| Session Title: Environmental Education Evaluation: Time to Reflect, Time for Change |
| Multipaper Session 282 to be held in Wekiwa 9 on Thursday, Nov 12, 10:55 AM to 12:25 PM |
| Sponsored by the Environmental Program Evaluation TIG |
| Chair(s): |
| Matthew Birnbaum, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, matthew.birnbaum@nfwf.org |
| Abstract: This panel is based on a special issue in the Journal of Evaluation and Program Planning (August 2009 release) that is dedicated to exploring the state of evaluation in environmental education. Situated at the intersection of environmental conservation and youth and adult education, environmental education is a 50 year old discipline seeking to contribute to environmental sustainability through a diversity of practices from information dissemination to capacity building. The common denominator is education, typically in non-formal settings, connecting individuals to nature with an objective to change "the learner's cognitive, affective and participatory knowledge, disposition and skills" (Carleton-Hug and Hug, Chapter Two of this Special Issue). Only recently has evaluation been recognized as an important tool for program development and assessment of effectiveness. As such, those evaluating environmental education programs face a host of opportunities and challenges. |
| Environmental Education Evaluation: Time to Reflect, Time for Change |
| Kara Crohn, University of California Los Angeles, ksdcrohn@sbcglobal.net |
| Matthew Birnbaum, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, matthew.birnbaum@nfwf.org |
| Evaluation in environmental education is fairly nascent despite decades-long attention to its importance. In setting the context for future chapters appearing in this special issue of the Journal of Evaluation and Program Practice, particular attention is devoted to the political circumstances associated with retrenchment in the public sector and increased involvement of citizens in environmental issues in their regions. It further is nested in the context of potential political reforms in a stable market democracy where education is but one strategy that can be bundled with regulations and taxes/subsidies. Additional attention is also devoted to explaining the links of environmental education evaluations to many of the key evaluation theories - utilization focused evaluation, evaluative capacity building, and program-theory driven evaluation. The final section of this chapter situates the subsequent chapters of this volume based on the demographic target (youth, adolescent or youth) as well as connection to a particular evaluation theory. |
| Challenges and Opportunities for Evaluating Environmental Education Programs |
| Annelise Carleton-Hug, Trillium Associates, annelise@trilliumassociates.com |
| William Hug, California University of Pennsylvania, hug@cup.edu |
| Environmental education organizations can do more to either institute evaluation or improve the quality of their evaluation. In an effort to help evaluators bridge the gap between the potential for high quality evaluation systems to improve environmental education, and the low level of evaluation in actual practice, we reviewed recent environmental education literature to reveal the challenges and opportunities for evaluating environmental education programs. The literature review identified strategies for confronting the challenges in environmental education evaluation, as well as notable opportunities for increasing the quality of evaluation in environmental education. A discussion of a recent environmental education evaluation provides practical examples of these challenges and opportunities. |
| Environmental Education Evaluation: Reinterpreting Education as a Strategy for Meeting Mission |
| Joe E Heimlich, Ohio State University, heimlich.1@osu.edu |
| Critically considering the role of environmental education in meeting conservation outcomes is increasingly necessary for environmental agencies and organizations. Evaluation can serve a critical role in moving organizations to alignment between educational goals and organizational mission. Moving theory-driven evaluation into mission-based program theory, this chapter examines the ways in which educational goals can and should be linked to conservation outcomes for an agency or organization. |
| Building Environmental Educators' Evaluation Capacity Through Distance Education |
| Lynette Fleming, Research, Evaluation & Development Services, fleming@cox.net |
| Janice Easton, University of Florida, jeaston@ufl.edu |
| Evaluation capacity building is seldom mentioned in the environmental education literature, but as demonstrated by the lack and poor quality of EE evaluations, is much needed. This article focuses on an online course, Applied Environmental Education Program Evaluation, which provides nonformal educators with an understanding of how evaluation can be used to improve their EE programs. The authors provide descriptions of key aspects and strategies for addressing challenges they face in teaching AEEPE, such as: reducing attrition, developing and maintaining a social learning environment online, and improving students' understanding of attribution and logic models. While the course equips environmental educators with the skills necessary to design and implement basic evaluations, there is less certainty that the course contributes to generating demand for evaluation within organizations and the profession. Therefore the authors call on national organizations and associations for help with increasing the demand for ECB in the EE community. |
| Critically Considering the Role of Environmental Education in Meeting Conservation Outcomes |
| Joe E Heimlich, Ohio State University, heimlich.1@osu.edu |
| Critically considering the role of environmental education in meeting conservation outcomes is increasingly necessary for environmental agencies and organizations. Evaluation can serve a critical role in moving organizations to alignment between educational goals and organizational mission. Moving theory-driven evaluation into mission-based program theory, this chapter examines the ways in which educational goals can and should be linked to conservation outcomes for an agency or organization |