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    Environmental, Institutional, and Demographic Predictors of Environmental Literacy among Middle School Children

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    Author
    Stevenson, KT; Peterson, MN; Bondell, HD; Mertig, AG; Moore, SE
    Date
    2013-03-22
    Source Title
    PLoS One
    Publisher
    PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE
    University of Melbourne Author/s
    Bondell, Howard
    Affiliation
    School of Mathematics and Statistics
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Document Type
    Journal Article
    Citations
    Stevenson, K. T., Peterson, M. N., Bondell, H. D., Mertig, A. G. & Moore, S. E. (2013). Environmental, Institutional, and Demographic Predictors of Environmental Literacy among Middle School Children. PLOS ONE, 8 (3), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059519.
    Access Status
    Open Access
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11343/255631
    DOI
    10.1371/journal.pone.0059519
    Abstract
    Building environmental literacy (EL) in children and adolescents is critical to meeting current and emerging environmental challenges worldwide. Although environmental education (EE) efforts have begun to address this need, empirical research holistically evaluating drivers of EL is critical. This study begins to fill this gap with an examination of school-wide EE programs among middle schools in North Carolina, including the use of published EE curricula and time outdoors while controlling for teacher education level and experience, student attributes (age, gender, and ethnicity), and school attributes (socio-economic status, student-teacher ratio, and locale). Our sample included an EE group selected from schools with registered school-wide EE programs, and a control group randomly selected from NC middle schools that were not registered as EE schools. Students were given an EL survey at the beginning and end of the spring 2012 semester. Use of published EE curricula, time outdoors, and having teachers with advanced degrees and mid-level teaching experience (between 3 and 5 years) were positively related with EL whereas minority status (Hispanic and black) was negatively related with EL. Results suggest that school-wide EE programs were not associated with improved EL, but the use of published EE curricula paired with time outdoors represents a strategy that may improve all key components of student EL. Further, investments in teacher development and efforts to maintain enthusiasm for EE among teachers with more than 5 years of experience may help to boost student EL levels. Middle school represents a pivotal time for influencing EL, as improvement was slower among older students. Differences in EL levels based on gender suggest boys and girls may possess complementary skills sets when approaching environmental issues. Our findings suggest ethnicity related disparities in EL levels may be mitigated by time spent in nature, especially among black and Hispanic students.

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