No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This study begins with a discussion of environmental education. Various definitions, aims objectives and guiding principles for effective environmental education are included. The term environmental literacy is introduced with its. defmitions and three levels of environmental literacy (nominal, functional and operational). The study also provides an overview of the definitions, aims, principles and goals of sustainable development. The relationship between environmental education, environmental literacy, environmentally responsible behaviour, and education for sustainability is outlined. It appears that many teachers are not well informed about environmental concerns. Therefore, in this study an attempt is made .to develop and standardize an instrument to measure the level of environmental literacy of teachers, from both primary and high schools. Ten concepts related to environmental literacy were developed. A questionnaire was developed using these identified concepts. Content validity was established before the questionnaire was presented to the teachers. An item analysis was carried out for each aspect of environmental literacy as well as for the questionnaire as a whole. It was determined that the questionnaire could be considered as both a reliable and valid instrument to measure the level of environmental literacy of teachers. An important fmding from this study is that there is a significant difference between environmental literacy of teachers who received training in environmental education and teachers who did not receive any training in environmental education. It was also found that there is a significant difference between environmental literacy of teachers teaching in the different learning areas. The instrument developed for this study can be used as a baseline to improve the pre-service and in-service training of teachers in environmental education. The study concludes with recommendations for teacher education and empowerment of local communities through environmental education. Possible further research is also highlighted. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

<p> This study conducted an international comparative study between Japan and the United States to examine both problems and possibilities in the use of the term &lsquo;sustainable development&rsquo; (SD) among environmental educators. In so doing, this study applied a multilevel analysis&mdash;national, state/prefecture, and individual levels&mdash;to assess SD&rsquo;s overall influences. Such a comparative elaboration of the individual perceptions, as well as the policy contexts, helps in comprehending both the conceptual and practical obstacles, and their possibilities, when using an internationally-promoted term. I found that respondents of both countries tend to have a firm grounding in the field of EE, and make only supplementary use of the notions of sustainable development and ESD, primarily for emphasizing social and economic dimensions of environmental issues. </p><p> Some of the notable results are as follows: 1. Environmental educators of both countries are still hesitant to embrace ESD or Education for Sustainability in their teachings; 2. Environmental educators of both countries, while not rejecting the concepts of sustainable development and ESD, are instead operationalizing them to punctuate social and economic issues; and 3. Most environmental educators perceive EE as being larger and more comprehensive than ESD. This is demonstrated in the survey results in which none of the American environmental educators perceived EE as being smaller than ESD. </p><p> Implications from the results are as follows: 1. The &lsquo;shift&rsquo; in discourse from EE to ESD appears to be incomplete, contrary to some recent observations. I believe that this is because the field of EE, while showing some differences at the national level, has been affirming the incorporation of social and economic processes into teaching practice through attention to laws, literacy plans, guidelines, and conferences. The individual educators appear to be influenced by these shifting emphases, professional networks and policy contexts.</p>

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

No description available.

<p> When children are engaged in school gardens, they aren&rsquo;t just digging in the dirt. School gardens have been shown to help improve student health by impacting food preferences and physical activity; to enhance learning in many subject areas; to encourage critical thinking skills by utilizing inquiry-based learning; and to engender a positive association with nature. Children from disadvantaged environments disproportionately may miss out on each of these important experiences. School gardens can serve as venues to enhance social justice by helping marginalized students access these advantageous experiences they otherwise might not have. Given the evidence that school gardens improve the educational experiences of students, this study explored how they can expand across varied schools and classes so that more students can enjoy their benefits. The research question posed was: What are the opportunities for and barriers to the expansion of the school garden and cooking program of Grow Pittsburgh, called Edible Schoolyard Pittsburgh (ESY)? As an evaluator, I worked collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders, convening focus groups and discussions with staff, parents and guardians, classroom teachers, and principals. Incorporating feedback from stakeholders, and using a mixed methods design, I developed four instruments to investigate the research question: a survey of parents and guardians, student interviews, principal interviews, and a principal survey. In addition, an extant student survey concerning willingness to taste and try a new vegetable was used. An analysis of seven Likert scale and two yes-no questions found no significant differences between the parent and guardian responses of two schools surveyed, suggesting the program was implemented equally reliably in both schools. The Parent/Guardian Survey enjoyed a strong return rate of 65.5%. Comprised of two open-ended questions, it generated 768 individual comments, which were transcribed and grouped thematically. The general findings suggest areas of positive impacts in students&rsquo; willingness to try fruits and vegetables, students&rsquo; comfort in nature, and parents&rsquo; and guardians&rsquo; connection to their child&rsquo;s school. These observations merit further study. Barriers as identified by principals, teachers, and parents and guardians included limited instructional time, limited number of grades served, and limited curricula connection to subjects other than science. Opportunities which emerged from the data included overall robust stakeholder commitment, capacity, and confidence (3Cs), including principals choosing to pay for the program from their own budgets, parents and guardians showing strong confidence, and, in some schools, parent-teacher groups raising half the cost of the program. Recommendations of the study for successful scaling include implementing an intentional Improvement Inquiry and measuring and tracking of stakeholder 3Cs. Researchers and practitioners should continue to evaluate impacts of school gardens on students in academics, ecoliteracy, and health.</p>

<p> Hawaii Island has the highest incidence of rat lungworm disease (RLWD) of all the Hawaiian Islands and the mainland United States. The relatively recent introduction of the semi-slug <i>Parmarion martensi,</i> an effective intermediate host, and the wide-spread use of rainwater catchment systems may play a role. Studies were designed to investigate the ability of drowned gastropods to shed larvae, the location in a water column where larvae would most likely be found, the potential for larval passage through a 20&micro;m filter, and the ability of the larvae to survive outside the slug/snail host. Whole <i>P. martensi</i> shed many, viable <i> A. cantonensis</i> larvae with >90% of larvae found in samples taken from the bottom of the water column, suggesting they may settle near the bottom of a catchment tank. Larvae that were able to pass through a 20&micro;m sieve could not survive acid, were active for at least 56 days outside the slug host, and tested positive for RLW by qPCR. Larvae that could not pass through a 20&micro;m sieve were able to survive HCl-pepsin, were active for at least 21 days, and tested positive for RLW. First stage larvae can survive gut acid when swallowed after migration from the lungs but cannot withstand acid immersion again until they become third stage larvae.The study results merit further investigation into the potential link between poorly maintained rainwater catchment systems and the high incidence of RLWD on Hawaii Island, and the studies clearly demonstrate the need for control of hosts of <i>Angiostrongylus cantonensis.</i> </p><p> Hawaii&rsquo;s remote location makes food security an important issue. State-wide efforts to promote the Grow Local, Eat Local movement are reflected in the growing number of residential gardens, small farms, farmers&rsquo; markets, school and youth garden projects, and the recent passage of the Farm to School Bill. However, efforts to educate farmers, food handlers, and consumers about rat lungworm disease and the need for disease prevention and host control has not been similarly supported. In collaboration with five partner schools on Hawaii Island, the University of Hawaii, Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy&rsquo;s Hawaii Island Rat Lungworm Working Group worked with students and teachers to develop an integrated pest management plan for school garden projects. Integrated pest management allows for the careful consideration of applications available to control a pest event and chooses those practices that are least harmful to human and environmental health. These best practices include preventative cultural practices, monitoring, mechanical control, biological control, and the responsible use of pesticides. Students were intensively educated about RLWD, the parasite&rsquo;s life cycle, and prevention measures. Using best management practices, we set up traps and collected data on gastropod species abundance, and shelter-type capture rate. Integrating STEM curriculum makes the project attractive to schools as it supports student academic success. Adoption of this management project by the many school and youth garden projects in areas of RLWD can exponentially increase community awareness, encourage control efforts, and potentially map disease risk.</p>

<p> Research has shown that there is an achievement gap with students of color in the urban environment and their White non-urban peers (Norman, Ault, Bentz, &amp; Meskimen, 2001; National Research Council, 2012) additionally an achievement gaps exists between students with disabilities and their non-disabled peers (National Center for Learning Disabilities, 2011). The demand for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) preparation is growing and more students need to be prepared in school for STEM careers (Carlson, 1997). The didactic traditional style of teacher led text book reading has proven unsuccessful for large groups of urban youths and students with disabilities (Kahle, Meece, &amp; Scantlebury, 2000; Haberman, 1991; National Research Council, 2012). Using a hands-on, experiential informal learning environments in science has proven successful in engaging students to the science curriculum (National Research Council, 2012). Nature has also proven to engage students into the curriculum. This study combines these topics and addresses the gap in the literature where these topics overlap. This qualitative case study sought to understand how students with learning disabilities from an urban environment experienced nature-based informal learning. The participants for this exploratory case study informed by ethnographic methods of observation involved seven eighth grade students with learning disabilities from an inclusive science program at a public urban school.</p><p> The students participated in four nature related informal learning experiences that were aligned to the science curriculum. These students&rsquo; experiences were collected from observations, and conducting both one-on-one interviews and focus groups. The data was then triangulated, analyzed thematically, and interpreted. The students&rsquo; experiences were shared thematically. The three themes which emerged from the data were:</p><p> -Hands-on learning is an engaging and a more enjoyable way of learning for students with learning disabilities.</p><p> -There is not enough science being taught.</p><p> -Students are not habitually accessing natural areas.</p>