Influence of Environmental Education on Environmentally Responsible Behaviors of Undergraduate Students in a Traditional and Nontraditional Setting, The

Research comparing traditional versus nontraditional classroom instruction has yet to bring forth any compelling results to assist in delineating which methodology is more effective in producing environmentally responsible behaviors. While previous studies have focused on students' acquisition of positive environmental attitudes, there continues to be a compelling need to turn attitudes into actions in order to promote environmental preservation. The purpose of this study was to measure the influence of two different types of environmental education classes on the development of environmentally responsible behaviors of undergraduate students. The research questions addressed were: (a) whether or not students' experiences in university classes with environmental education components had an effect on their development of environmentally responsible behaviors, and (b) compare the effectiveness of a traditional setting class (where environmental education occurred primarily within the classroom context) to a nontraditional class setting (where environmental education included an overnight camping trip using Leave No Trace principles).

The study sample consisted of three upper-division undergraduate courses at East Carolina University: (a) Environmental Science Education (traditional environmental education classroom and short field trip), (b) Outdoor Programming (Leave No Trace camping skills and extended field trip), and (c) Measurement of Physical Activity and Fitness (control group). The Environmental Action Perceived Control Inventory (EAPCI) was selected to measure environmentally responsible behaviors for its ability to correlate locus of control of reinforcement and environmental action in order to most accurately predict an individual's capacity to act in an environmentally responsible manner following an environmental education program (Smith-Sebasto, 1992, 1995). Descriptive statistical analyses and analysis of variance were used to assess all hypotheses by testing for differences between the three classes on EAPCI and all subscales. Alpha was set at .05 and post hoc multiple comparisons were made using Duncan's analysis.

Results showed no significant results on the overall EAPCI scores among groups. With regard to the subscales, there was one significant difference in the legal action subscale, with the Environmental Science Education class increasing more than the control group (F ratio = 3.28, p = .046). While there were no other statistically significant differences between groups, descriptive statistics showed consistent patterns of improvement on posttest EAPCI scores for both experimental groups. Patterns indicated the highest level of increase for the traditional setting class (Environmental Science Education), while the nontraditional setting class (Outdoor Programming) showed a moderate increase, and the control group showed little or no increase. One exception to this pattern was that all classes decreased slightly on the physical action subscale. In an effort to gain further insight, post hoc analyses included correlation of pretest and posttest scores, and correlation of pretest scores with change scores between pre- and posttest scores. Results indicated that all students, regardless of overall EAPCI pretest scores, demonstrated some increase. Lower pretest scores produced lower posttest scores, and higher pretest scores produced higher posttest scores. However, those in the Environmental Science Education and Outdoor Programming classes with lower pretest scores did exhibit a higher level of overall change in EAPCI scores.

Consistent with previous studies, the findings of the present study did not find that one teaching method was significantly better for increasing overall environmentally responsible behaviors in college students than the other. However, patterns indicated that the traditional classroom setting showed the highest increase, the non-traditional classroom showed a moderate increase, and the control group showed little or no increase in environmentally responsible behaviors. The one significant difference was that the traditional classroom setting was more effective at teaching students how to use legal action as an environmental action strategy. The EAPCI did demonstrate good potential for measuring students' intention to act in an environmentally responsible manner. Recommendations for future research include: (a) use a similar study design with larger sample sizes to further examine which methods are most effective for teaching environmentally responsible behaviors; (b) determine the extent to which university student-participants are predisposed to environmental education (i.e., what kind of prior experiences have influenced them prior to a study); (c) study the development of environmentally responsible behaviors using longitudinal studies in settings where these behaviors can be reinforced over time as opposed to short-term experiences; and (d) ensure that the environmental education classes studied establish solid theory, curriculum design, and implementation of methods thought to be conducive to teaching students environmentally responsible behaviors.

References

Smith-Sebasto, N. J. (1992). Design, development, and validation of an instrument to assess the relationship between locus of control of reinforcement and environmentally responsible behavior in university undergraduate students. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University, Columbus.

Smith-Sebasto, N. J. (1995). The effects of an environmental studies course on selected variables related to environmentally responsible behavior. Journal of Environmental Education, 26(4), 30-35.

Coley S. Hughes, Lake Johnson, Raleigh Parks and Recreation, North Carolina.

Cheryl A. Estes, Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, East Carolina University, 174 Minges Coliseum, Greenville, NC 27858-4353. E-mail: estesc@mail.ecu.edu

Copyright Association for Experiential Education 2005
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved