The NAAEE Workshop on Developing Guidelines for Qualitative Research in Environmental Education: An analysis of premises,processes and products

This article comments on the draft research guidelines prepared by Smith-Sebasto arising from the 1997 Annual Conference of the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). It critically reviews premises regarding: (a) the viability of one set of guidelines for all qualitative research approaches; (b) the viability of one set of guidelines for designing, conducting and reporting research; and (c) the uniqueness of EE research. It also reviews the workshop setting as a venue for addressing research training needs and for developing research guidelines. Then, it reviews the draft guidelines for organization,scope, inclusiveness, bias, and attention to evolving practice. It closes with a recommendation that these guidelines be more carefully reviewed and refined.     

Environmental education program evaluation in the new millennium: what do we measure and what have we learned?

We conducted a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed research studies published between 1999 and 2010 that empirically evaluated the outcomes of environmental education (EE) programs for youth (ages 18 and younger) in an attempt to address the following objectives: (1) to seek reported empirical evidence for what works (or does not) in EE programming and (2) to uncover lessons regarding promising approaches for future EE initiatives and their evaluation. While the review generally supports consensus-based best practices, such as those published in the North American Association for Environmental Education’s Guidelines for Excellence, we also identified additional themes that may drive positive outcomes, including the provision of holistic experiences and the characteristics and delivery styles of environmental educators. Overall, the evidence in support of these themes contained in the 66 articles reviewed is mostly circumstantial. Few studies attempted to empirically isolate the characteristics of programs responsible for measured outcomes. We discuss general trends in research design and the associated implications for future research and EE programming.     

Participative planning of environmental education activities: experiences from tree planting project at a teacher training college in Tanzania

Engaging local actors in Environmental Education activities seems to be an important condition for environmental sustainability. Lack of common purpose among local and external researchers constrains the engagement. Following these insights, we implemented a participatory action research project related to tree planting as part of creating an Environmental Education programme at Ilonga Teacher Training College, surrounding primary schools and villages. The purpose of the initial phase of the project was to contextualize an action plan as a strategy to engage local actors in the change process from the beginning of the project. The research questions were: How can we engage local actors in participatory action research addressing resource constraints for EE; and what are the results of the participatory planning process? To answer these questions, we mapped environmental resources and challenges in the chosen area. Thereafter, we organized an empowerment process through Focus Group Discussions and a workshop discussing the challenges and opportunities available for successful implementation of the project. These discussions formed the foundation for creating a plan for implementing the EE project. In this paper, we present the results of the planning strategies, and discuss factors contributing to the success of the initial phase of the project. We found that stakeholders’ trust and sense of project coherence were key motivating factors for the development of a collaborative planning process and learning through initial actions.     

《美国基础教育阶段环境教育指导方针》简介

本文主要从环境教育课程的核心原理、各年级标准的目标及相应的教学内容等几个方面简要介绍了美国基础教育阶段环境教育的指导方针.     

Impact of an outdoor educational strategy on teacher profile in environmental education

A combination of teaching techniques and a Social Environmental Education model, which together reflected an outdoor educational strategy, was employed at the Yankari National Park in Nigeria in 1994 to reorientate a sample of teachers towards environmental education (EE) popularization and delivery at the primary and junior secondary school levels. Pre- and post-workshop assessments conducted to determine the impact of the workshop strategy on teachers' EE profile (TEEP) — comprising awareness (Aw), knowledge (Kn), skills (pS), action (Ac) and commitment/participation (Ct) — indicated a highly significant shift in teacher competencies and conceptual awareness about EE. The magnitude of change in Aw and Kn against that of pS, Ac and Ct attests to the need to regularly expose teachers to EE problem-solving situations to internalize EE and affect attitude and behaviour in teachers.     

Environmental education policy research – challenges and ways research might cope with them

This essay examines the relationship between research and policy and, more specifically, how researchers might relate to policy work. Given the current international policy focus on climate change, green growth and sustainability in general, it argues for strengthening and widening policy research in the areas of Environmental Education (EE), Education for Sustainable Development and Climate Change Education. It especially makes a case for two kinds of research on EE policy: (1) a multi-sited approach to empirical documentation and theory development which explores the relationships between international policy agreements and local practice, and (2) an interactive policy-engaged approach to research.     

Community-level environmental projects as learning tools for planners: a case study of graduate planning students

Despite the potential environmental impact of urban planning, there is little research on Environmental Education (EE) in the context of urban planning curricula. This study follows graduate planning students’ learning experience during group projects assigned as part of a planning course at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. These participatory projects, characterized as project-based learning and service learning, took place in several communities in Israel. We examined the types of learning impacts the projects engendered by analyzing the reported experiences of the students using parameters from the field of EE. The main goal of this research is to understand the contribution of such practical, hands-on project exercises to the course curriculum for inculcating environmental education themes. Findings indicate that projects helped students acquire and/or improve professional tools. They enhanced motivation to consider environmental concerns in their work and in some cases changed students’ personal environmental behavior.     

Formative Influences in the Lives of Environmental Educators in the United States

The author obtained autobiographical statements and other data from 510 US members of the North American Association for Environmental Education. This report (1) presents findings regarding human and vicarious influences in their lives, and (2) presents excerpts from 34 of their statements, to illustrate the variety and richness of their narratives.     

论环境教育与可持续发展教育

环境教育和可持续发展教育究竟有怎样的关系?国内外学者看法各异。归纳起来,主要有五种:第一,环境教育与可持续发展教育是等同的;第二,可持续发展教育是环境教育的一部分;第三,环境教育是可持续发展教育的一部分;第四,可持续发展教育与环境教育互不包含,但有共同的部分;第五,可持续发展教育是环境教育发展过程中的一个高级阶段。根据相关文献分析,我们认为,环境教育是可持续发展教育的一部分,两者关系是互动的,环境教育需要面向可持续发展重新定向,可持续发展教育有着环境教育无法实现的功能。     

An Inventory for Assessing Environmental Education Curricula

Abstract

Since Gardella's Environmental Education Curriculum Inventory was developed in 1986 (J. Gardella, 1993), it has been used to evaluate environmental education (EE) curricula and programs to determine how well they represent EE's substantive structure as expressed in the Goals for Curriculum Development in Environmental Education developed by H. R. Hungerford, R. B. Peyton, and R. J. Wilke (1980). In recent years, environmental educators have called for environmental sensitivity and social sciences to be added to the foundation levels of environmental education and the Goals for Curriculum Development. The Inventory for Assessing Environmental Education Curricula is an attempt to revise the Gardella inventory so as to incorporate both environmental sensitivity and social components.     

Teaching Environmental Education through PBL: Evaluation of a Teaching Intervention Program

If our chosen aim in science education is to be inclusive and to improve students’ learning achievements, then we must identify teaching methodologies that are appropriate for teaching and learning specific knowledge. Karagiorgi and Symeo (2005) remind us that instructional designers are thus challenged to translate the philosophy of constructivism into current practice. Thus, research in science education must focus on evaluating intervention programs which ensure the effective construction of knowledge and development of competencies. The present study reports the elaboration, application and evaluation of a problem-based learning (PBL) program with the aim of examining its effectiveness with students learning Environmental Education. Prior research on both PBL and Environmental Education (EE) was conducted within the context of science education so as to elaborate and construct the intervention program. Findings from these studies indicated both the PBL methodology and EE as helpful for teachers and students. PBL methodology has been adopted in this study since it is logically incorporated in a constructivism philosophy application (Hendry et al. 1999) and it was expected that this approach would assist students towards achieving a specific set of competencies (Engel 1997). On the other hand, EE has evolved at a rapid pace within many countries in the new millennium (Hart 2007), unlike any other educational area. However, many authors still appear to believe that schools are failing to prepare students adequately in EE (Walsche 2008; Winter 2007). The following section describes the research that was conducted in both areas so as to devise the intervention program.     

Towards using transformative education as a benchmark for clarifying differences and similarities between Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development

The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) charges educators with a key role in developing and ‘securing sustainable life chances, aspirations and futures for young people’. Environmental Education (EE) and ESD share a vision of quality education and a society that lives in balance with Earth’s carrying capacity, even as they differ in terms of expectations of how that vision is realized, and what might need to be balanced. Rather than treat EE and ESD as sparing partners or fellow travellers towards the same destination, this paper analyses EE and ESD from the perspective of transformative educational goals. Using these goals as a benchmark transcends immediate problems with either form of education, while also helps to clarify policies and practise formations, appropriate to a diversity of educational contexts.     

Balancing the tensions and meeting the conceptual challenges of education for sustainable development and climate change

This paper addresses one of the key challenges for work on education, sustainable development and climate change: the overall conceptualisation of central ideas such as Environmental Education (EE), Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Climate Change Education (CCE). What do these concepts mean in diverse contexts and amongst diverse actors? The paper draws on evidence from Denmark, Singapore, Canada and the UK to highlight both the similarities and differences found within national discussions around these essentially contested concepts and their relationships to policy and practice. It further argues that such debates about how EE, ESD and CCE are conceptualised remain highly relevant, not just to academic work itself, but also to wider international discussions regarding both the current and potential relationships between conceptual understanding, policy and practice.     

Making the grade: teacher training for inclusive education: A systematic review

The role of teacher training, as it pertains to the adoption of inclusive education (IE) (European Journal of Special, 22, 2007, 367), is critical in realizing and achieving truly IE environments. Literature often reports poor or inadequate training with regard to IE practices (Preparing Teachers of the Deaf for a Complex, Jacksonville, FL). The purpose of this review was to examine North American and Australian research regarding teacher training for students with disabilities (SWD) with the goal of informing best practice. Of the 27 reviewed studies, teacher training interventions reported positive outcomes and showed improvements in the areas of teachers’ attitudes/perceptions, knowledge, and strategies/skill development (Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, 32, 2009, 166) regarding IE SWD. The researchers cautiously recommend the employment of workshop style approaches as they appear to have the capacity to tackle all three outcome variables concurrently and within the shortest timeframe. Our restrained recommendations for best practice are born out of the quality of evidence presented within the reviewed studies.     

Identifying and developing crosscutting environmental education outcomes for adolescents in the twenty-first century (EE21)

Abstract

While multiple valid measures exist for assessing outcomes of environmental education (EE) programs, the field lacks a comprehensive and logistically feasible common instrument that can apply across diverse programs. We describe a participatory effort for identifying and developing crosscutting outcomes for Environmental Education in the twenty-first Century (EE21). Following extensive input and debate from a wide range of EE providers and researchers, we developed, tested and statistically validated crosscutting scales for measuring consensus-based outcomes for individual participants in youth EE programs using confirmatory factor analysis across six unique sites, including two single-day field trip locations, four multiday residential programs and one science museum in the United States. The results suggest that the scales are valid and reliable for measuring outcomes that many EE programs in the United States can aspire to influence in adolescent participants, ages 10–14.     

A response to Scott's concerns about the relevance of environmental education research: applying social–ecological systems thinking and consilience to defining research goals

In William Scott's plenary address at the World Environmental Education Conference, he expressed concerns about the relevance of environmental education research in a world facing global environmental and demographic change. In responding to Scott's concerns, I argue that addressing challenges related to development and the environment requires examining EE goals at multiple levels as well as bridging diverse disciplines. I further suggest that integrating social‐ecological systems and other approaches in environmental education research may provide a means for consilience among potentially divisive environmental education practice and research traditions. In so doing, I hope to spark debate about possibilities for an environmental education research agenda and learning organisation that spurs action relevant to concerns about the environment, individuals, and their communities.     

Towards creating an inclusive community of researchers: the first three years of the North American Association for Environmental Education research symposium

This article uses a series of interlinked, personal vignettes to discuss the first three years of the North American Association for Environmental Education research symposium, from the perspectives of the key organizers. Seven challenges in the field of environmental education research are identified in a recent historical context, and we illustrate how the symposium sought to address them. The challenges were, that: (i) environmental education research has been marginalized in some areas and not recognized in others; (ii) environmental education research and environmental education practice need to be brought closer together; (iii) environmental education research is still in early development of a professional perspective; (iv) environmental education research has to give a voice to early career scholars and graduate students; (v) environmental education research needs to enable discourse about both process and outcomes; (vi) environmental education researchers need social learning contexts to help develop professional identities and create more meaningful dialogue to address these challenges; and (vii) methodologies, theoretical frameworks and differences in beliefs in environmental education research need to be accommodated. The last challenge is seen as the most significant with which to continue to engage, in developing open, inclusive forums for researchers of environmental education.     

Environmental education in teacher education in India: experiences and challenges in the United Nation's Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

Recognizing the need and importance of environmental education (EE) in India, recently several efforts have been made to reorient and reorganize school education and establish EE more formally. School textbooks, in all subjects and at all levels, have been revised to integrate environmental concepts. The effects of these curricular revisions will not be sustained unless they are coupled with appropriate changes in teacher education curricula. Efforts have been made to develop curriculum and other support materials for introducing EE at all four levels of teacher education in the country. Incorporating EE in teacher education involves deliberating several issues relating to content, learning and teaching methodologies, materials development and capacity building requirements for its effective implementation. This paper, by reviewing some exemplar experiences from India, seeks to examine the focus given to EE in teacher education and the challenges for teacher education in achieving the goals of sustainable development in the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD).     

Administrative support in initiating transformations: A perspective of an African American female

African American females need to develop alliances with White administrators to transform policies and practices to assist these female faculty members in becoming successful and productive professors at predominantly White research universities. Strategies for White administrators and other powerful White faculty members, and African American females are delineated in this article. In addition, illustrations of courses, activities, and programmatic changes in one college are included.Mary M. Atwater is an associate professor in the Department of Science Education at the University of Georgia. She holds a B.S. in chemistry from Methodist College in Fayetteville, North Carolina; an M.A. (M.S.) in organic chemistry from the University of North Carolina; and, a Ph.D. in science education from North Carolina State University, Raleigh. Her research interests include African American learning and involvement in the sciences, multicultural science teacher education, and urban education. Her teaching experiences include science education, multicultural education, and chemistry.     

北美殖民地时期的宗教与教育

北美殖民地时期教育的发展受到宗教的巨大影响，各类学校、学院最初都是出于宗教动机而兴办的。这为日后美国教育尤其是高等教育的发展奠定了基础。北美时期教育的各个方面，尤其是高等教育的发展都带有鲜明的宗教色彩。18世纪以后，宗教对教育的影响逐渐减弱。