, transformative pedagogy centred on increasing justice by critically teaching the politics of environmental issues. I argue that global citizenship education (GCE) must be an element of ecopedagogy to contextually learn globalisation's effects upon local communities. In addition, GCE's goal is to increase students' understanding of diverse cultures to respect them. Ecopedagogy is also essential to GCE to fully teach social conflicts resulting from environmentally harmful acts. I offer policy and pedagogical changes to disrupt reproductive environmental pedagogies that help to sustain environmental ills for ecopedagogy-GCE models to emerge.

The effects of environmental education on children's and parents' knowledge and attitudes towards lemurs in rural Madagascar

Abstract: Environmental education is widely used to increase awareness of conservation issues. The theory is that increasing knowledge will improve attitudes towards the environment. Often, environmental education is aimed at children with the assumption that this can also impact adults through intergenerational transfer of knowledge and attitudes. However, there are few detailed studies evaluating the effectiveness of environmental education on changing knowledge and attitudes, and whether any changes do transfer between generations. We evaluate the effect of a school-based education programme run by Malagasy researchers aimed at promoting lemur conservation in Eastern Madagascar. We assess changes in the knowledge and attitudes of participating children and their parents (surveying 126 children and 88 parents across four matched villages, 1 year after two of the villages received environmental education). There was very low awareness of the law protecting lemurs. Attitudes towards lemurs varied between species; with the aye-aye (considered scary) and the eastern lesser bamboo lemur (considered a pest) being less preferred. Children in villages who received environmental education had higher knowledge about lemurs and more positive attitudes than children in the villages not exposed to the environmental education. Knowledge about lemurs among parents where children had received environmental education was also higher (although not attitudes). Environmental education programmes can have a lasting effect, certainly on knowledge, but engagement of the research and NGO community is needed to build the capacity of teachers in rural areas to enthuse their pupils about ecology and conservation issues.

Education for sustainable society: attainments and good practices in Sweden during the United Nations Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD)

Abstract: Education is an indispensable social component and a powerful tool to develop a peaceful and sustainable society. Global policy frameworks are coupled with national policy frameworks to facilitate strategic use of education to promote sustainability. Sweden is one of the countries that has actively aligned with the global framework and has been successful in introducing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into formal education through its inclusion in the curricula and through new approaches toward learning and teaching. This article is based on document analysis attempting to review ESD policy implementation and to highlight Sweden’s contribution to the global framework of ESD. It provides a comprehensive review of ESD discourse and its international policy framework, followed by an analysis of evolution of environmental education then ESD in Sweden. Three initiatives at the primary school level that promote ESD are presented as distinctive examples from Sweden demonstrating instrumental use of education toward sustainable development of the society while assessing the challenges and future prospects. As the United Nations Decade for Sustainable Development and Millennium Development Goals comes to an end in November 2014 and 2015, respectively, it is imperative that the concept of is revisited and good practices in the realm of ESD are identified and shared. Research of this nature locates effective practices of ESD and broadens our understanding of how ESD is implemented and adopted hybridizing with local socio-cultural tradition.

Science Education and Education for Sustainable Development--Justifications, Models, Practices and Perspectives.

Abstract: The year 2014 marks the end of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). All educational domains and levels, including primary and secondary science education, have been working to contribute to education enabling younger generations to become responsible citizens and promote sustainable development in our world. This paper gives insights into some theoretical foundations of the UN Decade for ESD. Different models of implementing ESD in the teaching of science and technology are presented and illustrated by various case studies, which were developed by the University of Bremen chemistry education group. These examples and the corresponding evaluation case studies show that thoroughly combining the ESD framework with science teaching that follows a socio-scientific issues-based approach to education has great potential for helping students develop many general educational skills. It also opens a path to a more balanced view of science in its societal and professional context. This allows career orientation both in and beyond science and engineering.

Environmental Education in Pre-Service Teacher Training: A Literature Review of Existing Evidence

Abstract: Abstract The importance of pre-service teacher training regarding environmental education (EE) has been vastly demonstrated. This systematic review examined the existing evidence from studies evaluating and analysing the relationship between EE, including environmental competences and pre-service primary school teacher training. The literature review performed included 24 documents (22 peer reviewed journal articles and two doctoral theses). The strategy followed consisted in locating documents by a reliable search strategy; establishing the criteria for the selection of documents to analyse from the documents located and rigorously analysing the documents selected based on clear and precise criteria and dimensions. In general terms, the literature review analysis has emphasised the lack of environmental competences amongst pre-service teacher students and the gaps in the teacher training curriculums regarding EE. The overall scarcity of research in this area, jointly with certain gaps and methodological limitations, affirms the need for strengthening the evidence base.

Chemistry Teaching for the Future: A model for secondary chemistry education for sustainable development

Abstract: For more than 40 years, the international community has acknowledged the role education might play in environmental awareness and conservation. The last major initiative came when the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014). In the final year of the decade, teachers still struggle to realise education for sustainable development (ESD). One of the challenges teachers face with respect to ESD is the inclusion of even more content into an already overloaded curriculum. In response, it has been suggested that ESD should be introduced as an integrated perspective across the content of all existing subjects. This paper offers a model for how ESD can be realised in chemistry education. The model has been developed to support chemistry teachers in their educational planning and consists of 5 categories: chemical content knowledge, chemistry in context, the distinctiveness and methodological character of chemistry, ESD competences and lived ESD. The ...

Mewujudkan masyarakat berkarakter peduli lingkungan melalui program adiwiyata

Abstract: This article aims to provide an effort to educate and inform the public about environmental issues become more critical. Develop community character can effectively care for the environment is possible through environmental education in schools. As a place of learning, the school has a special role to play; schools can help students to understand the impact of human behavior on Earth. Adiwiyata program implemented in order to realize the school community who are responsible for the protection and management of the environment through good school governance to support sustainable development. Adiwiyata program combines learning and action, so as to provide an effective method to change behavior. Adiwiyata school is expected to be agents of change for the people in the neighborhood around the school. Schools should be a model in creating a healthy and comfortable environment as well as being a model in creating a school community that cares and cultured environment. School community then expected to be an example and transmit characters care about the environment to the public. Permalink/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15408/sd.v2i1.1661

Constructing Media Artifacts in a Social Constructivist Environment to Enhance Students’ Environmental Awareness and Activism

Abstract: Current science education reforms and policy documents highlight the importance of environmental awareness and perceived need for activism. As “environmental problems are socially constructed in terms of their conceptualized effects on individuals, groups, other living things and systems research based on constructivist principles provides not only a coherent framework in which to theorize about learning, but also a context for understanding socially constructed issues” (Palmer and Suggate in Res Pap Educ 19(2), 2004, p. 208). This research study investigated the impacts of the learning processes structured based on the theories of constructionism and social constructivism on students’ environmental awareness and perceived need for activism. Students constructed multimedia artifacts expressing their knowledge, attitudes, awareness, and activism about environmental issues through a constructionist design process. In addition, a social networking site was designed and used to promote social interaction among students. Twenty-two high school environmental science students participated in this study. A convergent mixed methods design was implemented to allow for the triangulation of methods by directly comparing and contrasting quantitative results with qualitative findings for corroboration and validation purposes. Using a mixed method approach, quantitative findings are supported with qualitative data (student video projects, writing prompts, blog entries, video projects of the students, observational field notes, and reflective journals) including spontaneous responses in both synchronous and asynchronous conversations on the social network to provide a better understanding of the change in students’ environmental awareness and perceived need for activism. The findings of the study indicated that students’ environmental awareness and perceived need for activism were improved at different scales (personal, community, global) throughout the constructionist and social constructivist learning processes.

Participating in a Citizen Science Monitoring Program: Implications for Environmental Education.

Abstract: Tourism is of growing economical importance to many nations, in particular for developing countries. Although tourism is an important economic vehicle for the host country, its continued growth has led to on-going concerns about its environmental sustainability. Coastal and marine tourism can directly affect the environment through direct and indirect tourist activities. For these reasons tourism sector needs practical actions of sustainability. Several studies have shown how education minimizes the impact on and is proactive for, preserving the natural resources. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of a citizen science program to improve the environmental education of the volunteers, by means of questionnaires provided to participants to a volunteer-based Red Sea coral reef monitoring program (STEproject). Fifteen multiple-choice questions evaluated the level of knowledge on the basic coral reef biology and ecology and the awareness on the impact of human behaviour on the environment. Volunteers filled in questionnaires twice, once at the beginning, before being involved in the project and again at the end of their stay, after several days participation in the program. We found that the participation in STEproject significantly increased both the knowledge of coral reef biology and ecology and the awareness of human behavioural impacts on the environment, but was more effective on the former. We also detected that tourists with a higher education level have a higher initial level of environmental education than less educated people and that the project was more effective on divers than snorkelers. This study has emphasized that citizen science projects have an important and effective educational value and has suggested that tourism and diving stakeholders should increase their commitment and efforts to these programs

Human-Environment System Knowledge: A Correlate of Pro-Environmental Behavior

Abstract: An effective program of environmental education requires the identification of the knowledge that must be imparted. This paper compares the effects of human-environment system knowledge (i.e., knowledge related to environmental problems caused by humans) and environmental action knowledge (i.e., knowledge of possible courses of action to reduce human impact on the environment) on pro-environmental behavior. Environmental knowledge and pro-environmental behavior of 950 Chilean adults were assessed with a survey. Both types of knowledge were related to pro-environmental behavior (r = 0.25 and r = 0.22, respectively, p < 0.001). These results seem to contradict previous studies that found that system knowledge is not directly related to pro-environmental behavior. However, existing scales of environmental system knowledge are behavioral-distant due to their greater number of general geography knowledge items. In contrast, our human-environmental system knowledge scale focuses on understanding global environmental problems and, therefore, can be expected to relate more closely to pro-environmental behavior. To promote pro-environmental behavior, we suggest teaching more human-environment system knowledge and environmental action knowledge. Since different forms of environmental knowledge must work together in a convergent manner in order to foster pro-environmental behavior, the present study represents an important contribution by showing that greater human-environment system knowledge is correlated with pro-environmental behavior.

Supporting youth to develop environmental citizenship within/against a neoliberal context

Abstract: What aspects of environmental citizenship do educators need to consider when they are teaching students about their environmental responsibilities within a neoliberal context? In this article, I respond to this question by analyzing the relationship between neoliberalism and environmental citizenship. Neoliberalism situates citizen participation as an individual concern that removes states from responsibility for public goods, such as the environment, while environmental citizenship scholarship runs the risk of promoting a diluted form of environmental engagement similar to that found within neoliberal ideology. This can result in negative consequences for the environment and for environmental participation among citizens. I conclude with a discussion of pedagogic and curricular practices that educators can use to support youth in developing forms of environmental citizenship that actively disrupt neoliberalism’s privatization of responsibility for the environmental commons.

Seeking Learning Outcomes Appropriate for "Education for Sustainable Development" and for Higher Education.

Abstract: This article shares and extends research-based developments at the University of Otago, New Zealand, that seek to explore how students’ worldviews change as they experience higher education with us. We emphasise that sustainability attributes may be described in terms of knowledge, skills and competencies but that these are underpinned by affective attributes such as values, attitudes and dispositions; so that ‘education for sustainable development’ is substantially a quest for affective change. We describe approaches to categorise affective outcomes and conclude that ‘education for sustainable development’ objectives comprise higher order affective outcomes (leading to behavioural change) that are challenging for higher education to address. Our own work emphasises the need for student anonymity as these higher order outcomes are assessed, evaluated, monitored, researched or otherwise measured using research instruments that focus on worldview. A longitudinal mixed-effects repeat-measures statistical mod...