National Environmental National Environmental EducationEducation

ESPM 4242

Brandon Berger

OverviewOverview

• Problem• Background

– Policy– Stakeholders

• Evaluation Criteria• Data Collected• Policy Alternatives

ProblemProblem

• A large number of Americans are completing school with a low level of environmental literacy and without a sense of responsibility for care of the environment, and this is a major barrier to improving the quality of the environment.

Background: PolicyBackground: Policy

• The National Environmental Education Act of 1970 (NEEA)– Established the Office of Environmental Education

(OEE) under Dept. Health, Education & Welfare– Repealed in 1981

• NEEA 1990 • Re-established the OEE

– Under the EPA

Background: PolicyBackground: Policy

• The Act charged the EPA with expanding the amount of environmental education opportunities to K-12 and college students in the U.S.

• OEE works to achieve this through many programs and grants

Background: SignalsBackground: Signals

• Professionals concerned about lack of Environmental Education

• Wide public support for legislation on the topic

• Earth Day– 1970– 20th Anniversary, 1990

Background: StakeholdersBackground: Stakeholders

• Large National Scale

• School districts

• Schools, Colleges & Universities

• Communities

• Students

• Teachers

Evaluation CriteriaEvaluation Criteria

• Equity– Where, How & to Whom EE programs/courses are

being offered?

• Effectiveness– Are increases in sustainable behavior a direct

result of EE?

• Administrative Operability– Do State/Local offices or school districts have the

authority and ability to implement programs developed by the OEE?

Policy AlternativesPolicy Alternatives

• No Change– Affordable

• Update EE to focus on current problems– Communicability– Simplicity & Compatibility

• Local OEE– Cost– Flexibility

• New Office to Measure Effectiveness– Costly, but could result in money saved– Complexity

Secondary Data Collected: Secondary Data Collected: Case StudyCase Study

• Impact of sustainability education on behavior• Comparison of two graduate-level courses at

Texas A&M University– Treatment: 22 students in a sustainable

development course– Control: 28 students in a general graduate-level

market analysis for development course (with no emphasis on sustainability)

– Wide variety of backgrounds

Secondary Data Collected: Secondary Data Collected: Case StudyCase Study

• Ecological Footprint Survey– 16 Questions– Given before & after the semester

• Data from the surveys Provide a quantitative measure of sustainability that can be used for comparison– Food, Mobility, Shelter, Goods/Services

National Average EF: 23.5

RecommendationsRecommendations

• Focus National Environmental Education on important issues of today.– Sustainable Behavior– Familiar Topics

• Local

– Goal Orientated

Questions?Questions?