Barriers to Environmental Education

Abstract

Personal interviews with elementary teachers were conducted to identify and determine the relative importance of barriers to environmental education (EE) in Palouse-region public schools. Results indicated that lack of time (both in the school day and for preparation) was the most important barrier. Other important logistical barriers were lack of instructional materials and lack of funding. Conceptual barriers included a nearly exclusive focus on science and an emphasis on the cognitive aspects of EE. Another barrier stemmed from teachers' misgivings about their own competence to teach EE. Although teachers generally had positive attitudes toward EE, most lacked the commitment to actually teach EE. Recommendations for reducing these barriers are presented, as are specific recommendations for future research.