Evaluating the effectiveness of environmental education essential elements in school field trip programming

This thesis investigated the apparent effectiveness of environmental education essential elements in school field trip programming. First, the elements essential to environmental education field trips were identified from the literature. Second, these elements were incorporated into a questionnaire that was administered as a pre/post test to elementary school students visiting an extensive indoor environmental education facility located in Montreal. Finally, 24 environmental education programs at eight institutions in Montreal were observed to investigate the extent and methodology of implementation of the essential elements. With regard to the chief institution, it was concluded that (1) the educational programming appeared to significantly increase environmental knowledge, and (2) the environmental attitudes were most strongly correlated with student background. Program observation at the eight institutions demonstrated that a wide array of environmental topics was presented, but there was insufficient instruction of environmental issues and action strategies. The list of observed implementation methodologies and the study conclusions could prove useful as a research-based foundation for effective environmental education field trip program development