Douglas D. Karrow

Negotiating the constraints of schools: environmental education practices within a school district

The purpose of this study was to explore environmental education (EE) practices within elementary and secondary schools. Using complementary mixed-methods (survey and focus groups), we detail these practices in schools (n = 58) within one school district. Our findings are categorized according to classroom teaching conditions affecting EE, and whole-school perspectives of the supports and resources for EE in these schools. Our analyses reveal that while typical normative teaching and cultural constraints of schools are still evident (e.g. curriculum standards, school-level organization), there are identifiable practices involving administrators and teachers negotiating these challenges due to their personal commitment to schools and the environment. In particular was a provincial environmental certification program called Ecoschools supporting environmental educators’ initiatives at their respective schools. We conclude with a discussion of recommendations based on an interpretation of our findings in relation to the school reform literature on how to enhance EE in schools and propose future research opportunities.

From Local Observations to Global Relationships

This chapter begins by describing a study of the implementation of NatureWatch , a citizen-science ecological monitoring program with local elementary and secondary schools. Our research suggests that this and similar programs are viable models for K-12 school-based ecological monitoring. We further our ideas by expanding on the promise of using these school-based ecological programs as contexts for authentic ecological science and community-based monitoring practices. With important implications for policy pathways in schools, our exploration provides perspective on how to envision the outcomes stemming from these environmental monitoring practices as key indicators of school achievement, notably in the area of environmental literacy. We conclude by highlighting the potential of school-based environmental monitoring partnerships in developing global relationships between schools in Canada, the USA, and other nations, providing an important holistic dimension to school achievement.

The Commonplaces of Schooling and Citizen Science

We introduce this section through the above vignettes. They illustrate citizen science experiences that we as authors have observed and participated in both school and out-of-school settings. These vignettes signal our intentions for this editorial based on an adage coined by Gregory Bateson, namely, it is a difference which makes a difference.