Contact: Bill McBeth
University of Wisconsin-Platteville
mcbeth@uwplatt.edu
608-348-2417

Data Collectors Needed for National Education Study

The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) is seeking field data collectors for a timely national study that will assess the environmental literacy of students in 6th and 8th grades.

“Environmental education professionals make decisions about how to help students learn, and we need sound scientific data that establishes baseline levels of environmental literacy,” said Dr. Harold Hungerford of the Center for Instruction, Staff Development and Evaluation. According to project director, Dr. Bill McBeth from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, “We also will look at variables that may contribute to environmental literacy in the classroom or throughout a school.”

In the spring of 2007, the well-respected GfK-Roper polling organization with provide NAAEE with a random sample of 6th and 8th grade students in public and private schools across the United States. A stipend is available for chosen data collectors to administer a survey that will assess students’ ecological knowledge, ability to identify and analyze environmental issues, and ability to take actions to improve or maintain the environment, as well as how they think about and interact with the environment.

Questionnaires will be designed and evaluated by researchers from the Center for Instruction, Staff Development, and Evaluation; Florida Institute of Technology; the Clinton School of Public Service, University of Arkansas; the Northern Illinois University; and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. The research is being funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Education, and is being conducted by members of NAAEE, the professional association for environmental educators.

According to Brian Day, NAAEE Executive Director, “For the past decade, Roper surveys have shown that people think environmental education is valuable. Those of us who practice it see tangible impacts in our work. However, we recognize that we need quantifiable data to explain what works and why. This project is aimed at providing critical data to build upon the great work of our members and the profession as a whole to demonstrate the effectiveness of quality environmental education in an indisputable and comprehensive way.”

The results of this research will be presented in the summer of 2007 to NAAEE as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and national and international research and educational agencies and organizations.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.naaee.org/programs-and-initiatives/research/nela/

To apply to become a field data collector, contact Dr. Ron Meyers, the Clinton School of Public Service, University of Arkansas, rbmeyers@clintonschool.uasys.edu, or call 501-683-5231. If you have questions about the study, contact Dr. Bill McBeth, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, mcbeth@uwplatt.edu or call 608-348-2417.