Environmental education (EE) has been practiced in the United States since the early twentieth century and helps students develop environmental literacy and the tools to address global climate issues. As scientists have predicted worsening climate conditions that will negatively impact human health and ecosystems, EE is well-positioned to positively influence students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes, leading to more pro-environmental behaviors over time to collectively reduce the negative impacts of climate change. Though previous research has produced insights into the strategies of past EE programs and suggestions for pathways forward to produce particular EE outcomes, there is a lack of applicable frameworks linking EE strategies to outcomes. The researchers in this study conducted a literature review to identify the outcomes and strategies of secondary school EE programs in the United States to develop the Implementation of Authentic Environmental Education Programs (IAEEP) model for educators.
The researchers conducted the initial literature review in May 2018. They performed a search of a research database to identify peer-reviewed studies written in English published between 2011 and 2018 that fell within two subjects: 1) education and 2) agricultural sciences, natural resources, and life sciences. The search terms included "environmental education” and terms associated with secondary education in the United States, such as "high school,” "secondary students,” and "ninth grade.” After the search and exclusion method, 27 studies satisfied the researchers' requirements for review. A second phase of the review occurred in January 2019. A similar review process was completed but included an expanded date range. This second phase yielded an additional 12 studies to include in the overall study. The researchers analyzed a total of 39 studies to derive categories of best teaching methods and develop the process of effective EE in secondary schools in the United States. This analysis led the researchers to develop the IAEEP model with six strategies to help educators reach EE outcomes.
The literature review showed that the most common outcome of EE in secondary education in the United States are pro-environmental behaviors. Engaging teaching methods such group activities, projects with real-world applications, time to reflect, and collaborations with community members increased students' environmental literacy, meaning their awareness, knowledge, skills, and attitudes. These methods lead to pro-environmental behavior outcomes in students and students valuing the EE program more deeply. Authenticity was found to be a key aspect of EE in the literature review, affording a specific link between teaching methods and achieving positive outcomes. For example, when students perceived the program facilitator to be passionate about the subject and open to critical discussion, the students perceived authenticity in the program, which led to more frequent positive outcomes. The literature review informed the six strategies for educators in the IAEEP, which included 1) connecting with others, 2) creating safe spaces, 3) demonstrating relevance, 4) mitigating complexity, 5) supporting the individual, and 6) using technology.
There were limitations to this study. The researchers acknowledged that the literature review did not capture all relevant literature. For example, they excluded dissertations and non-peer-reviewed papers. The researchers also limited their research to EE in the American secondary education system, which is not representative of the full scope of EE.
Based on the literature review, the researchers suggested that EE facilitators, topics, and assignments must be perceived as authentic by students for an EE program to successfully achieve desired outcomes (i.e., behavior change), particularly for secondary school students. The IAEEP can serve as a roadmap for EE educators with six strategies that help teachers create authentic experiences and engaging programming.
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