The aim of this study was to better understand how Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) policy has been developed and mobilized across subnational contexts in a federated system. We undertook a comparative analysis of sustainability-specific policy and curricula documents from all Canadian provinces and territories. We identified three…

Identifies the elements that contribute most to effective environment education. Finds that environmental educators believe that the framework provides a valid and useful representation of the major elements that contribute to successful environmental education. (Author/CCM)

Argues that the predominant research, development, and diffusion model of curriculum development maintains the present emphasis on factual or empirical questions about the environment and views curriculum change as training teachers to adopt ideas and behaviors determined by external authorities. Examines two alternative curriculum theories for…

Describes the Environmental Education Curriculum Inventory, which was used to evaluate environmental education (EE) curricula and programs to determine how well they represent EE's substantive structure as expressed in the Goals for Curriculum Development in Environmental Education. (Contains 28 references.) (Author/YDS)

Presents a broad foundational base to support dialog, research, and curriculum emphasis on risk literacy in environmental education. Discusses the need for risk education, the perception-of-risk psychological construct, support from the developmental theories of Piaget and Erickson, and how to infuse risk literacy into the curriculum. (Contains 29…

Reviews several classroom techniques. Presents examples to illustrate the use of authentic assessment at an ecology education center. Discusses issues such as the correlation of learning objectives and program content, development and scoring, and other considerations associated with the implementation of authentic assessment. (Author/CCM)

Describes status/role of values education, considering educational approaches to values by highlighting distinctive features of each. A values model is proposed to aid environmental educators in planning/conducting a value-based curriculum. Fourteen skills are listed which can be used to build a curriculum which incorporates a wide range of…

Describes a program evaluation of the Rouge Education Project (REP), a school-based environmental education program that uses water monitoring, telecommunications, and student actions to improve water quality. Reports that results indicated that the REP met its goals of increasing awareness and concern about the Rouge River and developing a…

Following discussion of the philosophical underpinnings for values objectivity and a review of tenents of Piaget's and Kohlberg's (cognitive/moral development) theories, offers a blueprint for establishing a comprehensive values education program needed in environmental education. (JN)

Describes an experimental environmental education course in rural schools in India's central Himalayas. The course was designed to introduce environmental and livelihood issues into the mainstream curriculum. The course focuses on land degradation, which is the region's major environmental problem. (Author/MM)

Assessed perceived K-16 environmental education curriculum (EE) needs by questionnaires mailed to 169 environmental educators (58.6 percent response rate). Findings show a consensus that EE goals are important ones and that extensive needs exist for both goal-oriented curricula and teacher education. Includes implications based on these and other…

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife created the NatureMapping Program through a partnership with the Washington Cooperative Research Unit Gap Analysis Project (WCRUGAP). This program enables volunteers to collect environmental data that are valuable to governments and communities for problem solving and decision making. (Author/SAH)

In this article, the author describes a model for environmental education curriculum development in the public schools based on a decision-making approach. Included in the curriculum content are problems concerning the methods of science, technology, and morality, all being considered as an integral part of environmental education. (MA)

Provides an overview of recent and current activity in environmental education, particularly as it relates to program evaluation in elementary/secondary schools. Areas addressed include goals/objectives; environmental concepts; attitudes, behaviors values; skills; settings, methods, themes; teacher effectiveness; and evaluation needs. Includes…

Describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a transportation curriculum module (focusing on community transportation and on global impact of one's individual transportation decisions). Results indicate that the module, which consists of five units, can succeed in improving student attitudes, values, and skill development. (JN)