Research has demonstrated that conversations among museum, aquarium, and zoo visitors can be a clear indication of active learning, engagement, and participation in scientific reasoning. This descriptive study sought to determine the extent of talk about ecology-related topics exhibited by family groups visiting marine touch tanks at four Pacific…

Until now, many efforts in the area of environmental education, intended to instill consciously responsible behaviour into the general public in Germany, have failed. Several of the available intervention studies aimed at improving environmental behaviour of pupils with classroom tuition were able to show positive results, but there were often…

Colonialism goes beyond territorial conquest: it affects one's epistemological stance, worldviews and perceptions. Although most African countries gained independence in the 1960s, the impacts of colonialism continue to be present through modern-day globalization as a form of neocolonialism. Education systems in many countries in southern…

Pollution phenomena are complex systems in which different parts are integrated by means of causal and temporal relationships. To understand pollution, children must develop some cognitive abilities related to system thinking and temporal and causal inferential reasoning. These cognitive abilities constrain and guide how children understand…

In educational settings, sustainable development (SD) is often handled with the aim of reducing the contested aspects of the concept. Issues like trade, conservation, public health and international relations are often presented in a simplified way so that they are easier for students to grasp. However, in education, this tendency to simplify…

Although critiqued for circular reasoning and lack of definitional and analytic clarity, social capital has garnered widespread interest in two areas relevant to environmental education (EE): the impact of family and community-level social capital on positive youth development and of community-level social capital in fostering collective action to…

This paper describes the validation process of measuring children's attitudes and values toward the environment within a Mexican sample. We applied the Model of Ecological Values (2-MEV), which has been shown to be valid and reliable in 20 countries, including one Spanish speaking culture. Items were initially modified to fit the regional…

Environmental education can deliver benefits to individuals, society and the environment, but few studies have asked practitioners or participants what they feel these benefits are. This research compares the perspectives of practitioners and participants in environmental education projects, using questionnaires, focus groups and participant…

Positive claims about place pedagogy in education are problematized through this small-scale interpretive study of internationally mobile students' experiences of outdoor environmental education. Of specific interest in this empirical study of learners' pedagogically constructed experiences of place are the fluid subjectivities, cultural…

This article is part of a larger project focusing upon explanatory illustrations that children encounter in pre- and primary school education. The research questions concerned (a) how preschool children make sense of iconic symbols when placing items of refuse on illustrations of refuse bins in a sorting task and (b) what stumbling blocks they…

This article analyses how "eco-certified children" are constructed as desirable subjects in teaching materials addressing education for sustainable development. We are interested in how discourses structure this cherished practice and how this practice has become "natural" and obvious for us. A discourse analysis is carried out…

Both scientists and policy-makers emphasize the importance of education for influencing pro-environmental behavior and minimizing the effects of climate change on biological and physical systems. Education has the potential to impact students' system knowledge--their understanding of the variables that affect the climate system--and action…

Significant life experiences (SLE) research has been criticized for a disproportionate focus on privileged groups and positive experiences. In this paper, I use textual analysis to examine the SLEs within the Environmental Justice (EJ) literature. Theoretically, I blend feminist theory, the sociology of disaster, and research on EJ motives for…

The Cooperative Extension Service (Extension) in the United States is well positioned to educate the public, particularly farmers and foresters, about climate change and to encourage responsible adoption of adaptation and mitigation strategies. However, the climate change attitudes and perceptions of Extension professionals have limited…

Our paper addresses the emergence and evolution of values in educational settings. It builds upon and extends earlier work on companion meanings to develop a theory of the creative use of companion values and meanings in education. The recognition of companion values in educational practices highlight epistemological, ethical, and aesthetic…