Environmental Education Research Bulletin

Large-scale public campaigns about contentious environmental issues can be among the most effective ways to change public opinion and spark meaningful action. However, if these public campaigns aren't approached in the right way, they can actually generate increased public criticism regarding the issue. The authors of this paper discuss two public campaigns: one was publicly criticized and the other successfully raised public concern and led to federal policy changes. Specifically, the authors investigated how one-way communication can either succeed or backfire depending on the context.

Promoting a sense of connectedness with nature has become an increasingly discussed topic in EE over the past several years. The basic premise is that those who feel that nature is an extension of their own selves are more likely to take care of it. However, few quantitative studies have been conducted to measure the effectiveness of EE programs at promoting a sustained sense of connectedness with nature. This paper reports on two studies aimed at addressing this gap.

Indigenous environmental knowledge (IEK) has increasingly been used in environmental education to create more meaningful learning experiences that draw on diverse sources of knowledge. IEK is usually attached to particular places, people, and cultural traditions, and taught through spoken word, imitation, and demonstration. Often this knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation by elder community members. The authors point out that IEK is reflective of everyday life and therefore tends to be integrative, holistic, and practical.

Environmental education (EE) programs often take a stance, sometimes implicit, about the ethically appropriate relationship between humans and their environment. However, this paper's authors argue that most current environmental education research fails to consider the rich diversity of ethical positions within the field of environmental ethics. In this paper, the authors present a framework for analyzing the ethical positions embedded in educational materials and social exchanges.

As the school year began, a teacher and doctoral student had a shared vision: to turn a vast, brown landscape of dry grass in the elementary schoolyard into a thriving, productive garden. Together, these two realized that bringing the outside world into the school day could cultivate a sense of environmental stewardship inside their classroom. They wondered: Could a vegetable garden, designed and maintained by elementary students, be an ideal way to bring the outside in?

Global consumption of materials and energy is one of the greatest contributors to current environmental crises. However, sustainable consumption curricula and corresponding educational research are in their infancy. The author of this paper used recent case studies and EE literature to investigate discrepancies between consumption patterns and attitudes within different socioeconomic contexts. Based on her findings, the author proposes that the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) framework could address challenges of teaching sustainable consumption behavior by shifting the paradigm altogether.

One of the critical questions that is still challenging and persistent in environmental education (EE) research is why some EE programs are more effective than others at encouraging students' intention to undertake environmentally friendly behaviors. This study investigates one framework—called self-determination theory (SDT)—which explores what motivates people to act. SDT identifies three psychological needs that, when met, increase a person's motivation to act as well as long-term interest in the content. These three elements are competence, relatedness, and autonomy.

Understanding how ecosystems function is a critical element of environmental education. However, learning about ecosystems can be difficult because of the complexity of the relationships between the different ecosystem components. Past research has shown conceptual representations that enable students to organize these relationships may help them develop the necessary reasoning skills to understand complex systems. These conceptual representations may also allow students to bring these skills to other contexts.

Research shows that what communicators call a phenomenon, or how they frame it, has a tremendous effect on how audiences come to perceive that phenomenon. Although most Americans are familiar with the term global warming, there are three other phrases that have been coined by different influential advocates to describe environmental changes: climate change, climate crisis, and climatic disruption.

Place-based environmental education provides opportunities for students to learn in a context that is local, familiar, and relevant. The author of this paper focused on a place-based teaching technique—community mapping—to see how it might influence students' relationships to nature. Community mapping allows community members to express their knowledge, values, and visions spatially as they draw connections between people and place. Additionally, it gives participants a voice as they express their own representations and connections.