<p> In recent years a surge in research focused on the influences of water on humans. However, few have studied the effects of water on our relationship with nature, particularly to explore enduring impressions from a longitudinal perspective. Addressing these gaps, this qualitative exploratory research enlisted a case study methodology that employed multiple methods to investigate how a multi-day wilderness trip on the Tatshenshini River might affect participants&rsquo; connection to nature and position toward a sustainable lifestyle. The 12 participants were administered the Kellert Shorb Biophilic Indicator (KSBVI) questionnaire prior to the trip and reflected in journals during the experience. Six months after the trip ended a survey was administered. After 16 months, in-depth interviews were conducted. The results suggest that immersion into <i> river time</i>, an experience conceptualization that connected participants to nature&rsquo;s rhythm, generally equated with a <i>flow</i> state and a condition of <i>blue mind</i>, positively influenced their connection to nature. It appears that living water in concert with awe-inspiring encounters in the natural world enhanced and affirmed participants&rsquo; position toward a sustainable lifestyle. Furthermore, this multi-day wilderness experience seemed to inform their orientation toward sustainability. The findings suggest that further research into the lasting effects of river time and awe within these types of contexts is warranted.</p><p>

Orientador: Luiz Carlos Santana / Banca: Sílvia Luzia Frateschi Trivelato / Banca: Luiz Marcelo de Carvalho / Este estudo analisa as concepções e práticas de Educação Ambiental através do desenvolvimento de um projeto da mesma área em uma escola pública do Ensino Fundamental, envolvendo classes de 5ª a 8ª séries. A realização de projetos na escola pública faz parte de uma política implantada nos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais e incentivada pela Secretaria da Educação e Diretorias de Ensino do Estado de São Paulo. A análise foi realizada a partir dos dados coletados nos documentos, nas entrevistas e nas observações. Constatou-se que as concepções de Educação Ambiental presentes no desenvolvimento do projeto dão ênfase às mudanças de hábitos e atitudes, evidenciando as vantagens econômicas de se combater o desperdício de energia elétrica. A responsabilidade individual na resolução dos problemas ambientais aparece com destaque, desconsiderando os contextos históricos, sociais, culturais e políticos. Cada professora desenvolveu o projeto dentro de sua disciplina específica, como uma atividade pontual, sem se preocupar em dialogar com as outras disciplinas. Apesar de usarem o nome de projeto, as atividades foram realizadas através da seqüência: explicação - aplicação dos conhecimentos. Os resultados obtidos com a pesquisa demonstram que há necessidade de formação continuada para que os professores possam repensar, reelaborar ou até mesmo modificar suas concepções e práticas de Educação Ambiental no interior da escola. / This study analyse the conceptions and practices on Environmental Education in a primary public school, from 5th to 8th grades. The realization of these kinds of projects in public schools is due to the introduction of the " National Curricular Patterns Policy", which was stimulated by the Ministry of Education of the state of São Paulo. The analysis is inserted in a line of research taken from documents, interviews and observations. It became an evidence that the conceptions about Environmental Education presented during the development of the project emphasize the changing of habits and attitudes, having as their main goal the avoidance of eletric energy waste. One’s own responsibility, in the resolution of environmental problems is reinforced, not depending on the historic, social, cultural and political contexts. Each one of the teachers developed the project in his specific subject- matter, disconnected from the other disciplines. Although using the name of the project, the activities were done in a sequence-explanation- Knowledge appliance. The results of this research show that there is a strong necessity of an extending formation of teachers in order to permit them to rethink, to reorganize and even modify their conceptions and practices about Environmental Education at school. / Mestre

Orientador: Rosa Maria Feiteiro Cavalari / Banca: Luiz Marcelo de Carvalho / Banca: Clarice Sumi Kawasaki / Levando-se em consideração que a maioria das escolas está desenvolvendo, ou afirma desenvolver, projetos de Educação Ambiental, quando trabalha conteúdos relacionados à temática ambiental, nesta pesquisa procurou-se identificar as concepções de Educação Ambiental de três professoras de Ciências de três Escolas Públicas de Ensino Fundamental, que elaboraram e desenvolveram projetos de Educação Ambiental, bem como caracterizar as práticas pedagógicas desenvolvidas nesses projetos. Para a coleta de dados, foram utilizados os seguintes instrumentos, entrevistas semi-estruturadas, observações das práticas pedagógicas desenvolvidas e análise documental dos projetos elaborados pelas professoras. Os resultados revelaram diferentes concepções de Educação Ambiental entre as três professoras, sujeitos deste estudo, assim como diversas características das práticas pedagógicas desenvolvidas nesses projetos, referentes à participação dos alunos e da comunidade escolar, às dificuldades encontradas para desenvolvê-los, aos procedimentos e recursos pedagógicos utilizados, bem como outras características peculiares de cada projeto. A partir da análise dos dados, pode-se indicar que faz-se necessária uma compreensão mais profunda do professor em termos do significado e da dimensão de se trabalhar com a temática ambiental por meio de projetos, tendo em vista que a estrutura e o funcionamento das Escolas Públicas e a fragmentação do currículo escolar impõem determinados obstáculos à prática pedagógica da Educação Ambiental no contexto escolar. / Considering that most of the schools are developing, or declare they are developing, Environmental Education projects, when contents related to the environmental thematic are worked, in this research we tried to identify the conceptions about Environmental Education of three Science teachers of three Elementary Public Schools, that prepared and developed Environmental Education projects, as well pointed out the pedagogic practices developed in these projects. For the collection of dates, it was used the following tools: semi-structured interviews, observations of the pedagogic practices developed and documental analysis of the projects elaborated by the teachers. The results revealed different conceptions of Environmental Education among the three teachers, used in the study, as well as several characteristics of the pedagogic practices developed in these projects, concerning to the students and school community participation, the difficulties found to develop them, to the pedagogic procedures and pedagogic resources used, as well as other singular characteristics of each project. From the analysis of the dates, we can appoint that it's necessary a deeper understanding of the teacher to the meaning and the dimension of working with the environmental thematic through projects, observing that the structure and the operation of the Public Schools and the fragmentation of the school curriculum impose certain obstacles to the pedagogic practice of Environmental Education in the school context. / Mestre

Orientador: Dalva Maria Bianchini Bonotto / Banca: Luiz Marcelo de Carvalho / Banca: Myriam Krasilchik / Resumo: O desenvolvimento deste trabalho partiu do seguinte questionamento: a educação ambiental (EA) tem contribuído para a construção da cidadania? Consideramos que a EA pode contribuir para a efetivação de transformações sociais ao colaborar para a formação de sujeitos autônomos/cidadãos. Embora reconheçamos que as escolas brasileiras apresentem muitas condições desfavoráveis para a concretização de tais práticas, interessava-nos investigar suas possibilidades. Procurando conhecer iniciativas nesse sentido nas escolas, elegemos para nossa investigação a proposta de construção da Agenda 21 Escolar. Com base na abordagem qualitativa de pesquisa, objetivamos identificar a perspectiva de EA presente em dois documentos oficiais que se referem ao desenvolvimento da proposta de interesse - "Formando COM-VIDA: Construindo Agenda 21 na Escola" (MMA/MEC) e "Água Hoje e Sempre: Consumo Sustentável" (SEE/SP). Objetivamos também analisar o encaminhamento dessa proposta até as escolas da rede estadual paulista de ensino, verificando se tais documentos e seu encaminhamento colaboraram para a construção da cidadania dos educandos. Por meio da análise de conteúdo dos documentos oficiais, identificamos alguns limites e possibilidades referentes à contribuição para essa construção. Já por meio da análise de conteúdo das entrevistas estruturadas realizadas junto a diversos atores ligados ao desenvolvimento da proposta, identificamos diferentes aspectos ligados aos contextos de produção das políticas curriculares, às quais a proposta está vinculada. Entre eles, destacam-se: o longo percurso que a proposta percorreu até sua concretização junto aos alunos, a ênfase no documento estadual na Secretaria Estadual de Educação de São Paulo, o caráter autoritário de seu encaminhamento, as resistências... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The starting point of this work was the following question: has the environmental education (EE) contributed to build citizenship? We argue that EE can contribute to put into effect social changes since it plays a role in the education of independent human subjects/citizens. Although we're aware of the poor conditions of Brazilian schools and the difficulties to carry out EE practices, we aimed to investigate their possibilities. Searching to know about some initiatives of this kind in schools, we chose to organize the School Agenda 21. Based on a qualitative approach, our aim was to identify the EE perspective present in two official documents concerning the School Agenda 21 - "Educating WITH-LIFE: Organizing the Agenda 21 in Schools" (MMA/MEC) and "Water Today and Always: Sustainable Consumption" (SEE/SP). We also analysed how this purpose was forwarded to the public schools in the São Paulo State, checking if such documents and the way they were forwarded collaborated to build the students' citizenship. By doing the content analysis of the official documents, we identified some limits and possibilities related to the contribution for this building. As for the content analysis of the structured interviews carried out with many social actors related to the development of the purpose, we identified different aspects concerning the context of production of curricular policies, to which the purpose is linked. We point out some of them: the long path taken until the purpose was finally applied to the students, the emphasis given to the State document at the São Paulo State Secretariat for Education, the authoritarian way by which it was forwarded, and the oppositions, reinterpretations and adaptations made. Therefore, we discuss the necessity of deep changes in the structure of public schools, such as helping... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

<p> Connection to and appreciate for the natural world are directly linked to positive experiences participating in outdoor nature-based activities. These direct experiences have been declining over the past decade, causing concerns about the perceptions of nature by populations that don&rsquo;t participate in nature-based activities. This study examines framing of media coverage about human-wildlife conflicts and its implications for perception building by those audiences with less experience in the natural world. Data were collected via daily newspapers across the Intermountain West from 2010 to 2015. Results demonstrated that there were significant differences between newspapers serving larger, more urban communities and smaller, more rural communities. Findings indicate that urban audiences are exposed to messages that discourage participation in the natural world. Messages regarding human-wildlife conflict in newspapers serving larger, more urban communities should be reframed to avoid negative perceptions of nature and to motivate connection to the natural world.</p><p>

<p> Places are expressive, dynamic, and responsive beings voicing themselves at different scales of emergence. Placefields are the sites of research at the complex nexus of peoples, cultures, geography, experience, mythology, and place history in terrapsychology. Children are open and receptive to these expressive qualities of place, understanding these place emanations through the context provided to them by place-based educators and other adults. This four-month study at Lowell National Historical Park utilized terrapsychological inquiry to explore youth connection to the historic industrial placefield of Lowell, Massachusetts as experienced by learners and educators, reproduced through youth placefield encounters, and iterated through self, community, and as culture across scales. The arts-based research method of terrain weaving empowered this research to connect with complex pattern languages of Lowell, surfacing the symbolic repertoire of place, the somatic and psychological components of youth place encounter, the deep patterns of place that rise through the researcher, and the expansive states of consciousness that are catalyzed through complex place relationships. The difficult histories placefields perform reproduce their traumatic and historic woundings in the visiting psyche. At the same time, the underlying resilience, strengths, and gifts of places with difficult histories are vital assets to be liberated. The experiential and embodied elements of field trips make them powerful intersections for troubling the ways historic narratives are constructed. This research concludes it is possible to radically redesign field trips and recontextualize histories to provide a nourishing, regenerative place encounter by adopting complex, expansive, and agential understandings of place.</p><p>

<p> Mountains are filled with both mystery and grandeur. They are places where the natural world can be experienced in its most raw form. Humans have been climbing mountains for centuries, yet it is still difficult to adequately explain what draws people to the mountains. There is danger in the mountains, but there can also be rewards in the form of physical health, mental well-being, and personal growth. My climbing experience has led me to believe that these benefits are felt most when climbers approach a mountain with a sense of reverence and respect, and that the colonizing mindset of conquering a mountain or completing a tick-list is detrimental to the climber, the people that the climber interacts with, and the natural environment of the mountain. This study examines the worldviews of mountain climbers and the aspects of mountaineering that seem to enhance these worldviews. The worldviews of the mountaineers are explored in regard to both the natural environment and human society. Focus is placed on the aspects of mountaineering that seem to encourage biocentric worldviews, with the hope of being able to apply these findings to future sustainability initiatives. This study finds that mountaineers have a generally negative view of societies which put too much emphasis on material wealth, social prestige, and power structures. These materialistic tendencies of society are in direct contrast with the world of mountains. The benefits of climbing mountains are extensive, with personal and spiritual benefits being even more essential to the experience than the physical benefits. Climbers do not climb mountains for these benefits though; they climb mountains to climb. The findings of this study are discussed in terms of the future of climbing, environmental and social sustainability initiatives, and genuine learning experiences. </p><p>

<p> This study examines reasons for participation and barriers or obstacles to participation in sustainability-based organizations at a mid-size publicly-funded state university in the Mid-West. Based on participant observations and qualitative interviews with students, faculty, staff, and administration, this project examines the intra- and interpersonal factors associated with identity formation related to participation: alternative forms of educational pedagogy in relation to sustainability or environmental curriculum: collective action and resource mobilization as a means of increasing student awareness and participation in sustainability-based initiatives and activities on campus and among the greater community surrounding the campus: and finally, the specific dialogue in which sustainability is discussed and the ways in which this impacts the overall perception of sustainability as a concept and a movement. Due to the lack of participation among students in sustainability-based organizations and initiatives, this study explores barriers to participation and possible alternatives for increased engagement within diverse areas of the students experience to enhance this area of personal and educational development.</p><p>

M.A. / Peoples’ lives depend on the environment. Natural resources are vital for human survival. Human activity is degrading the environment and should, therefore, be managed. This is manifested in the environmental problems resulting from human activity. Soweto is one of those areas affected by environmental problems, such as air and water pollution, littering, the dumping of waste, a loss of bio-diversity, the depletion of natural resources, etc. Environmental awareness can be created through formal or informal education. As the first formal institution, the school can be used to create environmental awareness in children while they are still young, thus creating environmentally aware future citizens. The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Department of Education try to promote environmental awareness through the school curriculum. The contribution of educators, as drivers of the curriculum, is of paramount importance. This study investigates the impact of environmental education on learners’ environmental awareness levels, particularly among Grade 9 learners who are in their final year of the General Education and Training band (GET), compulsory education in selected Soweto schools. The study also assesses the attitudes of learners towards the environment and their knowledge of environmental issues. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used for the collection and analysis of data to assess the level of awareness among Grade 9 learners and educators in selected Soweto schools. Recommendations were made and conclusions drawn from the results of the study. This study concluded that environmental knowledge of learners is good but their attitude and behaviour towards the environment shows clearly that there is a lack of application of knowledge gained at school. The educators need more training on environmental issues and teaching methods to ensure that the environmental education forces application.

D.Ed. / Hierdie navorsing fokus op onderwysers se persepsies aangaande deurlopende professionele onderwyser ontwikkelingsprogramme in Omgewingsopvoeding en die mate waartoe dit hul onderwyspraktyk beïnvloed. Die navorsingsprobleem word omskryf deur die volgende sub-vrae: • Wat is die onderwysers se persepsies aangaande hul eie bekwaamhede in Omgewingsopvoedingspraktyke as resultaat van die indiensopleidingsinsette? • Welke onderwysstrategië en -metodes het die onderwysers tydens indiensopleiding aangeleer en op watter wyse(s) hul dit in die klaskamersituasie aanwend om hul praktyk te verbeter. • Watter kennis, vaardighede en waardes op die terrein van Omgewingsopvoeding het die onderwysers tydens die indiensopleidingsinsette aangeleer? • Watter riglyne kan uit die navorsing gepostuleer word ter optimalisering van indienslopleidingsinsette in die algemeen, en in besonder in die geval van insiensopleidingsprogramme vir Omgewingsopvoeding? Die navorsingsontwerp vir die empiriese komponent van hierdie navorsing het ‘n kombinasie van kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe navorsingsmetodes behels en deur middel van triangulering van die ingesamelde data toegepas. In die kwantitatiewe dimensie van die navorsing is ’n omvattende gestruktureerde vraelys ontwikkel en deur die steekproef van respondente, wat willekeurig uit die populasie getrek is, voltooi. Die data hierdeur verkry is aan beide die Kaiser-Meyer-Olken en die Bartlett toetse onderwerp. Die 33 (uit die oorspronklike 35) oorblywende items is aan twee opeenvolgende faktor-analise prosedure onderwerp op basis van die “Principle Axis Factoring” metode. Die kwalitatiewe dimensie van die navorsing het gesteun op fokusgroep onderhoude waaraan drie groepe van vyf respondente elk (‘n total van 15 respondente) deelgeneem het. Respondente vir hierdie drie groepe is willekeurige getrek om die volgende drie geografiese gebiede te verteenwoordig: Oos-Rand, Johannesburg-Suid en Johannesburg-Sentraal. ‘n Onderhoudskedule bestaande uit vier oop-end vrae is vir hierdie doel ontwikkel. Die data is op die wetenskaplik aanvaarde prosedure van bandopnames, transkripsies en verifiëring deur die respondente ingesamel, waarna dit gekodeer, grafies voorgestel en geanaliseer is. Die belangrikste bevindings van hierdie navorsing sluit in dat: • Die aantal vorige indiensopleidingsprogramme deurloop; die jare onderwyservaring bydra tot onderwysers se positiewe belewing van indiensopleidingsinsette vir Omgewingsopvoeding. • Indiensopleidingsprogramme wat voorsiening maak vir die volgende aspekte baie sterk positief beleef word:  groepwerk tussen deelnemers tydens die indiensopleidingsprogram;  geleentheid om die programinhoud in hul klaskamers te gaan toepas en daarna gesamentlik daarop te reflekteer; asook  geleenthede waar fasiliteerders van die indiensopleidingsprogramme die deelnemers in hul klaskamersituasie gaan waarneem en ondersteun in toepassing van die programinhoude. / Prof. H.G. Van Rooyen