Assessing the need for including environmental education in teacher trainings

Yates, K. ., Reefer, A. ., Robertson, D. ., Hubbard-Sanchez, J. ., Huss, J. ., & Wilder, M. . (2019). Educators’ perceptions of environmental education and professional development in teacher preparation programs. Applied Environmental Education & Communication, 18, 207-218.

Environmental education (EE) is widely perceived as a critical component of education as a whole. However, while studies have shown that a vast majority of parents believe that EE should be taught in schools, teachers often lack the knowledge or experience required to teach EE due to insufficient training. Additional research has shown that when teachers are introduced to EE through preparation programs, they are more willing to teach it. This study aimed to determine whether there was a need or desire for the inclusion of EE training for PK-12 teachers.

The three part study took place in Kentucky with participants who were connected to the education field. In the first part, Kentucky University Partnership for Environmental Education (KUPEE) developed two surveys and protocols for administering focus groups. Participants in the first survey were 71 KUPEE contacts in the education field consisting of preservice and inservice teachers, administrators, and university faculty. Topics that had high levels of agreements were later used in the second part of the study to start discussions in the focus groups. All participants who completed the surveys were invited to participate in the focus groups—the researchers held 5 focus groups ranging from 9 to 18 people in size, with a mix of teachers, faculty, and administrators in each. In addition to the topics selected from the survey, the focus groups discussed a few leading questions to determine data that would be useful to inform educators about the benefits of EE, factors that motivate educators to use EE, and gather thoughts on why preservice teachers should be trained in EE.

Once the initial survey and focus groups were completed, responses were analyzed for common themes. These themes were then used to develop questions for the EE Preparation Needs Assessment Survey, which was distributed via email to two listservs for environmental educators and science teachers. One hundred and forty-one inservice teachers and administrators completed the needs assessment, and responses were analyzed for common themes.

The responses from the second survey indicated participants strongly agreed that environmental literacy and EE knowledge and training for preservice and inservice teachers is important. The participants indicated that there were few opportunities to learn about EE during the teachers' education process, and that EE guidelines were not a part of preservice training. The participants indicated that receiving EE training as a preservice teacher and having professional development offered at their schools would be the most impactful way to increase the likelihood of EE being incorporated into teaching.

The participants relayed that real world application of material and increasing student engagement was their top motivation to include EE in their curricula. The second most frequent motivation was civic engagement within the community and school. Finally, around 50% of the participants completed an open-ended question asking them to note where they received formal EE training (if at all)—just over a third of the respondents had experience from their graduate education, while around 20% had experience from their undergraduate education, and 14% received training through professional development and workshops. These results highlight the need for more EE training opportunities for preservice and inservice Kentucky teachers.

This study had limitations. The study only included participants who were either known contacts of KUPEE members or had access to the listservs used for the second survey. While these groups likely contained the target audience for the surveys and focus groups, there may have been other educators or administrators whose feedback could be valuable. Also, because the study only included participants from Kentucky, generalization to other states or countries is limited.

The researchers recommend that currents teachers and preservice teachers should be taught ways to incorporate EE into their classrooms. They suggest that Kentucky require EE as a component of statewide teacher certification programs by partnering with organizations including the Kentucky Association for Environmental Education. Additional recommendations include providing teachers with relevant and convenient professional development opportunities, as well as continuing to share the benefits of integrating EE into classroom curricula. Lastly, the researchers recommend providing teachers with NAAEE's Environmental Education Guidelines for Excellence to assist teachers with selection and implementation of EE curricula.

The Bottom Line

<p>Environmental education (EE) is a key component of education, but there is often a lack of EE training for teachers. The researchers conducted the study in three parts—initial survey, focus groups, and final survey—on educators, administrators, and university faculty in Kentucky to determine whether there was a need or desire for EE training for PK-12 teachers. Data collected from the first survey and focus groups was used to create the Environmental Education Preparation Needs Assessment Survey, which researchers shared via listservs to 141 educators and administrators. They found that the respondents emphasized the value of EE training for teachers, and that there were few opportunities for professional development or training with regards to EE. The researchers also noted that receiving EE training as a preservice teacher and having professional development offered at schools were two options that would increase the likelihood of EE being used in teaching. The researchers recommended EE be incorporated into teacher certifications, and schools should provide teachers professional development opportunities and the NAAEE Guidelines for Excellence.</p>

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