First Advisor

Micki M. Caskey

Term of Graduation

Winter 2021

Date of Publication

3-9-2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership: Curriculum and Instruction

Department

Curriculum & Instruction

Language

English

Subjects

Environmental education, Teachers -- Attitudes, Teachers -- In-service training, Environmental literacy, Education, Rural -- Oregon

DOI

10.15760/etd.7537

Physical Description

1 online resource (vii, 150 pages)

Abstract

Environmental issues can be difficult for people to understand and for teachers to address in their classrooms. Issues such as climate change and ozone depletion are difficult to comprehend and present a challenge for most people to understand thoroughly the complexity of these environmental challenges. Professional development programs could provide the tools for teachers to improve their environmental literacy and a pathway for learning new methods for engaging their students. However, in rural Oregon, where professional development opportunities are scarce, teachers rely on a lean supply of organizations to provide these experiences. Alder Creek Community Forest, a nonprofit organization, provides opportunities for teachers to explore and to learn about the environment. Specifically, Alder Creek Community Forest collaborates with rural educators by facilitating workshops to help teachers integrate environmental education into a school's curriculum. My problem of practice was that teachers in rural areas have limited professional development opportunities related to environmental education. The purpose of the study was to describe the perceptions of teachers engaged in environmental education professional development workshops. I interviewed three teachers to capture their experience of participating in the environmental education curriculum with interviews before their participation, during their participation, and after they attended a minimum of two workshops. Results from my analysis offer insight into the lived experiences of three rural educators who participated in an environmental education curriculum. Their experiences contribute to this qualitative case study about how an environmental education professional development program can improve environmental literacy.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/35143

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