Environmental stewardship is an important attribute for students and populations of all ages to have. This study looked at the effect of middle school students of a teacher who participated in a summer field ecology training program taking part in a long-term ecology project, and the impact of the experience on their environmental stewardship attitude. A variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to look at changes in students' environmental stewardship attitudes including: surveying in a pre/post format, teacher, parent, and student focus groups, and teacher interviews. The teacher's experience with the summer field ecology training provided a foundation for development of curriculum and confidence in carrying out fieldwork with his students. Results indicate that participation in a long-term project contributed towards an increase in the students' environmental stewardship attitude, especially if the students reported having taken part in environmental activities in the past or if they were female. The results also indicate a number of implications for other schools and teachers including: focusing on middle school students, good teacher training, focused, long-term projects for students, support for teachers for project implementation, and ecological restoration as part of the student projects.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:pdx.edu/oai:pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu:open_access_etds-1559 |
| Date | 01 January 2011 |
| Creators | Fischer, Kelly Anne |
| Publisher | PDXScholar |
| Source Sets | Portland State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Dissertations and Theses |
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