Environmental Education Commons^™

Empowering Youth In A Changing Climate: Design, Implementation, And Evaluation Of A Salt Marsh Summer Science Program, Dan Levesque

Graduate Masters Theses

Climate change presents not only environmental challenges but also emotional challenges for today’s youth. This thesis documents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a field-based summer science program aimed at empowering adolescents with coastal salt marsh ecology while addressing climate change emotions and science identity development. The program, based in a Massachusetts salt marsh, was adapted from existing public environmental curricula and guided by place- and experience-based learning principles. Over Spring and Summer 2025, 13 students (ages 13-18) participated in extra-curricular field trips, hands-on research activities, and reflective discussions about the environment and the emotions it brings forth. Pre- and …

And Climate Justice For All

DePaul Magazine

DePaul is taking its environmental sustainability and equity prowess to the next level through its Just DePaul and President's Sustainability Committee initiatives that incorporate a climate action plan and student voices. Plus, community partnership courses that involve students in environmental action and justice efforts.

Land Education And Young People Working Toward Salamander: Collective Well-Being In Response To Bioindicators Of Socioenvironmental Justice, Rachael Arens, Ricardo Martinez

Democracy & Education

Our planet is facing many environmental challenges, including climate change, loss of biodiversity and habitat, and pollution, while many of our populations are also experiencing marginalization due to poverty, race, gender, language, ability, and environmental injustices. Environmental hazards and policies often impact those in society who are most at-risk, creating a need for an environmental education (EE) movement that encourages students to challenge and regain control of a system that impacts them. Teachers can implement a reflection tool known as the SALAMANDER Collective Well-Being in Response to Bioindicators of Socioenvironmental Justice Framework to prompt students and other educators to place …

Informing Joyality 4 Kids: Ecopsychology Education To Support Upper Primary Children’S Well-Being Through Environmental And Social Crisis, Cambry Baker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Responding to climate change and the state of the world demands psychological resilience and a transformative shift towards sustainable behavior. Children inheriting our uncertain future require psychological support and tools of well-being to fuel emotionally sustainable activism. In this paper I investigate how best to support upper primary aged children through environmental and social issues with Joyality 4 Kids, an educational ecopsychology program.

During November of 2019 I completed the Joyality Program processes independently, then conducted two focus group interviews with five individuals experienced in the Joyality Program and/or environmental education to develop the processes for an eight-hour Joyality 4 …

Resident Perceptions Of Black Bear Management In South Central Kentucky, Hung-Ling (Stella) Liu, Michael J. Bradley, I-Chun Nicky Wu, James N. Maples

Health and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

The growth and sprawl of the American black bear (Ursus americanus ) population have been observed and monitored in the past two decades, especially in south-central Kentucky. To better manage human-black bear interaction and develop informed policy and best practices, the current study sought to 1) understand south-central Kentucky residents’ current knowledge of and previous experience with black bears, 2) investigate residents’ attitudes toward black bears and regulated hunting in wildlife management; and 3) identify residents’ level of acceptance of various black bear related management actions in south-central Kentucky. From February to April 2017, residents of London and Stearns districts …

An Application Of Systems Science For The Usage Of Web–Tools In Environmental Education: The Case Of Western Attica, Greece, Anastasios Mavrakis, Evangelos C. Papakitsos, Christina Papapanousi, Christina Papavasileiou

Journal of Research Initiatives

Geography plays a leading role in developing the objectives of Environmental Education. Through Geography lessons, applications and tools, pupils should learn about the major environmental and developmental problems through issue-based learning. They must be given opportunities to explore how these issues relate to their everyday lives and what is the impact on the quality of the natural and social environment. Teachers can promote a holistic outlook, through promoting a multidimensional study of environmental problems on a variety of scales, e.g., through historical maps, which are of significant value, because through them students gain perspective on the living environment and the …

Teacher Perspectives On Environmental Education Programs Provided By Eastern Kentucky University Division Of Natural Areas, Mahala Amber Watts

Online Theses and Dissertations

A goal of environmental education (EE) is to help instill environmental stewardship in students for the future. Hungerford and Volk (1990) believe environmental stewardship is changing behaviors, values, or beliefs related to human-environment interaction. It is important for people to learn about environmental concepts at a young age, so they will care about them in the future. Eastern Kentucky University’s (EKU) Division of Natural Areas has been conducting EE programming for students K-12 for the past 13 years. The areas utilized for EE programming include Maywoods Environmental and Educational Laboratory in Garrard County, KY or Lilley Cornett Woods Appalachian Ecological …

Evaluating Outcomes Of An Immersive-Field-Study Program On Fifth-Grade Students’ Connectedness With Nature, Laleh Talebpour

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate to what extent an immersive-field-study experience influenced fifth-grade students’ connection to nature. Two instruments were used to collect data: Connection to Nature Index (CNI) obtained pre- and postfield study and students’ field journals with prompts.

The coding of the journals was based on the four components of CNI: Enjoyment of Nature, Empathy for Creatures, Sense of Oneness, and Sense of Responsibility. These components were built on the three basic components of nature connectedness described by Schultz (2002) as “cognitive (connectedness), affective (caring), and behavioral (commitment)” (p. 61).

Data were gathered from 317 …

Ecological Restoration, Elizabeth P. Mccann, Tania Schusler

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Ecological restoration involves revitalizing neglected, degraded, damaged, or destroyed habitats.

• Restoration-based education involves learners in ecological restoration with an intentional educational purpose.

• Urban restoration-based education can enhance personal and community well-being while improving ecosystem services in degraded environments.

• Restoration-based education can benefit from consciously forming partner ships, integrating local values alongside socioeconomic and ecological considerations, and being sensitive to issues of power and diverse cultures.

Postitive Youth Development, Tania Schusler, Jacqueline Davis-Manigaulte, Amy Cutter-Mackenzie

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

• Positive youth development is an assets-based approach for cultivating competencies essential to personal well-being.

• When environmental education enables children and youths to contribute to improving urban environments, it can not only increase cities' sustainability and resilience but also foster young people's personal growth.

• Participatory action research, peer education, and youth civic engagement are three educational approaches that can lead to positive change for both urban environments and youths living within them.

Developing Integral Ecologists: Description And Analysis Of The State Of Environmental Education At Jesuit High Schools In Light Of Religious Ecological Commitments And Science Education Research, Philip Nahlik Nahlik

Master's Theses

This research responds to numerous calls to focus more immediately and deeply on environmental education in the context of local communities. Jesuit high schools offer a rich network to study this movement, as schools with long histories of scholarly and moral concerns for forming students to think about and act on worldwide problems. The key research question is: How can science education research inform environmental education in these schools? The research methodology includes data collection and analysis of publicly-accessible website data, phone interviews with teachers, and a literature review of science education research. Recommendations are given for vertically aligning the …

Nurturing Environmental Literacy At Colby College: Higher Education And The Environmental Crisis, Molly Nash

Honors Theses

The environmental crisis will affect all people, career paths, and academic disciplines. Acknowledging this, does higher education have an obligation to educate all students for environmental literacy (EL)? This study reviews literature on how to effectively assess and implement EL initiatives and highlights how other colleges successfully nurture EL in all students. This study also uses quantitative and qualitative survey measures to understand student levels of EL at Colby College and to highlight specific programming or curriculum that leads to high EL levels in students. Findings include significantly different EL scores between environmental studies student respondents and respondents in all …

Looking Beyond Fossil Fuel Divestment: Combating Climate Change In Higher Education, Robin Xu

Pomona Senior Theses

The young fossil fuel divestment movement is altering the landscape of climate change activism on US campuses. Student-run divestment campaigns are now pushing for institutions of higher education to withdraw their investments from the top 200 public fossil fuel companies. Despite student fervor, however, divestment has remained a controversial tactic for combating climate change. The first half of this thesis examines the stated motives of a selection of institutions that have officially agreed or declined to divest, and investigates the hypothesis that pushing for divestment alone will not achieve broad success because it does not appeal to a wide enough …

Environmental Education In Amman, Sara Lyrnn Green

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research addresses environmental education in public and private schools in Amman, Jordan and what is being done to expand environmental awareness by both schools and the government. This study’s methodology is comprised of interviews with teachers and government employees as well as analysis of material culture. The research finds that environmental education is priority for schools and the government, but that more can be done in expanding environmental awareness. This study points out barriers to environmental education in schools with the hope that these will be addressed and improved.

The Power Of China: An Analysis Of China’S Energy Sources And The Case For Clean Energy, Lauren Vunderink

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

China’s energy demands have been growing exponentially since the early 1980s, impacting the global environment and economy. China is already the world’s largest producer and consumer of energy, and as it continues to urbanize and develop its electricity demand is projected to more than double by 2040. China’s energy consumption will not continue its rapid growth forever; its population growth and energy demand are expected to level off by 2040. While mostly relying on the increasing amounts of coal, oil, and natural gas, the Chinese government aims for renewable resources to satisfy 15% of total energy consumption by 2020. That …

Making Connections Between Science And Equity: A Motivation To Teach Science In Elementary Grades, Grinell Smith, Colette Rabin

Faculty Publications

Teacher quality is among the strongest correlates of student outcomes. However, only about a quarter of the nation’s elementary teachers consider themselves qualified to teach science. In this descriptive and exploratory study, we investigated whether helping pre-service teacher candidates explore connections between science and issues of equity, particularly around sustainability issues, could help them see the importance of teaching science to their students more often. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 59 students enrolled in revised science methods courses at a large public university. Our findings suggest that positioning science instruction thusly was perceived as a strong motivator to …

Water Quality Assessment: A Hands-On Approach To Environmental Education, Tracy Lynn Royse

All Graduate Projects

A water quality assessment lab manual has been created to assist secondary educators using the HACH water quality testing kits. It consists of ten chemical tests, a geological survey and a biological assessment largely based upon Washington State University's lab format and the Walla Walla County Conservation District's water study protocol. The lab manual also contains safety guidelines, a scoring rubric and an action plan research project. The environmental approach to science education used in the lab manual meets the Essential Academic Learning Requirements adopted by the Washington State Commission on Student Learning as well as the National Science Education …

A Position Paper Of Environmental Education For Nelson County, Geneva B. Hunt

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The results of a survey, concerning environmental education taken of the educators of the Nelson County School System, indicated a need for environmental education workshops and classes.

The status of environmental education in the nation and in Kentucky were studied and compared. A research was done of the status of environmental education in Nelson County, and implications were drawn for implementing environmental education in the Nelson County School System.

A tentative program for implementing environmental education in the Nelson Country schools was given, and a bibliography of resources and materials to be used in said program was included.