Views From the Field: Conservation Educators’ and Practitioners’ Perceptions of Education as a Strategy for Achieving Conservation Outcomes

Abstract

This article presents data from a mixed-methods study that collected data through surveys (n = 656), interviews (n = 15), and discussion groups (n = 75) to explore the use of social strategies such as education and outreach by non-governmental organizations and government agencies to reach outcomes related to biodiversity conservation and resource management. We examine and juxtapose perceptions of conservation practitioners with those of conservation educators regarding the efficacy of education to reach conservation or resource management goals. We explore how to facilitate integration among policy, science, and education efforts, and we suggest theoretical augmentations for conceptions of education and social strategies within conservation organizations.

Keywords:

• conservation education
• mixed-method studies
• natural resources
• professional development

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Education Training Partnership (EETAP) provided funding for this study. We appreciate the thoughtful input provided by the core team members and advisors: Judy Braus (North American Association for Environmental Education), Janet Ady and Georgia Jeppesen (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Conservation Training Center), Jackie Ogden (Walt Disney Parks and Resorts), Jill Mellen (Disney's Animal Kingdom), and Nancy Hotchkiss (National Aquarium in Baltimore). We also thank Kimberley Marchant (WWF) for research assistance.

Notes

1. The lead partner on this project is the National Audubon Society, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Conservation Training Center and other government agencies, nonprofits, zoos, and aquariums.

2. Sample organizations and agencies included: the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Defenders of Wildlife, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Monterey Bay Aquarium, St. Louis Zoo, and Zoo Atlanta, among others.

3. We used these groups to generate ideas as part of an open brainstorming process. As we did not conduct representational sampling nor did we continue to data exhaustion or focus toward a specific question, these were not “focus groups” in their most rigorous sense and, therefore, we term them “data discussion groups” (Clark, n.d.).

4. The lack of expertise among both educators and practitioners with regard to engaging community members represents an area of concern: If conservation actions and goals are most appropriately taken and met by adults and community members, yet education programs are developed based on tools for working with children, this could lead to a disconnection between the educators, practitioners, perceptions of outcomes, and potential for success.