The Effect of the National Environmental Education Act on Secondary and Elementary Schools in Two Mid-Western States.
Grant, Ulyses Simpson, Iii
1981
Abstract
This study investigates the impact the National Environmental Education Act of 1970 has had on the evaluation of four environmental education programs in two mid-western states. The states and two representative cities selected within each were Illinois (Springfield and Decatur) and Michigan (Lansing and Ann Arbor). These particular selections were chosen to compare a state that has a m and ated Environmental Education Program (Illinois), as opposed to a state that does not have one (Michigan). Secondly, it documents the growth of the four identified environmental education programs from their inception to the present, and indicates the state's impact on local environmental education. Finally, it compares the historical growth of these programs so that the relationships between policies and implemented programs can be identified and recommendations be made in order to obtain more effective programs in the future. The procedure employed in conducting this research was a case study approach. The case study approach provided comprehensive descriptions and explanations of many components in given social situations. The method of sampling in this study was purposive sampling. This sampling was used to pick cases that are judged to be typical of the population in which one is interested. Using this sampling technique, respondents were selected by developing and implementing a network which utilized known individuals involved with environmental education in each of the selected cities. These people, in turn, provided the names of others. The next group was contacted by using the same procedure, until all the respondents involved were contacted and identified. Questionnaires and interviews were the test instruments used for collecting data for the research. The data indicated that the National Environmental Education Act of 1970 had little or no effect on environmental education programs in the selected states and their individual cities. Respondents in each state were knowledgeable that an Act at the Federal level has passed concerning environmental education, but they had little knowledge of its aims or functions. There was a great deal of diversity in how environmental education programs were conducted in the individual school districts. The programs utilized a variety of instructional strategies, such asp small group projects, class discussions, and camping and field trips to ecology and nature centers. Within each school district monies were inadequate for the support of environmental programs, mainly because environmental education was not considered to be one of the top priorities. Data from the study has illustrated that the teaching of environmental education as stated in the guidelines of the National Environmental Education Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-516) has a long way to go before becoming a reality in the respective school districts observed in this study.Types
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