Education Commons^™

Environmental Education For Sustainability, Lucille Gertz

Educational Studies Dissertations

The climate is in crisis. Many conservation organizations identify in their mission statements the priority of motivating constituents to engage with conservation action. This priority is typically implemented by educators who design and deliver educational activities and materials. This study, designed to develop a professional pathway for environmental educators to develop programs designed to motivate adult audiences toward engagement with conservation action, addressed the question: How can environmental educators more effectively promote conservation behavior change in adult learning audiences? Three guiding research questions were: 1) To what extent are environmental educators familiar with and utilizing theoretical frameworks and research-based tools …

Confluence: Evaluating The Individual Learning Outcomes Of A Combined Citizen Science And Environmental Education Project, Evan A. Harms

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Citizen Science has moved beyond a methodological tool for ecologists to crowdsource data to a novel platform for environmental and informal science education. However, few studies document the individual learning outcomes of citizen science as an educational tool, particularly in youth or extension education. This quantitative study focused on evaluating the individual learning outcomes of an environmental education and citizen science non-formal learning experience about water quality.

In this study, an existing lesson plan using four sequenced activities was adapted for use with West Virginia 4-H summer camps in 2022. Potential outcome areas were first identified from foundational environmental education …

Environmental Educators’ Perceptions Of Inaugural Louisiana State Department Of Education Environmental Education Standards And Accompanying Environmental Education Endorsement Plan: A Multiple Case Study Approach, Abigail Greer

LSU Master's Theses

Increasing environmental literacy through environmental education is an integral approach to fighting many of the environmental challenges facing Louisiana. The State Department of Education in Louisiana has released two initiatives to increase environmental literacy in the state while incorporating nonformal environmental education into formalized k-12 education. The first initiative is a set of Key Principles and Concepts (KPCs) in environmental education, which is aimed at providing standards to nonformal environmental educators in Louisiana. The second initiative, the Louisiana Environmental Education Advancement Plan (LEEAP), accompanies the KPCs and provides an opportunity for nonformal environmental education organizations to achieve endorsement through partnership …

Moving Beyond Scientific Fact-Only Environmental Education In The United States, Erica Meier

All Theses

There is debate regarding whether environmental education (EE) programs should focus exclusively on teaching science or on teaching and encouraging pro-environmental behaviors through civic engagement, advocacy, and action/behavior change (CEAA) techniques. To assess which CEAA techniques EE providers feel are appropriate to utilize in EE programming for youth and the extent to which they utilize them, we designed and distributed a survey to members of several North American EE organizations. Based on the North American Association for Environmental Education’s Guidelines for Excellence (2019) and input from professionals and practitioners, the survey included a list of 32 CEAA techniques. Respondents (N …

Barriers Teaching Environmental Justice Education, Jodi Devonshire

Dissertations

The idea of freedom in education has its roots in the social justice movements of the 1950s and 60s. Civil rights groups coalesced independently of other marginalized groups and movements of its time. While similar in nature, environmentalism and civil rights issues rarely crossed paths. As environmentalism made its way into science education and curriculum, social justice issues were restricted to historical perspectives in education. This research initially sought to create an understanding of purpose driven, social justice conscious, Environmental Education as it is related to marginalized learners and identify the barriers of creating and implementing culturally relevant environmental education …

Raising An Indoor Generation: Outdoor Environmental Education Impact On Adolescent Development, Daisy Elizabeth Bewley

Student Theses 2015-Present

In an increasingly digital world, children are growing up with less involvement and interaction with the environment. Hands-on and experiential learning is less popular in schools and a more test-oriented and numerical evaluation is increasingly popular. This thesis explores the decrease in outdoor environmental education and the impact that has on adolescent development and developmental milestones in children. This impact extends past just mental development and impacts the physical health development of children. Obesity, attention deficit disorders, and other behavioral issues are just a few of the signs of the problems that have arisen due to a decrease in environmental …

Evolving An Ecological Way Of Thinking: Social Interactions And The Construction Of Environmentally Sustainable Behaviors In Adolescents During Expeditionary Learning, Jennifer Fruend

Dissertations

The people around us - as well as the methodical progression of education through content - often shape our relationship to the world. Currently, Earth is at a crossroads, which requires humans to act and live more sustainably with an intentional environmental ethos, whether for literal survival or for slowing Earth’s resource degradation. Situated within the models of ecological contributors such as Aldo Leopold, transformational experiences, particularly when processed with self-reflection, writing, and social interaction, can change behaviors and priorities in individuals. Additionally, by recognizing the place of social learning components in expeditionary, informal, or adventure-based education settings, the potential …

Learner-Centered Nature Walks, Heather Van Der Grinten

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Learner-Centered Nature Walks details the research of Heather van der Grinten in supplementing Junior Ranger Walks with a learner-centered mindset. The approach was intended to reflect her personal growth as a museum educator, demonstrate the viability of the Bank Street praxis of progressive education in an environmental education setting, and highlight potential growth for future Junior Ranger lesson-planning. The methodology involved experimenting with lesson plans, keeping a detailed reflection journal, and asking for voluntary feedback from peers, supervisors, and participants from June to September 2018. The samples of student work as shown in Appendix A and B were …

A Watershed Moment: Implementing State Environmental Literacy Policy Into A Central Virginia School District, Melinda J. Vandevelder

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

A WATERSHED MOMENT: IMPLEMENTING STATE ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY POLICY INTO A CENTRAL VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICT

By Melinda J. VanDevelder, Ph.D.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018

Director: Charol Shakeshaft, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Educational Leadership

Policy goals may be impossible to achieve at the classroom level (Ravitch, 2014), as policy depends on those who implement it (Lipsky, 1980). The purpose of this research was to investigate how the voluntary environmental educational executive order, EO42, was implemented and executed in a Central Virginia …