Academic performance

Geography, the study of the world as a natural system, provides a foundation for environmental education. Past research has suggested three factors influence student attitudes toward a school subject: the student's personal interest in the subject, their expected value of a career in the subject, and their personal aptitude and success in the subject. However, there has been little research on student attitudes toward geography. This paper set out to assess student attitudes toward the school subject of geography in Ghana.

There are many benefits associated with outdoor field trips for students, including: increased ecological knowledge, connection to nature, cognitive skills, and student interest and motivation. Field trips are conducive for discovering information and exploring concepts outside of the classroom. However, educators may resist field trips for a variety of reasons, such as lack of funding, liability concerns, curriculum inflexibility due to focus on standardized testing, fear of poor student behavior, logistical challenges, and lack of time or training.

Education for sustainable development (ESD) complements traditional environmental education. It takes a three-pronged approach by looking at the ecological, social, and economic sectors, their context across time, and how they affect the world at every scale. This teaching technique encourages students to think and open discussions using a pluralistic approach – bringing together diverse perspectives – and act for sustainable development. The purpose of any educational pedagogy or topic is to affect change and realize an outcome.

Educators face unique challenges in the classroom while teaching, and they have to identify and address these challenges for the benefit of student learning. This is defined as noticing, or the three-step process by which teachers balance instruction and observation simultaneously. These three steps include perception, interpretation, and decision-making. Perception occurs when the teacher observes the situation as they are teaching. Interpretation is when educators evaluate the occurrence. Decision-making is the action or actions the teacher takes ad hoc to respond to the situation.

The European Union has been working to shift to a circular economy, an economic model which focuses on the entire life cycle of a product (production, consumption, waste management, etc.). The purpose of a circular economy is to receive the most utility out of the product while limiting emissions and waste. Yet, there remains skepticism about this new model, both among the general population and among specialized professionals such as technicians, engineers, and researchers.

Climate change education (CCE) in the United States has not been widely implemented into public education. Typically, climate change is taught in science classrooms, but climate change is an issue that affects society as well. The authors of this paper suggest that teaching about climate through the humanities—such as art, history, economics, and literature—could encourage students to empathize with those affected.

Cultivating systems thinking in high school students provides them with the necessary tools to tackle global environmental issues. Systems thinking is a process of understanding how different parts of a system interact to produce a functioning whole. This approach to problem solving enables an understanding of how a system will behave as well as how to modify the system for more desirable outcomes. Given the importance of systems thinking in solving complex or “wicked” problems, educators must have the requisite tools and resources to promote systems thinking.

Environmental subjective well-being is defined as the relationship between a person's well-being and their willingness to protect the natural environment. Previous research suggests that positivity is associated with the adoption of pro-environmental behaviors. Environmental hope is a link between improving positivity and encouraging environmental behaviors. Based on previous studies, the researchers developed a model that suggests that high environmental hope will lead to a high positivity ratio (PR) and greater engagement with the environment among students.

One third of food consumed by humans is dependent on pollinators, making them essential to environmental systems and food production. Unfortunately, pollinator populations have been declining. In response, many organizations have created new educational programs focused on pollination systems and pollinator conservation. However, no standard exists for what students should be expected to know about pollination systems, and no baseline exists for what students currently know.

Creative thinking is an essential skill for solving complex problems. Past research has shown that early childhood (3-5 years) is an invaluable time to instill creative thinking skills and pro-environmental values. Nature preschools, which provide age-appropriate learning with nature as their central theme, may help to foster creative thinking and pro-environmental values during early childhood. Nature preschools commonly employ “nature play,” which includes unstructured activities in natural outdoor environments.