ERIC Number: ED465684
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2002-Apr-1
Pages: 28
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Teacher Perceptions Regarding the Status of Environmental Education in Latin American Elementary Schools.
Penwell, Rebecca; Cronin-Jones, Linda; Hakverdi, Meral; Cline, Shannon; Johnson, Courtney
This research, commissioned by the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Schools, was designed to determine the status of environmental education in private U.S. and international elementary schools throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The study population consisted of all 50 dues-paying member schools in the Association of American Schools of Central America, Colombia-Caribbean and Mexico (also known as the Tri-Association). Members include 17 schools in Mexico, 8 schools in Colombia, four schools each in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic, 3 schools in Jamaica, 2 schools each in El Salvador, Honduras, and Venezuela, and 1 school each in Nicaragua, Haiti, Ecuador, and Panama. Response rate was 72%, with 36 schools responding. Results of the survey indicated that even in the best situations throughout Central and Latin America, environmental education (EE) is being hindered by lack of available quality regional environmental education curricula, lack of access to teaching materials, and widespread teacher misconceptions about EE infusion. Findings of this study strongly support the need for quality regional EE curriculum development and ongoing teacher training in Latin American schools. Studies involving K-6 teachers in the United States yielded similar results. Teacher perceptions of environmental issues differed from those the community and students considered important, but these teacher perceptions were all compatible with the EE goals and objectives set forth by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). (Contains 5 figures, 3 tables, and 15 references.) (BT)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Department of State, Washington, DC. Office of Overseas Schools.
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A