AN INVESTIGATION OF AN ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS ...

AN INVESTIGATION OF AN ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS AFTERSCHOOL

PROGRAM ON STUDENTS¡¯ ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY

Katharine McPhail Scala

May, 2015

? Katharine McPhail Scala, 2015

Work Submitted in partial completion of Master of Science in Environmental Education, Montreat

College, Montreat, NC 28757

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ABSTRACT

This study investigated an environmentally conscious afterschool program, Art in the

Afternoon, and its impacts on students¡¯ environmental literacy (EL). The goal of environmental

education (EE) is to create EL citizens but EE has encountered barriers when attempting to

incorporate into public school curriculum. Afterschool programs are on the rise. These

programs offer flexibility and the ability to change student behavior. Afterschool programs

could be a vehicle for EE and the development of EL citizens. In this mixed methods study,

baseline EL scores were collected for both students and parent/guardians via surveys. From

these surveys, the family units were grouped based on their scores. Parents/guardians were

selected randomly to interview about the impacts Art in the Afternoon had on their

child/children. Results showed that students were bringing home environmental behaviors such

as recycling and reusing material. These behaviors were being modeling by Art in the Afternoon

instructors and as a result impacted the students¡¯ EL. However, if the program had followed the

NAAEE Guidelines for Learning and incorporated all strands of understanding, the students

could potentially deepen their level of EL.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Dottie Shuman for the countless hours she

spent assisting me with this study. Without her encouragement I would never have completed

the task. Thank you to Dr. Brad Daniel who always reminded me of my potential. To my

wonderful parents who are always there for me through thick and thin. Finally, I would like to

thank my husband who has always supported my goals and dreams no matter how lofty they may

seem.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Signature Page¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..i

Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii

Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. vi

List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii

List of Figures .................................................................................................................... iv

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................1

Background¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..1

Research Questions/ Purpose ...................................................................................2

Definitions¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­3

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .........................................................................4

The Need for Environmental Literacy .....................................................................4

Environmental Education leads to Environmental Literacy ....................................5

Advancing Environmental Literacy through the benefits of Environmental

Education .................................................................................................................6

Barriers to Environmental Education in Public Schools¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..8

Afterschool Programs¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..10

Environmental Education in Afterschool Programs¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­12

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