We describe experience with a pilot week-long, No-Child-Left-Inside (NCLI), outdoor program implemented in Cache Valley, Utah, in 2012. Through response analysis of a "pre-then-post" children's survey and a parent-completed demographic survey, we assess program effectiveness in raising children's enthusiasm for nature-related…

This article presents a qualitative evaluation of the EcoSchool program in the Czech Republic. In order to analyze the way in which pupils interpret the purpose of their membership in EcoTeams, eight focus groups in schools highly involved in the program were interviewed (N = 83). The study is based on the assumption that the implementation of the…

Little research exists describing what teachers do with new experiences and knowledge after participating in environmental learning programs and the students return back to the classroom This qualitative study aimed to fill this gap by examining and describing the follow-through implemented by teachers after their classes participated in the…

Environmental education in Mexico takes many forms and plays a wide variety of roles. Through an online survey, we addressed the need to present a wider picture on the current state of environmental education practices in Mexico: Who is engaging in environmental education practices, how important is it for their organization, who are they…

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…

It is commonly assumed that attitudes and behaviors need to be modified to secure a sustainable future. This article examines insights from the social sciences in this extensive field. It first evaluates college faculty attitudes and classroom practices with respect to education for sustainable development (ESD) using a survey designed for that…

Making progress toward a more sustainable world will require education programs that foster informed, empowered, and just societies and opportunities for lifelong learning. Non-formal community education is an important component of lifelong learning and is crucial to raising awareness, building partnerships, and influencing action to engage…

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…

Experiential education has been promoted by John Dewey and Paulo Freire since the first half of the twentieth century. Freire called the type of teaching where students are passive "banking education." In this first person account I describe my shift from teaching environmental issues in the traditional style to teaching in an experiential style.…

Using student-generated comparative risk surveys in environmental communication pedagogy has been helpful in achieving specified learning objectives: to describe (1) the influence of socioeconomic, political, and scientific factors in the social construction of environmental problems; (2) the role risk perception plays in defining environmental…

Global ecological degradation is currently causing widespread suffering and this is expected to worsen unless we change our global behaviors. Wilson (2002) has suggested that the consequences of ecological degradation are a threat to all life on earth. Woodbridge (2004) asserts that human pressures on natural systems will reach pivotal status by…

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…

The launch of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) gives the education community opportunity to reflect on and discuss major issues that will affect the future well-being of the world. The goals and dreams of environmental education (EE) are similar to those of educators involved in education for sustainable…

The object of the authors' professional work is the reconstruction of the complex web of personal and social relations to the environment, considered as a crucial educational issue. They conceptualize and practice EE as an essential dimension of education that emphasizes the close relationships between the human and the "more-than-human-world"…

"Sustainable development" is one framework. "Bioregionalism" is another. Both phrases have evolved in an attempt to create a powerful, encompassing vision of planetary wellness and regeneration. Some American practitioner-philosophers of sustainable agriculture argued that people must become thoughtful, responsible dwellers of their places so that…