Assessing impacts of locally designed environmental education projects on students’ environmental attitudes, awareness, and intention to act

Abstract

This study investigates whether consistent effects on students’ environmental attitudes, awareness, and behavioral intentions could be discerned in an initiative that supports environmental education (EE) designed at the classroom level. Students of grades four, five, and seven participated in an assessment at the beginning and end of the school year. Quantitative assessment questions were adapted from the Children’s Environmental Perception Scale. Factor analysis identified three factors related to intentions for environmental learning and behavior, environmental appreciation, and awareness of the potential to impact nature. Qualitative items assessed students’ perception of their EE experience. Over one school year, fourth- and fifth-grade EE students gained awareness of the potential to impact nature, but EE students did not exhibit changes to environmental appreciation or intentions for environmental learning and behavior. With increasing years of EE experience, students demonstrated slight increases in environmental appreciation and intentions for environmental learning and behavior. Students’ recollection of in-class discussions primarily related to cognitive and psychomotor domains, with minimal mention of social or affective themes. Student perspectives highlighted individuals’ unique interests, which may not be fostered when all students conduct the same activity. Over a third of all students most enjoyed the EE experience for the chance to be outside, and only five percent most enjoyed gaining environmental knowledge.

Keywords:

• environmental education
• environmental awareness
• behavior
• attitude
• children

Acknowledgements

I extend a deep gratitude to all educators who are preparing youth to actively participate in a more sustainable future. Thanks to all teachers, students, and administrators with whom I had the opportunity to work over the years of developing and implementing this study. I particularly thank Joan Chadde, Shawn Oppliger, and Lloyd Westcoat of the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative for their dedication to youth environmental stewardship in the Lake Superior region, Edward Cokely and Joseph Bump for their mentorship and support, and Brian Rajdl for his collegiality as an enthusiastic environmental educator. Reviews by Edward Cokely, Kedmon Hungwe, and three anonymous reviewers resulted in significant improvements to an earlier version of this manuscript. This work was partially supported by the United States National Science Foundation (DGE 0841073).

Notes

1. The post-survey included 13 items to assess potential moderating variables, such as the extent of time spent reflecting through in-class discussions, the extent to which students were involved in decision-making about their projects, the amount of time spent outdoors on their projects, etc. However, a quantitative analysis of the relationship between student gains and potential explanatory factors was not possible, because students of experiential EE changed in only one factor, and for that factor, 91% of the students in affected classes had the highest possible score in post-tests.

2. In such comparison between environmental awareness, attitudes, and behaviors, measures should share the same level of specificity, also referred to as measurement correspondence (Bamberg 2003; Kaiser, Wölfing, and Fuhrer 1999). In the present study, questions about awareness, attitudes, and behavioral intuitions maintained a general level of measurement specificity related to environmental stewardship (e.g. ‘we need to take better care of plants and animals’) rather than a specific level of specificity (e.g. ‘whenever I see a burning garbage heap, I don’t think of anything bad’, Müller, Kals, and Pansa 2009).