https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4042-0360
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Abstract
Do preparation and perceived support from guardians and teachers influence student attendance to a residential environmental education (EE) field trip program? To explore this question, pre-visit surveys were administered to racially diverse sixth-grade students at seven schools invited to attend a residential EE program at no cost, namely NorthBay Education in North East, Maryland, USA. Results indicate that while desire to attend the residential camp did not differ by students’ racial identity, Black and Latinx students were less likely to attend the program. Guardian support to attend and logistical preparation were each positively related to student attendance, irrespective of racial group, with Latinx students reporting the lowest levels of guardian support to attend. Black student attendance was also correlated with geographic and psychological preparation. Tailoring pre-trip preparation and engagement to address the unique needs of each schools’ student body is likely needed to promote student attendance. However, these results indicate that inequities in program attendance persist across racial groups and further investigation into program conception, design, communication, and execution is needed to understand and address this concern.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the staff at NorthBay Education for providing funding for this project and helping to collect these data and to the students who provided the data. While the COVID-19 pandemic halted our efforts in this study, which was intended to be more expansive, NorthBay was an exceptional partner while dealing with the many challenges the pandemic brought. We would also like to thank the Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation for partial funding of this project.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
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Notes on contributors
Kelley C. Anderson
Kelley C. Anderson is a Senior Research Associate at Virginia Tech and earned her Ph.D. in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation in 2021. Her research focuses on environmental education, evaluation, and adaptive management. In recognition of her work and service at Virginia Tech, she received the 2021 A.B. Massey Outstanding Doctoral Student Award for the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation.
Marc J. Stern
Marc J. Stern is a Professor in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech, where his teaching and scholarship focus on environmental education, interpretation, and communication; evaluation research; and the human dimensions of natural resource management and sustainability. His recent book, Social Science Theory for Environmental Sustainability: A Practical Guide, published by Oxford University Press, serves as a field guide for conservation practitioners and graduate students to translate social science knowledge into practical application.
Robert B. Powell
Robert B. Powell is the George B. Hartzog, Jr. Endowed Professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management and the Dept. of Forestry and Environmental Conservation at Clemson University and the Director of the Institute for Parks, which is an interdisciplinary institute focused on providing research, training, and outreach to support park and protected area management. His research and outreach program focuses on environmental education, interpretation, park and protected areas, and sustainable tourism and he is the co-editor of the Journal of Interpretation Research.