NATURE'S CLASSROOM: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC CASE STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION DOROTHEA JODY OWENS ABSTRACT This ethnographic case study examines the dynamic relationship between culture and environmental education within the context of a specific Florida-based public education program. The School District of Hillsborough County (SDHC) offers the program through a three-day field trip to the study site, Nature's Classroom, and accompanying classroom curriculum. The site is located in Thonotosassa on the Hillsborough River, and serves approximately 13,500 to 15,000 sixth grade students annually. The key purpose of the research was to explore public education in a local setting as a vehicle for the transfer and acquisition of cultural knowledge, values, beliefs, and attitudes related to the environment. My primary research question is as follows: What role do American cultural values play in the public education system, as demonstrated in environmental education at Nature's Classroom? Factors that guided data collection include the sociocultural and historical context, the field site itself, curriculum development and content, delivery of the curriculum to students, student outcomes, and additional or external factors that could potentially influence outcomes. This dissertation explores the six factors using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection and analysis. Methods include participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and archival document reviews. Results indicate that environmental education at this site has evolved in tandem with broader sociocultural trends in environmentalism, anthropology, and environmental education. Students show positive gains in knowledge and skills related to the environment.

This study is on the influence of Biblical teaching and church participation on marital commitment and adjustment of Evangelical intercultural couples of Filipinas with North American Caucasian husbands. The project is based on literature research and fieldwork. Consideration was given to literature on intercultural marriage, Biblical theology on intercultural marriage, and on pertinent Philippine and North American mainstream cultural values. The sample in the field research consists of 23 couples. Each spouse was interviewed by phone for one hour. Thus, 46 one-hour interviews were conducted that included assessment of demographic and church activity data; levels of the couples' marital commitment and adjustment, and a personal interview. The study found that Biblical teaching functioned as a constraining force against divorce, as the principle for unconditional sacrificial love, and as a guiding principle in dealing with differences and adjustments. It was the foundation on which the couples attempted to establish common values for their marriage life. Joint church participation that is adequate gave them a sense of extended family; a sense of being rooted and belonging together as a couple and their children; and spiritual nurture. It helped establish a common Evangelical Christian identity, regardless of their diverse cultures or previous religious backgrounds. The study also points to potential improvements for churches in ministering to intercultural couples. / PRACTICAL THEOLOGY / DTH (PRACTICAL THEOLOGY)

This study is on the influence of Biblical teaching and church participation on marital commitment and adjustment of Evangelical intercultural couples of Filipinas with North American Caucasian husbands. The project is based on literature research and fieldwork. Consideration was given to literature on intercultural marriage, Biblical theology on intercultural marriage, and on pertinent Philippine and North American mainstream cultural values. The sample in the field research consists of 23 couples. Each spouse was interviewed by phone for one hour. Thus, 46 one-hour interviews were conducted that included assessment of demographic and church activity data; levels of the couples' marital commitment and adjustment, and a personal interview. The study found that Biblical teaching functioned as a constraining force against divorce, as the principle for unconditional sacrificial love, and as a guiding principle in dealing with differences and adjustments. It was the foundation on which the couples attempted to establish common values for their marriage life. Joint church participation that is adequate gave them a sense of extended family; a sense of being rooted and belonging together as a couple and their children; and spiritual nurture. It helped establish a common Evangelical Christian identity, regardless of their diverse cultures or previous religious backgrounds. The study also points to potential improvements for churches in ministering to intercultural couples. / PRACTICAL THEOLOGY / DTH (PRACTICAL THEOLOGY)