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…

The aim of the current study is to explore whether the ecological footprint is an appropriate tool for encouraging ecological behaviors in students. In the quasi-experimental research that we conducted, four classes from one of the public high schools in the city of Haifa ("N"?=?130) participated in an environmental education (EE)…

In a previous study, we investigated the impact of an awareness-raising campaign on the behaviour of secondary school children in the Centre Region of France, regarding the recycling of used batteries. But, was it a question of pro-environmental behaviour or simply an environmental action? To answer this question, a three-year longitudinal study…

Although informal learning environments have been studied extensively, ours is one of the first studies to quantitatively assess the impact of learning in botanical gardens on students' cognitive achievement. We observed a group of 10th graders participating in a one-day educational intervention on climate change implemented in a botanical…

Although many young people think climate change is an important societal issue, studies indicate that pessimism is quite common. Finding ways to instill hope could therefore be seen as vital. However, is hope positively related to engagement or is it only a sign of illusory optimism? The aim of the study was to explore if hope concerning climate…

The environmental education through filmmaking project, a case study at an alternative US public high school, investigates environmental literacies of "at-risk" students who produced two short documentary films, one on recycling and one on water conservation. The filmmaking project sought to promote students' awareness of environmental issues and…

In this descriptive case study, project-based learning is presented as a teaching model that combines elements from other learning strategies. High school students participating in an intertidal monitoring project built around this model increased their content knowledge related to the ecology of the intertidal zone and improved their scientific…

For years, environmental educators have been arguing that the culture of schooling (mostly focused on cultural reproduction) is antithetical to environmental education. Within this context, it is often suggested that environmental education occurs when there is a particularly passionate and motivated teacher who, despite frequent barriers,…

Robert Stevenson identified four behavioural and programmatic regularities that have inhibited the implementation of environmental education as envisioned by the framers of the Belgrade Charter and Tbilisi Declaration. These include the presentation of standardised knowledge associated with established disciplines, reliance on teachers as primary…

Over the past three decades, the environmental justice movement has developed out of growing concern about unequal distribution of environmental harm and unequal access to environmental resources. The mainstream environmental movement has been criticized for failing to address adequately environmental justice issues. Several scholars have claimed…

This study examined decision making in an urban US high school classroom in which tenth-grade students analyzed scientific evidence about current issues of sustainability, technology and society. A full-year course, called Science and Sustainability, was used in both groups, and a computer program, called "Convince Me", provided scaffolding for…

This study examined the relationship between environment-based education and high school students critical thinking skills and disposition toward critical thinking. Four hundred four 9th and 12th grade students from 11 Florida high schools participated in the study. A Pretest-Posttest Nonequivalent Comparison Group Design (9th grade) and a…

A recent United Nations' report claims that nearly two-thirds of the Earth's natural systems are unhealthy or failing, and many point to education--environmental education, education for sustainable development, or sustainability education--as a key means of addressing these issues. In this article, the author discusses the literary description to…

This single case study, situated within a larger narrative inquiry project, closely examines the professional stories told by one Project Grow teacher. Project Grow is a 10-year-old collaborative interdisciplinary environmental education project at a New York City alternative public high school. Through the practice of an innovative …

This paper examines children's and adolescents' environmental awareness in rural Madagascar. Two types of school survey among 8- to 21-year-old students and pupils in 18 schools were used for data collection. The objective of this comparative study was to examine the environmental awareness and knowledge of children and adolescents living under…