Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T07:21:02.033Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Promoting Learning for Sustainability: Principals' Perceptions of the Role of Outdoor and Environmental Education Centres

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2015

Roy Ballantyne  and
Jan Packer
Roy Ballantyne*
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
Jan Packer
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
*
†School of Tourism, University of Queensland, 11 Salisbury Road, Ipswich, QLD 4305, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Outdoor and Environmental Education Centres provide programs that are designed to address a range of environmental education aims, and contribute broadly to student learning for sustainability. This paper examines the roles such Centres can play, and how they might contribute to the Australian Government's initiative in relation to sustainable schools. Interviews with the principals of 23 such Centres in Queensland revealed three roles or models under which they operate: the destination model; the expert/advisor model; and the partnership model. Principals' understandings of these roles are discussed and the factors that support or hinder their implementation are identified. It is concluded that while the provision of programs in the environment is still a vital role of outdoor and environmental education centres, these can also be seen as a point of entry to long-term partnerships with whole school communities.

Keywords

Learning for sustainabilityEnvironmental education centresEnvironmental partnershipsSustainable schoolsEnvironmental sustainability
Type
Research Article
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , 2006 , pp. 15 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006 

References

Ballantyne, R., Connell, S., & Fien, J. (1998). Students as catalysts of environmental change: A framework for researching intergenerational influence through environmental education. Environmental Education Research, 4(3), 285–298.Google Scholar
Ballantyne, R., Fien, J., & Packer, J. (2001a). Programme effectiveness in facilitating intergenerational influence in environmental education: Lessons from the field. Journal of Environmental Education, 32(4), 8–15.Google Scholar
Ballantyne, R., Fien, J., & Packer, J. (2001b). School environmental education programme impacts upon student and family learning: A case study analysis. Environmental Education Research, 7(1), 23–37.Google Scholar
Ballantyne, R., & Packer, J. (2002). Nature-based excursions: School students'perceptions of learning in natural environments. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 11(3), 218–236.Google Scholar
Ballantyne, R., & Uzzell, D. (1994). A checklist for the critical evaluation of informal environmental learning experiences. International Journal of Environmental Education and Information, 13(2), 111–124.Google Scholar
Bogner, F. X. (1998). The influence of short-term outdoor ecology education on longterm variables of environmental perspective. Journal of Environmental Education, 29(4), 17–29.Google Scholar
Chawla, L. (1999). Life paths into effective environmental action. Journal of Environmental Education, 31,(1) 15–26.Google Scholar
Dettmann-Easler, D., & Pease, J. L. (1999). Evaluating the effectiveness of residential environmental education programmes in fostering positive attitudes towards wildlife. Journal of Environmental Education, 13(1), 33–39.Google Scholar
Education Queensland (2005). Status of environmental education in the curriculum strategy branch. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Lai, K. C. (1999). Freedom to learn: A study of the experiences of secondary school teachers and students in a geography field trip. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 8(3), 239–255.Google Scholar
Mittelstaedt, R., Sanker, L., & VanderVeer, B. (1999). Impact of a week-long experiential education program on environmental attitude and awareness. The Journal of Experiential Education, 22, (3) 138–148.Google Scholar
Palmer, J. A. (1999). Research matters: A call for the application of empirical evidence to the task of improving the quality and impact of environmental education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 29(3), 379–395.Google Scholar
Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Rickinson, M. (2001). Learners and learning in environmental education: a critical review of the evidence. Environmental Education Research, 7(3), 207–320.Google Scholar
Silverman, D. (2001). Interpreting qualitative data: Methods for analysing talk, text and interaction (2nd ed.). London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
State of Queensland (Department of Education and the Arts) (2003). Outdoor and environmental education centres. Retrieved 09 20, 2006, from http://education.qld.gov.au/schools/environment/outdoor/ Google Scholar
Tanner, C. K. (2001). Into the woods, wetlands and prairies. Educational Leadership, 04, 64–66.Google Scholar
Tilbury, D. (2004). Rising to the challenge: education for sustainability in Australia. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 20 (2), 103–114.Google Scholar
Tilbury, D., & Cooke, K. (2005) A National Review of Environmental Education and its Contribution to Sustainability in Australia: Frameworks for Sustainability. Canberra: Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage and Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability. Retrieved on 7 08 from http://www.aries.mq.edu.au/pdf/Volume1_Final05.pdf Google Scholar