Promoting connectedness with nature through environmental education

It has been suggested that a positive human–nature relationship is essential for countering today’s environmental problems. Prior environmental education research has focused largely on knowledge or attitudinal outcomes, and few studies have examined the ability of environmental education programmes to promote connectedness with nature. Therefore, our goal was to (1) examine differences in connectedness with nature among a sample of children with differing ages and academic tracks, and (2) investigate whether environmental education can help promote and sustain connectedness with nature. With a pre-, post- and retention test design, we assessed a comprehensive four-day environmental education programme on water at a school field centre, using the inclusion of nature in self (INS) scale to identify the change in connectedness of 9–10-year-old pupils and 11–13-year-old pupils. We found that younger children and university-track pupils had higher INS scores than older children and general-education-track pupils, respectively. Participating in environmental education resulted in a robust short-term increase in connectedness with nature in both age groups. However, only the younger pupils’ connectedness remained sustained four weeks following the treatment. Environmental educators should keep in mind that strengthening connectedness to nature is more sustainable before the age of 11.     

Looking (and listening) outside classrooms: implications for pre‐service teacher education in the United States of America

It has come to the attention of the Editor that the article ‘Problematic nature of school purposes: implications for pre‐service teacher training programmes’ in volume 29, issue 2, in 1997 inadvertently contained substantial unacknowledged material belonging to Dr Petersen. The Editor would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to Dr Petersen. The article published below is based upon Dr Petersen's paper originally submitted by him at the 74th Annual Meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators, Atlanta, Georgia, in February 1994.