Role of Significant Life Experiences in Building Environmental Knowledge and Behavior Among Middle School Students (original) (raw)
Related papers
PLoS ONE, 2013
Building environmental literacy (EL) in children and adolescents is critical to meeting current and emerging environmental challenges worldwide. Although environmental education (EE) efforts have begun to address this need, empirical research holistically evaluating drivers of EL is critical. This study begins to fill this gap with an examination of school-wide EE programs among middle schools in North Carolina, including the use of published EE curricula and time outdoors while controlling for teacher education level and experience, student attributes (age, gender, and ethnicity), and school attributes (socio-economic status, student-teacher ratio, and locale). Our sample included an EE group selected from schools with registered school-wide EE programs, and a control group randomly selected from NC middle schools that were not registered as EE schools. Students were given an EL survey at the beginning and end of the spring 2012 semester. Use of published EE curricula, time outdoors, and having teachers with advanced degrees and mid-level teaching experience (between 3 and 5 years) were positively related with EL whereas minority status (Hispanic and black) was negatively related with EL. Results suggest that school-wide EE programs were not associated with improved EL, but the use of published EE curricula paired with time outdoors represents a strategy that may improve all key components of student EL. Further, investments in teacher development and efforts to maintain enthusiasm for EE among teachers with more than 5 years of experience may help to boost student EL levels. Middle school represents a pivotal time for influencing EL, as improvement was slower among older students. Differences in EL levels based on gender suggest boys and girls may possess complementary skills sets when approaching environmental issues. Our findings suggest ethnicity related disparities in EL levels may be mitigated by time spent in nature, especially among black and Hispanic students.
Environmental Education Research
Despite growing calls for greater inclusivity and cultural responsiveness, little is known about how environmental education (EE) may differentially affect diverse audiences. As part of a national study of 334 environmentally focused day field trips for adolescent youth in the United States in 2018, we examined how outcomes differed for students of different grade levels, racial backgrounds, and socioeconomic status. Participants who were younger, Hispanic, and from lower socioeconomic classes exhibited more positive outcomes than older, non-Hispanic, and wealthier participants. Differences in Hispanic populations are likely at least partially attributable to known survey response biases. We also found that programs with non-White instructors tended to yield higher levels of satisfaction in groups where the student majority was not White. We discuss potential explanations for these trends and call for further research on culturally responsive and age-appropriate approaches to EE.
2013
I am grateful to all the students who participated in this study and shared their experiences with me. Many others assisted in this project, such as principals, after school program coordinators and tutors, your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks to Alix Frazier, Director of FRESH-after school programs, for allowing me to conduct research at the school sites. Kelly Clifton, I cannot thank you enough for stepping in at the last minute to finalize this dissertation. I am grateful for all the hours you have spent reading, commenting and editing this manuscript. I would also like to thank Stephen Price and Marianna Hendricks for their insights and suggestions on the initial part of this dissertation. I am indebted to Ms. Laura Lorenie Orozco: I could not have completed this dissertation without her continuous support through the administrative maze. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my friend Dr. Maryam Zarei for all her support throughout the doctoral program. She showed me how to be persistent as a doctoral student while being a mother and wife at the same time. This dissertation is dedicated to my family, parents, grandparents and in-laws who have been patient and supportive along this journey. Last but not least, my gratitude to all my teachers that have paved the way for me to reach this stage in life. vi
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION RESEARCH, 2020
In two studies, the role of nature experiences and social norms during childhood is explored next to adulthood biospheric values, connectedness to nature, environmental identity, and objective knowledge in relation to pro-environmental behaviors. Study 1 (N=185) tested the hypothesized model in the realm of general pro-environmental behaviors and sustainable fruit consumption on a sample of students. Study 2 (N=155) tested the model in the realm of sustainable seafood consumer choice on a general population sample. Path analyses show consistent results across samples. Results show that childhood nature experiences and exposure to pro-environmental social norms during childhood are related to adulthood development of connectedness with nature and biospheric values; these, in turn, help in shaping adulthood environmental self-identity ultimately influencing the enactment of sustainable food choices during adulthood. These findings point toward the relevance of childhood experiences for pro-environmental behaviors as compared to the provision of information. The role of objective knowledge across samples is inconsistent, thus requiring future investigations.
2017
SZCZYTKO, RACHEL. Promoting Environmental Behaviors Among Children: Tools to Measure Environmental Literacy and Pathways to Develop Connection to Nature. (Under the direction of Kathryn Stevenson) Most environmental problems affecting the world today require strategies that extend beyond technical solutions and include social commitment to environmentally responsible behaviors. Although encouraging environmental behavior is complex and difficult, children are particularly good candidates for these efforts. Environmental education has focused on fostering environmental behaviors and their precursors (e.g., environmental knowledge) in children for four decades; however, key challenges remain. There are not adequate measurement tools for evaluation, and the field lacks a holistic understanding of drivers of environmental behaviors among children. Through two studies, this thesis contributes to the measurement of environmental behaviors among children and the development of a more nuanc...
The role played by age on children's pro-ecological behaviors: An exploratory analysis
Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2015
Several studies encourage contact with nature as a tool to promote proenvironmentalism. However, the relationship between spending time in natural environments and behaving in an ecological manner seems to be contingent on various factors. This study evaluates the impact of Frequency of Contact with Nature (FCN) on children's Environmental Attitudes (EA) and Ecological Behaviors (EB) considering three different types of daily experiences in nature: (1) work-related & (2) non workrelated in rural areas and (3) non work-related in a city. FCN was expected to impact children's EB both directly and indirectly, through EA. A multigroup structural equation model revealed that the relationship between FCN, EA and EB differs among children with different kinds of daily experience in nature. Overall, FCN positively influences EB in the three conditions. The strongest total impact was found for children living in the city and the weakest for those in the work-related rural area. No direct effect of FCN on EB was found for children in the non work-related rural area, and a negative direct effect for those in the work-related rural area. A better understanding of this direct effect will be needed in order to give recommendations for environmental education initiatives.
The environmental education (EE) of America's youth is a high priority, but the effects of EE on the environmental attitudes and awareness of children remain uncertain. Assessment strategies are needed to measure the influence of EE programs on the beliefs, attitudes, and awareness of children from different backgrounds. This study used a mixed-method, quasiexperimental approach to investigate the impact of a one-week EE summer camp program on the environmental attitudes and awareness of children from different ethnic groups. A survey instrument designed to measure children's views of nature was created, refined, and validated through two pilot tests. The survey instrument revealed three primary components of attitudes and awareness: eco-affinity, eco-awareness, and content knowledge. A pre-test, post-test approach was used to assess program effects. Baseline data showed declining eco-affinity in older children and low levels of eco-awareness and content knowledge in African-Americans. The EE treatment produced a significant increase in eco-affinity for all children, particularly those in the older age group (10 to 13 year-olds). The treatment also led to higher content knowledge scores for all children, with the greatest increase evident in African-Americans. The summer EE program had little effect on eco-awareness. Results suggest that: (1) the EE influences different aspects of environmental attitudes to different degrees; and (2) the EE programs may be especially beneficial for children that are older and/or African-American. This study may help to generate future support for education and outreach programs for underserved populations.