This project involved examining the most widely used instrument designed to evaluate the quality of early learning environments, the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised Edition (ECERS-R). There are many aspects related to the way that the ECERS-R is used in practice that can vary from one observation to the next. The method in which…

The physical environment of a school community provides more than shelter and work space. It conveys values and messages about who is welcome, what is important, and how children learn. School is a place where children, staff and families spend much of their time, where routine needs are met, relationships are developed, skills are learned,…

In this review essay, Clarence Joldersma argues for a novel role for science in developing an affirmative answer to his title question, "How can science help us care for nature?" He does so in dialogue with Clare Palmer's edited volume, "Teaching Environmental Ethics," Dirk Postma's "Why Care for Nature?" and Michael Bonnett's "Retrieving Nature."…

This secondary analysis examined relationships between the environment and adherence to a walking intervention among 252 urban and suburban, midlife African American women. Participants received an enhanced or minimal behavioral intervention. Walking adherence was measured as the percentage of prescribed walks completed. Objective measures of the…

The authors developed a framework of empirically grounded curricular goals for water-science literacy and documented the challenges that students face in achieving these goals. Water-related environmental science literacy requires an understanding of connected natural and human-engineered systems at multiple scales ranging from atomic-molecular…

As part of a pilot program, the researchers sought to develop an instrument that would effectively measure the nature awareness of students. With this information, the researchers correlated nature awareness scores and science averages. According to Salomon and Perkins' theory of transfer, experiences in one situation can influence experiences in…

Increasing rates of childhood obesity has prompted calls for comprehensive approaches to school-based physical activity (PA). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) development and related contextual issues within a rural Appalachian county using a Systems Approach. A…

Back in 1958, environmental clubs were few, organizations that considered eco-practices were almost non-existent, and the concept of environmental studies at any level in their educational system was in its infancy. It was in this environment that Voyageur Wilderness Programme (VWP) was founded on Voyageur Island, Nym Lake, Quetico, Ontario,…

Schools presently operate without a method for recognizing how the relational aspects of the school environment impacts physical safety. Using two previously unrelated frameworks, NIMS/ICS and the Taguiri model, this paper connects the formal curriculum to relational, administrative and physical safety. The first model presented, National Incident…

The new paradigm in ecology emphasizes dynamic change, disturbance, and nonequilibrium in natural systems, and it presents some challenges for contemporary environmental aesthetics, one of which has to do with the thesis known as "scientific cognitivism." Scientific cognitivism holds that appropriate aesthetic appreciation of nature must be…

It has been argued in recent educational literature that assessment drives learning, and that assessment should therefore rigorously align with the intended outcomes of a course of study. This article describes a research project analysing the assessment tool for the research component of a professional degree in a faculty of engineering and the…

Educable mental retardation is a delay in acquiring basic reading, writing and counting skills emerging through late speaking and linguistic development along with social, emotional or behavioral problems. It is pointed out that such children have intelligence in the 45-74 range, and that they are incompetent in terms of language skills,…

While "lasting effects" of outdoor experiences have been suggested, few empirical studies have traced influences more than one year after the experiences. This study examines the written responses of 67 Japanese expedition participants who took part in a British-organized overseas youth expedition 20-23 years ago, to investigate their…

This article explores how to adopt a gender perspective in the analysis of educational facilities. It argues that social relations are influenced by the physical environment, and that social and physical aspects are often interlinked. Although difficult to measure, including a gender perspective in international research and other projects on…

Previous studies on the impact of perceived threat on confirmatory information search (selective exposure) in the context of decision making have yielded mixed results. Some studies have suggested that confirmatory information search is reduced, yet others have found contradictory effects. The present series of 5 studies consistently found that…