This research reports on an evaluation of conceptions of the environment held by a group of students at the University of Cape Town. This group of students were all registered for the degree of Bachelor of Education, and included in their curricula the elective in Environmental Education. The research attempts to describe the constructivist approach as implemented in the course in Environmental Education over a prescribed period, and to explore the impact of such an approach on student conceptions. The research was conducted primarily through the use of two questionnaires together with unstructured interviews. The results of the questionnaires and interviews were used to assess both qualitatively and quantitatively the development of student conceptions of the environment. The first questionnaire was administered early on in the course, while the second was administered towards the end of the course. In this way it was possible to make a comparative study of the responses. The results indicate that the course contributed to some shift in student conceptions of the environment, and that it contributed also towards the development of environmental attitudes, values and behaviour. The work concludes with suggestions for developing aspects of the course design, in the light of insights gained by this research.

In South African secondary schools much less fieldwork is undertaken than in a number of other countries despite fieldwork being required by some school syllabuses and the fact that, in many areas, suitable sites are ready to hand. In an attempt to assess the nature of future demands for fieldwork sites, this study reviews developments in education which lead to increasing emphasis on teaching outside the classroom, and the reasons why so little fieldwork is being done are analyzed. A methodology is developed for selecting fieldwork sites taking into account educational priorities and practical constraints. This is worked out in practice by drawing up a fieldwork syllabus for a particular school, and selecting sites in the Cape Peninsula for field studies. Finally, the educational potential of a sample of these sites is indicated by means of exercises prepared for secondary school children.

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Education in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Masters Degree in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education at the University of Zululand, 2009. / The objective of this study was to investigate if educators in the Senior Phase implemented the (EE) in their learning areas. The study had to find out why some environmental themes were more interesting to teach as compared to others. The teaching methods used by educators in teaching environmental education were to be identified. The study was conducted amongst six (6) primary schools and two (2) high schools in one cluster. There were thirty (30) educators involved in the study. The constructed objectives of the research study lead to the formulation of the following research hypotheses: (a) The frequency with which identified environmental themes are taught differs with respect to different learning areas; (b) Some identified environmental themes are more interesting to teach as compared to others; and (c) Educators use a variety of teaching methods when teaching environmental education in the senior phase. A questionnaire was used to collect data. It followed eight (8) environmental themes to be used by the participants. The collected data was then analysed through the use of a computer programme called Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS). In the analysis of results it was discovered that educators did implement environmental education in their learning areas, but to a limited extent. This seemed to agree with the hypothesis that educators do implement cross-curricular teaching of EE. It was discovered that some learning areas like Economic and Management Science (EMS), Natural Science (NS) and Social Science (SS) were more flexible in teaching environmental education as opposed to Arts and Culture (A & C) and Life Orientation (LO). The analysis of results showed that some environmental themes were more interesting to teach, like Population and Human Health as compared to others like Deforestation and Waste and pesticides. It was discovered that educators used mainly the question and answer, discussion and narrative methods as opposed to projects, research and fieldwork. This finding is discussed in the light of the literature reviewed, some recommendations aiming at action that could be taken and further research is made.

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Although the majority of scientists agree that we are facing unprecedented climate crises, higher education’s engagement with environmental and sustainability problems is lacking. While the role of human behavior on climate change has been well established by science, these insights have yet to be adequately applied by citizens, thus exacerbating the consequent economic and social problems (like inequity and poverty). In response to the imminent danger of climate change, calls have come for citizens to be mindful of their actions to reverse the deteriorating trajectory of environmental and sustainability decline. In particular, policymakers have deemed higher education classrooms a promising site for equipping future generations of citizens to engage with sustainability. Formal teaching and learning surrounding sustainability-related subject matter, or Education for Sustainability (EfS), is the process of developing students’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward sustainability. However, EfS is not being incorporated into the higher education curriculum with either the quantity or quality necessary to steer society toward social change. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation study was to explore the amount of, and the effectiveness of, EfS in an institution of higher education, and to analyze whether EfS was related to students’ sustainability learning outcomes. Data collection took place at Michigan State University, a public, large-size, four-year institution. Students were surveyed at both the beginning and end of the fall 2017 semester to measure changes over one academic semester. Guided by the frameworks of opportunity to learn, cognitively responsive teaching, teaching for sustainability, and transformative sustainability learning outcomes, data were analyzed with logistic and ordinary least squares regression, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Results found that approximately two-thirds of participants reported that they had the opportunity to learn about sustainability. On average, neither cognitively responsive teaching, nor teaching for sustainability, pedagogical approaches were employed to teach sustainability. Interestingly, though, when instructors surfaced students’ prior knowledge about sustainability while teaching the subject, students’ sustainability behaviors increased over the course of the semester. As such, this study illustrated the importance of the pedagogical technique of utilizing students’ prior knowledge when teaching them about sustainability in higher education.

Campus sustainability tours are available at dozens of colleges and universities across the United States. These tours are considered a vital tool in interpreting the environmental and sustainable aspects of a campus to educate the campus community. Minimal quantitative data have been collected regarding their development, use, and effectiveness. In order to develop a dataset regarding the use of campus sustainability tours, surveys and interviews were sent to universities with such tours to discuss use and methods of development. A campus-wide electronic survey was sent to the Western Kentucky University (WKU) main campus community to determine their experiences with the WKU Green Tour. Pre- and post-tests were distributed to students at WKU before and after their experience with the tour to establish whether learning occurred. Professors were surveyed to determine the current use of the tours within classrooms. Best practices regarding the development of campus sustainability tours are not available. There is virtually no quantitative information available on the tours’ use and effectiveness. The WKU Green Tour, which relies upon campus signage to gain attention, sees little use since the signs tend not to capture attention. According to collected data, members of the campus community who do notice the signs find them interesting and learn new information. The guided tour, self-guided tour, and Green Tour lecture all saw significant knowledge gain in students, demonstrating educational effectiveness. Many barriers prevent professors from using the tours, but some supplemental tour items are suggested to improve classroom use. Based on data collected and analyzed as part of this study, tour developers should target the existing campus community rather than focusing solely on campus visitors. Relying on passive signage to capture attention reaches few members of the campus community. The significant knowledge gain demonstrated in classroom use of the Green Tour creates a strong argument for targeting professors as a user group. WKU faculty would likely increase their use of the Green Tour if provided with supplemental tools such as brochures, a virtual tour, and pre-made assignments. These tools should be made available to instructors with guidance in usage and incorporation.