Due to the interdisciplinary nature of environmental education, addressing the range of socioscientific issues included under the umbrella of sustainability can be challenging for educators working within the context of mandated state subject area standards. Two states (Washington and Vermont) have been recognized as leaders in incorporating…

Monte Gordo Natural Park (MGNP) is part of the Cape Verde (CV) Protected Areas National Network. In order to create an effective Environmental Education (EE) curriculum, it is crucial to first identify the level of environmental knowledge of both teachers and students. In 2007 we implemented a set of four surveys to students and educators and…

This article reports on the novel design, and successful outcome, of an environmental education course designed for both practicing teachers and nonformal educators. Challenges in developing the course included the following: (1) the variable education and resource needs of course enrollees, (2) the lack of consistent science and environmental…

The purpose of this study was to determine change in environmental education teaching efficacy beliefs of K-12 teachers who participated in two weeks of an intensive summer earth systems science institute using the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) curriculum as the conceptual framework. Thirty-eight teachers…

Under the guidance of the Department of Forestry, the Regional Education Directorate, and Peace Corps/The Gambia, the Gambia All Schools Tree Nursery Competition, an environmental education program, was developed to introduce practical environmental education in The Gambia. Data for this report were collected using a rapid appraisal approach.…

The purpose of this research is to develop a performance evaluation instrument for green schools in Taiwan. The instrument is designed according to three sets of criteria: participation and partnership, reflection and learning, and ecological consideration. It also covers three operational dimensions: learning context, administration, and…

In Minnesota, supplemental K-12 programs like Environmental Field Days require significant investment and educate over 10,000 4th-6th graders about issues related to our natural resources, environment, and conservation. The key to success is collaboration between outside organizations like state and federal agencies, and nonprofits along with the…

This article addresses the content and use of children's literature to teach about recycling. Twenty children's books were examined using a coding system created to compare and generalize about the content of the books. It was found that although the books can be useful for providing basic information they fall short in asking children to think…

Results are presented from a formal evaluation of The Pennsylvania Bureau of State Park's Watershed Education (WE) curriculum developed for students in grades 6-12. The primary research objective was to measure the impact the training and subsequent use of the WE curriculum had on teachers' behavior, confidence, and self-efficacy in teaching about…

"Every boy and every girl...should be a producer. The growing of plants...should therefore become an integral part of the school program." With these words, the federal Bureau of Education launched the United States School Garden Army (USSGA) during World War I, targeting urban and suburban youth. It represented one of the earliest federal efforts…

During a fieldstudy of children's gardens in the United States in 2005, the author became aware that possibilities for providing learning experiences in children's gardens are bountiful and different styles are emerging. Anecdotally this appears to be a contested area with some within the discipline favoring a narrower definition of children's…

This study used an unobtrusive attitude survey and questionnaires to investigate Kenyan pupils' attitudes towards parks and wildlife. The positive attitudes found result from their understanding of the link between these resources and their own wellbeing. The sentiments about parks and wildlife expressed by the pupils are an extraction of the…

During a training program on climate change education, teachers were invited to experiment with environmental behaviors in their personal lives. They then created their own climate change education model, with which they experimented in their classroom. Through teachers' and students' work, individual interviews, and questionnaires, researchers…

The present research investigated the impact of environmental education (EE) programs on student achievement in math, reading, and writing by comparing student performances on two standardized tests for environmental education schools and schools with traditional curriculum. Quantitative analysis was used to evaluate the impact of the EE programs.…

In 1993, the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Board started the National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education to establish a framework of standards by which their field is valued. Since then, the project has produced a series of "Guidelines" to help people produce quality EE. Just as importantly, the…