An Elementary School Environmental Education Field Trip: Long-Term Effects on Ecological and Environmental Knowledge and Attitude Development

Abstract

Using phenomenological analysis, the authors examined the long-term effects of an environmental education school field trip on fourth grade elementary students who visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The authors' findings suggest that one year after the experience, many students remembered what they had seen and heard and had developed a perceived proenvironmental attitude. The authors discuss the phenomenological analysis, cite interviews with students, and draw conclusions on the effect of the field trip.

Keywords:

• environmental education
• field trips
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• memory retention