Authors: Heimlich, Joe¹; Ardoin, Nicole²

Source: Environmental Education Research, Volume 14, Number 3, June 2008 , pp. 215-237(23)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

One view of environmental education suggests that its goal is to 'develop a world population that … has the knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations and commitment to work individually and collectively towards solutions of current problems and the prevention of new ones' (UNESCO-UNEP 1976). Embedded within this charge is the teaching of skills and motivations to implement skills, where a skill refers to performance of an act acquired through extended practice and training (Ericsson and Oliver 1995). However, it is often difficult to articulate clearly what skills we teach in conservation education and environmental education focusing on behavior change or influence. It can be equally challenging to describe the behaviors we are ultimately seeking, identified in the Tbilisi Declaration as 'new patterns of behavior' (UNESCO 1978). At a basic level, it is important to explore the grounding for teaching toward behavior - often referred to as behavior change - that supports the work of the field. This literature review attempts to provide a foundation for behavior-related discussions in environmental and conservation education. A number of the behavior theories, concepts and models discussed in this review have been explored extensively elsewhere; therefore, this review is not exhaustive, but rather is intended to be broadly representative of the literature.

Keywords: behavior theory; behavior change; conservation education

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504620802148881

Affiliations: 1: The Ohio State University and the Institute for Learning Innovation, Columbus, US 2: School of Education and Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Palo Alto, US

Publication date: 2008-06-01

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