As we come to the end of the decade declared as United Nations Decade for Biodiversity 2011-2020, the impact humans are having our planet is clear. The current primary school children are the future decision makers, consumers and electors; therefore, they must be exposed to approaches that can assist development that is sustainable and that will prevent further degradation of our planet. A key way to achieve this is to transform the education current and future generations of children will receive. Education must address sustainable development to support the formation of responsible citizens, eager to actively engage in decision-making processes, environmental issues and societal matters. This can be assisted through a focus on a specific approach to Education for Sustainable Development, Biodiversity Education. To add to current research about this approach to ESD, I investigated the effect biodiversity education had on the sustainability consciousness of primary school children. I chose a qualitative method of data collection and analysis through focus group, semi-structured interviews with 5th class students. The results showed that the participants' sustainability awareness, regarding two of the three dimensions of sustainable development, was highly developed; the environmental dimension and the social dimension. There was less evidence of a consciousness for the economic dimension of SD. Therefore, biodiversity education had a positive influence on the participants' sustainability consciousness, making them more aware of sustainability issues and action-oriented to address these issues. However, they lacked one dimension of sustainability; therefore, their sustainability consciousness was not fully developed. Further research is needed to analysis and interpret the rationale as to why the economic dimension was less developed in these participants who attended a school that promotes biodiversity education.

Outdoor education is believed to be a new teaching approach and method in the education framework which relates to learning through natural places using direct experience. However, the teaching approach that is mostly used in the Gambian schools is based on the traditional approach of teachings as well as many African countries. As a relatively new teaching technique, outdoor education is gaining recognition from many researchers who are developing a keen interest in it. Thus, the aim of the current thesis is to investigate the perceptions of Gambian Basic and Secondary school teachers about outdoor education. in that regard, six (6) Gambian teachers from different teaching subjects, grades, and regions reported their views about outdoor education. A qualitative approach methodology with the use of semi-structured interview was employed to get teachers perceptions. After the data collection, thematic analysis was used for analyzing the collected data from which three (3) themes emerged to report the participants’ opinions. The participants revealed their basic knowledge and perceptions about outdoor education and presented some characteristics and examples of how the practice outdoor education. They emphasized that they view outdoor education as a teaching approach with the use of outdoors. However, according to them, any teaching activity that involves using the outside the four corners of the classroom or the school premises, is considered outdoor education. They noted that outdoor education can take place in the form of excursions, fieldtrips, classes outside the class under a tree or within the school premises. Besides, although the teachers indicated that the main teaching approach, they use is still the traditional teaching and learning approach, they showed willingness to enrich their classes with use of outdoor education. They further revealed that the main places they conduct outdoor education is the school yard, under a tree, a visit to places of interest, excursions to various historical places or museums and the like. The Gambian teachers acknowledged many potentials of outdoor education to the students including stimulation of multi-senses, increased understanding, improved social relation and cooperation, boosting of their health and wellbeing, developing curiosity, and giving students a sense of freedom and happiness. However, participants also revealed several barriers that suppress them from doing outdoor education effectively. Among the barriers mentioned includes, inadequate funding, lack of support from parents and school administrators, lack of pedagogical training, tight schedule, and limited time. Thus, further research is needed to help testifying the results of the current study and give more insight into the field of outdoor education in the Gambia and Africa at large

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The social and environmental challenges of the coming decades will require that individuals possess environmental literacy: the understanding of natural systems combined with a sense of care for the earth, and the confidence and competency to act on its behalf. At the same time, disengaged youth need education environments that foster belonging and promote affective outcomes. The youth conservation corps model provides a natural context for engaging academically at-risk youth in environmental science education, while fostering connection to nature and student self-efficacy in ways that are experiential, relevant, and relationship-based. The focus of this study was a conservation corps program that integrates habitat restoration fieldwork and environmental science curriculum. The participants of this study were eight high school seniors who participated in the program for credit toward their high school diplomas. Data were collected through both quantitative and qualitative measures. Students completed a pre-test to assess their understanding and application of conceptual knowledge in ecosystem relationships and biodiversity. Upon completion of a six-week curriculum, they completed a post-test assessing knowledge in the same areas, two retrospective pre-post surveys measuring connection to nature and self-efficacy, and a post-evaluation measuring affective outcomes. Individual interviews were conducted in order to provide further insights and to identify elements of the program that contributed to positive outcomes. Results showed statistically significant increases in all outcome areas as well as positive student evaluation of affective outcomes. The outdoor and experiential components of the program were found to contribute most significantly to the positive outcomes.

The Countried experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of (Australia), ground a resilience and strength in sovereign thinking through the Stories we share laterally with family and inter-ancestrally through our connections to the Dreaming. The stories we share develop a sense of inalienability we have that is connected to the Countries of origin we share and identify with across the continental scape of Land, Water and Sky Country. As a formative philosophical assumption, the Countried existence that this dissertation develops, illuminates the significance of this research thinking to contribute to the continued development of Indigenous education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students attending secondary high schools across (Australia). By attending to the ways Elders as significant Indigenous leaders describe and develop their storied lives through lived experience, this Countried philosophy emerges through the Storied knowing of Country. By examining the approaches to learning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students adopt, further evidence can be contributed to the research surrounding Indigenous thinking and cognitive approaches to thinking through education learning tasks. By examining the perceptions and beliefs of non-indigenous teachers, this dissertation aims to contribute evidence to Indigenous pedagogies that teachers can deploy in the delivery of meaningful Indigenous Knowledge curricula content. Summatively, this thesis found that when deep engagements are made into the notion of inalienability of Countried experience, salient avenues of thinking and learning and teaching emerge surrounding the ways education can continue to elaborate and relate meaningfully to the First Peoples of Australia.

UNESCO established Sustainability Education as a top priority when it declared 2005 - 2014 to be the global decade for sustainability. Sustainability education can be implemented in outdoor programs such as nature summer camps in order to build environmental stewardship and ecological literacy in counselors and campers. This study sought to determine the extent to which an ecology and leadership training given to assistant counselors at Tryon Creek State Natural Area day camp achieved the goals of sustainability education--for the assistant counselors to learn about ecology, develop stewardship attitudes and behaviors toward the environment, and become positive role models for the campers in their care. Knowledge and environmental stewardship attitudes and behaviors of the counselors were assessed using surveys, interviews, and training journals. A statistically significant difference was found between pre and posttest scores on a survey measuring knowledge of Pacific Northwest ecology, but no significant difference was found between the pre and posttest scores on an environmental attitudes survey, possibly due to a ceiling effect. Interviews revealed that participants learned about invasive species, Oregon flora and fauna, and stream ecology over the summer. Despite the results on the attitudes survey, interviewees reported greater environmental awareness at the end of the summer as well as a greater sense of place in nature and a desire to continue working with children in an outdoor setting.

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