<p> This quasi-experimental, two-week case study examines the effect of an outdoor classroom on university students' academic achievement and assesses the students' demographic relationship to the classroom environment and academic achievement. This study assesses theories and studies examining nature's impact on cognitive functioning and academic achievement. The results of this study showed no significant difference between the control and treatment group in academic achievement, and no significant relationship was found between the students' academic achievement, demographics and the passive presence of a natural environment. Future suggestions include using a mixed method approach, a larger sample size, and further investigation of the impact of a natural environment on educators.</p>

<p> Environmental education programs aim to develop participant awareness, sensitivity, and understanding of their affective relationship to the natural environment through conceptual knowledge and personal experiences. Previous findings have suggested that participation in environmental education programs leads to short-term positive increases in environmental knowledge, pro-environmental attitudes, and intentions to act in environmentally responsible behaviors; however, few studies have included long-term, follow-up assessment. This research provided an analysis of the effectiveness of the O'Neill Sea Odyssey (OSO) education program in fostering a long-term awareness of personal responsibility about ocean pollution among student participants.</p><p> A survey administered to 261 students from the greater San Francisco Bay Area in California was used to explore 7^th through 10^th grade students' conceptions about the connection between ocean pollution and stewardship behaviors. The study revealed that 75% of 86 former OSO participants retained a high level of awareness of the connection between non-point source pollution and personal behaviors two to five years after the program, regardless of differences in sex, language, grade level, and community setting. These results indicate that OSO participants retained a long-term conceptual awareness about environmental stewardship behaviors taught during the OSO program.</p>

In 2002, the United Nations declared 2005-2014 the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and emphasized environmental education as a catalyst in creating positive change. This study examines the presence (or absence) of environmental education in the sixth grade of the Halifax Regional School Board in Nova Scotia. Content analysis was conducted to determine the environmental quality of three curricula – health education, science, and social studies. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with a cohort of teachers to determine their conceptualizations of environmental education and implementation barriers. Results show the curricula have a strong reliance on knowledge-based learning and assign less importance to experiential learning and attitudes. With teachers, the data show that environmental education implementation depends highly on personal beliefs, especially due to its minor role in the curriculum. Furthermore, the lack of resources, training, and support from upper levels cause environmental education to be “important but not a priority”.

Since 2001, the Rivershed Society of British Columbia (RSBC) has facilitated the Sustainable Living and Leadership Program (SLLP). This study investigated the phenomenon of learning and personal change in former program participants of the SLLP. Specifically, the research explored key features of the learning experience which may have been instrumental in influencing participants' beliefs and attitudes toward the environment. The study also investigated if and how these changes in values led to a shift in ecological praxis among participants and how such changes, if found, may have been applied in their home communities. Phenomenological interviews were employed to produce a rich description of three participants' learning experiences which highlight shifts in their ecological consciousness and action. This research adds to the growing body of knowledge and research regarding transformational learning and its use in environmental education programs. Additionally, the findings of this study will assist the RSBC in future programming initiatives of the SLLP.

An Inconvenient Truth was a catalyst for change in the way many adults think about the environment. North American youth are perpetuating the dominant consumerist paradigm, and will need to change their attitudes and behaviour to restore the health of the planet in the future. This study identifies the content and messaging that youth see as effective to engage their peers in pro-environmental attitudes and actions. Middle school participants created environmental videos following a Participatory Video methodology. A content analysis of the videos revealed that youth are optimistic and advocate grassroots community action to “save the world.” The dominant messaging in the videos is “peer talk,” characterized by youth language and diction, youth speaking directly to the youth audience, youth talking to youth on screen, and content that is relevant to youth. These findings are recommended in a grounded theory of effective environmental education for youth through video.

Preschool children grow up in a media-saturated environment, easily accessing a variety of technologies, including television. This study investigated the environmental content in both the television programming for preschool children and in the personal narratives of this viewing audience. Cultivation studies suggest the lack of environmental content on television, coupled with heavy viewing patterns, reduces individual concerns for the environment. This study explored the possible cultivation effect that television viewing enacts on preschool children’s conceptions of the environment. A content analysis coded environmental actions and environmental literacy benchmarks on preschool television. Interviews with preschoolers explored their conceptions of the environment through a play-based narrative. Findings include: environmental content exists on television but lacks frequency and context to enhance audience understanding; and preschool children utilize experiences from their daily lives and from television to explain “nature.”

All schools exist in a particular environment. No matter what environment the school is in the educator can make use of it as a learning resource. The environment is a critical aspect at all levels of education and in all programmes to create environmentally literate and active citizens. This study focussed on the use of the environment as a resource for cross-curricular materials development in Outcomes-Based Education. It is essential for all the driving forces of the education system to understand, that materials development is the process of designing and developing learner-support materials (resources) to enhance the teaching-learning process. Therefore, developing cross-curricular materials is a requisite for assisting learners to master the necessary knowledge, skills, values and attitudes. Developing cross-curricular materials promote integrated learning as encouraged by Outcomes-Based Education. The findings for this study indicate that some educators still lack skills for developing cross-curricula materials. The findings also indicate that, educators from rural schools mostly depend on waste materials as their teaching-learning resources. The study also indicate some recommendations that could be used to empower educators to master competent materials development skills. Quality teaching and quality learning mostly depend on adequate resources that could assist the learner to master the required knowledge and skills. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2003.

The world environmental crisis has ed to a growing international concern to promote sustainable development. Environmental education is being heralded as one of the foremost responses to the promotion of sustainable development The Southern African Development Community Environment and Land Management Sector initiated a programme to support environmental education in the region. Among other things, this programme offers various forms of training for environmental educators in an attempt to meet the needs of southern Africa. The purpose of this report is to investigate the environmental education training needs in the southern African region. The research itself concentrates on the environmental education training needs as articulated by participants in, and applicants to, the Southern African Development Community Regional Environmental Education Programme (SADC-REEP). The report documents the establishment of the SADC-REEP and the environmental education training it offers within the context of current thinking on environmental education processes in the region. It then goes on to document the training needs articulated by the research respondents. This leads to a discussion of the articulated needs in relation to the current training offered by the SADC-REEP. The research reveals common themes expressed amongst the research respondents as to the training needs of the region. These themes include such issues as a broader understanding of environmental education processes, networking and the ability to disseminate information. These themes have led to recommendations for the SADC-REEP for the enhancement of their training programmes. / Thesis (M.Sc.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

Manitoba does not have a specific course in environmental education (EE) but has related outcomes within the current science and social studies curricula. Has the curriculum created a populace with the knowledge, attitudes and skills to begin to act for environmental change? Do students and teachers perceive science to be the course that should teach EE? This mixed-method study used surveys, student focus groups, observations of recycling habits and teacher interviews to determine if grade 10 students (last year of required science) are acting in positive ways toward the environment. Students from grades nine and ten exhibited almost the same environmental knowledge and attitudes, but the grade tens were more alarmed about the state of the environment and less naive about their abilities to have individual impact. While both groups reported pro-environmental behaviours, neither recycled materials after a luncheon. Where EE should be taught differed between all groups studied.

A new environmental immersion school has opened in Canada. This case study examines early stages of the project's implementation in order to contribute to an understanding of how best to implement environmental education in schools. / Examination of the literature on educational change led to an analytical framework which included: (1) Characteristics of the innovation; (2) Strategies and tactics used; (3) Contextual characteristics; (4) Macro sociopolitical factors. This was used to categorize qualitative data collected through interviews, observation, a questionnaire and documents. / The study uncovered a number of obstacles to implementation in the school, principally: (1) Conceptual problems about environmental education; (2) Poorly defined school philosophy and goals; (3) Difficulties in coordinating the project between individual efforts and departments; (4) A hiatus between administration and teacher perceptions. / The case study provided insight on the process of curriculum implementation as well as specific issues relating to environmental education and the theme of sustainable development.