THE CURRENT STATUS OF ENERGY EDUCATION AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL IN NEBRASKA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The purpose of this study was to: (1) determine the current status of energy education in Nebraska public secondary schools, and (2) to examine the relationship between a person who teaches energy topics and the following variables: subject areas taught, teacher\u27s undergraduate degree, school district size, teacher\u27s personal conviction about the importance of energy in the curriculum, availability of materials, the inclusion of better quality energy topics in commercial textbooks, and workshops on teaching strategies and curriculum development in energy. The sample consisted of 496 randomly selected secondary public school teachers in Nebraska who currently taught in the areas of science, social studies, home economics, industrial arts, and vocational agriculture. A questionnaire was developed and sent to the randomly selected teachers. This instrument requested demographic information, information on current practices in the classroom, and information on factors influencing the decision to teach about energy. A total of 221 questionnaires were returned. Descriptive and correlational research methods were used for the study. Descriptive statistics were reported in frequencies and mean. Chi square was the statistical test used to determine the relationship between the variables. The major findings were: (1) the subject areas taught and the undergraduate degree of the teacher were related to whether or not a person taught about energy; (2) a teacher would most likely teach about energy if he or she felt it was important; (3) workshops on teaching strategies and curriculum development in energy were not related to the teaching of energy topics; (4) school district size was not related to the teaching of energy topics; and (5) the inclusion of better energy topics in commercial textbooks and the availability of energy materials would most likely affect whether a person taught about energy or did not teach about energy. The primary method of instruction of energy topics was through infusion within a course