While numerous quantitative studies across disciplines have investigated children's knowledge and attitudes about environmental problems, few studies examine children's feelings about environmental problems--and even fewer have focused on the child's point of view. Through 50 in-depth interviews with urban children (ages 10-12) this research aimed…

The author examined the impact of environmental education lessons in a study that compared activities conducted in the schoolyard with traditional classroom activities involving elementary school boys and girls. Participants were 109 4th- and 5th-grade students. Researchers conducted a 2 (group: traditional/treatment) X 2 (gender) multivariate…

The authors conducted an ethnography investigating children's lived experiences in a 3-day residential environmental education (EE) program with 20 gifted 4th- and 5th-grade students. The authors also conducted participant observation and a series of interviews before, during, and after the trip. After the authors conducted the interviews and…

The ability of the National Marine Park of Zakynthos (NMPZ) in Greece to protect an important sea turtle rookery will ultimately depend on the level of local support and involvement that it receives. Therefore, it is essential for environmental educators to generate among local inhabitants, starting at early ages, positive attitudes concerning the…

The authors revised and validated the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale for use with upper elementary students. Researchers use the NEP Scale extensively with adults, but it was not designed for children. Interviews with 5th grade students helped the authors revise the NEP Scale for use with children. The authors spent 2 years validating the…

In this article, the author examines the effects of an urban environmental education program on children's awareness of their local biophysical environment. She examined changes in environmental awareness among 3rd- and 5th-grade participants in the Open Spaces as Learning Places program in New Haven, Connecticut. Results showed a significant…

This case study describes the development and field-testing of a research-based scoring rubric for analyzing elementary students' schoolyard habitat drawings. To justify schoolyard learning experiences in U.S. schools, teachers, program evaluators, and others need valid, reliable, and objective assessment tools for determining if, and how, these…

In this study, we investigated whether concept maps were used as often and as effectively in elementary science and technology classrooms as recommended by the National Ministry of Education (MEB) in the new curricula in Turkey. In the new elementary science and technology curricula, the MEB provides a general concept map for each unit. We used…

This study evaluated the impact of an environmental education program on students, parents, and the community. The program, in place for 5 years in 5th and 6th grade classes, was designed to help learners take an in-depth look at environmental issues in their community, make data-based decisions about those issues, and participate in resolving…

This paper focuses on pupils' perceptions of water issues. The instructional situations take place in a Finnish primary school and aim at introducing the Science-Technology-Society (STS) study approach. The primary aim of this study is, in the context of STS instruction, to describe issues that pupils associate with water. This paper involves…

Only few psychological differences between the sexes can be proven empirically. Presented here is a study about learning in the extracurricular environment of a zoological garden during a school excursion with particular regard to the differences between boys and girls. In the main focus are, hereby, motivational and cognitive levels of the…

"Non-native organisms are a major threat to biodiversity". This statement is often made by biologists, but general conclusions cannot be drawn easily because of contradictory evidence. To introduce pupils aged 11-14 years to this topic, we employed an educational program dealing with non-native animals in Central Europe. The pupils took part in a…

This study examines the effects of using historical microworlds on conceptual change in mechanics. Historical microworlds combine history of science and microworld through a computer based interactive learning environment that respects and represents historic conceptions or theories. Six grade 5 elementary students participated individually to…