Early childhood (3-5 yrs)

Environmental education has traditionally focused on increasing knowledge and encouraging pro-environmental behavior but has paid little attention to the emotional needs of its audience. Research shows that climate change disasters can cause lasting mental health impacts in children, and merely learning about climate change may harm a child's mental health. In addition, children are affected by adults' emotional states when experiencing or learning about climate change. Media articles indicate that parents and teachers seek advice on ways to speak to children about climate change.

People-nature interactions have steadily declined over the years due to a number of reasons, including industrialization and mass consumption of natural resources. This disconnect can be attributed to anthropocentrism. Anthropocentrism is the belief that humans are the center of the natural world, and because of it, natural resources exist solely for them. On the other hand, ecocentrism is the belief that although humans are considered a part of the natural world, they are not at the center.

Personal and social development (PSD) is the growth of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in learners and is largely discussed as a key benefit of environmental education. PSD can include traits such as increased confidence, trust, teamwork, motivation, social awareness, and pro-environmental behaviors in students. Many studies have used qualitative data to support the long-held claim that outdoor adventure education (OAE) helps participants develop PSD. However, there is growing demand to prove OAE's success in developing PSD quantitatively.

Connectedness to nature is a predictor for pro-environmental attitudes and actions. Children today are less connected to nature than prior generations. If the trend is not addressed, then the next generation may be less willing to combat environmental challenges. Early childhood educators have an important role in building nature relatedness (NR), a measure of connection to nature, for the next generation. However, there is a limited understanding of the various levels of NR in early childhood educators themselves, which is crucial for fostering NR in their students.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals established education for sustainable development (ESD) as a critical tool for addressing social inequality and environmental challenges. There has been a global push to implement the principles and practices of ESD, along with similar educational frameworks of development education (DE) and global citizenship education (GCED). The expansion of these three educational frameworks (DE/ESD/GCED) has required administrative effort and public spending by governments and educational institutions.

A main goal of environmental education is to inspire pro-environmental behaviors in students. Motivation to act is based on more factors than environmental literacy, such as emotion and empathy toward the environment. Research has proven that exposure to flora and fauna in natural settings can benefit humans and can evoke positive emotional experiences. In this chapter, the authors reviewed how emotion and empathy intersect with wildlife to help educators leverage these human elements in natural settings to encourage student action in conservation efforts.

Environmental education should promote positive relationships to self, community, and the natural world. Garden spaces are frequently used as locations for environmental education programs, and in this study the researchers hoped to deeply analyze garden-based learning programs to evaluate how these programs impact participants. This study focused on findings from three garden-based programs that the researchers had observed.

Attitudes toward the environment begin developing in childhood, which means that spending time outdoors can be a key factor in future pro-environmental behaviors. Children who spend time outdoors are more interested in and engaged with the natural world, leading to increases in students' health and motivation, interest in science, and environmental literacy, all while creating new habitats and contributing valuable data to monitor and assess biodiversity. This study looked specifically at the potential of school grounds to increase opportunities for outdoor learning in Britain.

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.

In early childhood outdoor classrooms loose parts are a popular tool for engaging children. Loose parts are objects children play with and manipulate, such as sticks and rocks found on the ground. The theory of loose parts, described as a method to promote creativity and healthy development in children through self-guided play, was first coined in the early 1970s. However, although the theory has grown in use, no distinct definition of loose parts exists for researchers and practitioners.