Outdoor ecology education and pupils' environmental perception in Preservation and Utilisation

Titelangaben

Bogner, Franz X. ; Wiseman, Michael:
Outdoor ecology education and pupils' environmental perception in Preservation and Utilisation.
In: Science Education International. Bd. 15 (2004) Heft 1 . - S. 27-48.
ISSN 1450-104X

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Abstract

This paper describes the impact of a week-long outdoor education unit on pupils’ knowledge of conservation and their attitudes towards nature and the environment. It uses a quantitative experimental approach. The week-long education programme consisted of an extra-curricular unit in a field centre within a National Park. It followed a cognitive-emotional rationale, focusing on conservation and environmental issues within a nature conservation site. The programme effect was evaluated on a pre-test/post-test basis, assessed by questionnaire batteries. Previously published work confirmed the validity of the empirical instrument quantifying these preservational and utilitarian views of nature and the environment. To avoid short-term effects, the post-test was delayed for at least a month after participation. The programme caused both a significant positive effect on the specific knowledge level of adolescents and a shift within the scale of environmental perception. Both shifts within our pre- and post-tested variables are discussed in the context of three related studies using the same empirical survey instrument.