Abstract

Environmental education researchers and policy makers acknowledge the need to act responsibly toward the environment. Yet, teachers do not always know how to help students translate environmental knowledge into sustainable action. This study examines the implementation of locally developed place-based education (PBE) curriculum for middle school science classes with the intention of promoting environmentally positive behaviors. Camera traps were placed near schools and teachers were provided with photographic data of urban wildlife to use during ecology lessons Through our grounded theory study, we found that teachers who perceived a curricular alignment and drew on curricular agency were willing to adopt and adapt the lessons for their classrooms. Those who did not implement the lessons either lacked curricular agency or perceived a misalignment of the PBE lessons and their school context. Our study informs environmental education professional development leaders, who, we argue, should allow teachers to first explore their own curricular agency and context. In addition, we encourage educators to explore how PBE can create opportunities to teach students about civic engagement.

摘要

环境教育研究人员和政策制定者承认需要对环境负责。然而，教师并不总是知道如何帮助学生将环境知识转化为可持续的行动。本研究调查了本地开发的地方教育 (PBE) 课程在中学科学课程中的实施情况，目的是促进环境积极行为。在学校附近设置了相机陷阱，并为教师提供了城市野生动物的照片数据，以便在生态课程中使用 通过我们扎根的理论研究，我们发现感知课程一致性并利用课程代理的教师愿意采用和调整课程他们的教室。那些没有实施这些课程的人要么缺乏课程代理，要么认为 PBE 课程与他们的学校环境不一致。我们的研究为环境教育专业发展领导者提供了信息，我们认为，他们应该让教师首先探索他们自己的课程机构和背景。此外，我们鼓励教育工作者探索 PBE 如何创造机会向学生教授公民参与。