Harold R. Hungerford

Analysis and Synthesis of Research on Responsible Environmental Behavior: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract Despite the wealth of information which exists concerning environmental behavior, it is not known which variable or variables appear to be most influential in motivating individuals to take responsible environmental action. A meta-analysis of environmental behavior research was undertaken in an attempt to determine this. An exhaustive search of the empirically based environmental behavior research conducted over the past decade yielded a substantial number of studies representative of a broad academic base. The characteristics and findings of these studies served as the data for the meta-analysis. As a result of the meta-analysis, the following variables were found to be associated with responsible environmental behavior: knowledge of issues, knowledge of action strategies, locus of control, attitudes, verbal commitment, and an individuals sense of responsibility. A model of predictors of environmental behavior is proposed.

Changing Learner Behavior Through Environmental Education

(1990). Changing Learner Behavior Through Environmental Education. The Journal of Environmental Education: Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 8-21.

Selected Predictors of Responsible Environmental Behavior: An Analysis

Abstract In this study, we examined the relative contribution of eight variables in predicting responsible environmental behavior. Scores on a validated behavior instrument served as the criterion. High and low behavior groups selected from 171 respondents were compared using members of midwestern Sierra Clubs and Elderhostel programs as subjects. Multilinear regression analyses were used to determine the performance of each predictor variable and to ascertain the most parsimonious set of variables that predicts environmental behavior. Seven of eight variables were found to be statistically significant. They were: (1) level of environmental sensitivity, (2) perceived knowledge of environmental action strategies, (3) perceived skill in using environmental action strategies, (4) psychological sex role classification, (5) individual locus of control, (6) group locus of control, and (7) attitude toward pollution. The one nonsignificant variable was (8) belief in technology. Stepwise regression showed that the...

The Effects of Issue Investigation and Action Training on Environmental Behavior in Seventh Grade Students.

Abstract This study reports the instructional effects of a formal environmental education methodology, issue investigation and action training (IIAT) on middle school students. Can issue investigation and action training improve responsible environmental behavior of middle school students? Can variables identified as critical contributors to responsible adult environmental behavior be enhanced in middle school students as a function of issue investigation and action training? If middle school students demonstrate increased environmental behavior as a result of issue investigation and action training, will there be a parallel increase in those variables contributing to responsible environmental behavior? These questions are the focus of the discussion that follows.

Environmental Education in the K-12 Curriculum: Finding a Niche

Abstract Significant progress has been made in the United States in including the environment in government, business, household, and individual decisionmaking. Unfortunately, there is no parallel trend in the nations K-12 schools. This article reviews the basic precepts of environmental education, summarizes state-level efforts directed at its establishment, and makes suggestions for systematically incorporating it into the K-12 curriculum.

Environmental Education (EE) for the 21st Century: Where Have We Been? Where Are We Now? Where Are We Headed?

When first approached about being a guest editor for this special edition, I had several distinct and separate thoughts. In the final analysis, I felt we should be focused on the present and the future, without disregarding the past. It was impossible to recruit all of the wonderful scholars in the field because of the restriction of page numbers for this issue. However, I am pleased that those who agreed to help with this 40th Anniversary Issue of The Journal of Environmental Education are ones who definitely have something to say. Further, it is my hope that the articles comprising this issue can be summarized in some meaningful way to guide both the thinking and practice in the field of EE. I have long been a vocal critic of many of the aspects of environmental education. I have tried, at the same time, to be a staunch advocate for the field. This particular writing may well bring out both of those roles.

A National Survey of Curriculum Needs as Perceived by Professional Environmental Educators

Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess perceived environmental education (EE) curriculum needs in the United States (K-16). The Environmental Education Curriculum Needs Assessment Questionnaire (EECNAQ) was developed, validated, and direct-mailed to 169 randomly selected professional environmental educators (58.6% return rate). The EECNAQ elicited perceptions about the desired status and the current state of EE curricula, the need for curriculum development, the anticipated use of curricula teachers, and the need for inservice teacher education. These five major questions were posed relative to fifteen goals which reflected the Tbilisi objectives and four levels of environmental literacy. The findings reveal a consensus among the professional participants that the EE goals are important ones, that they are not being met to a large extent in existing curricula, that extensive needs exist for both goal-oriented curricula and teacher education, and that the goaloriented curricula would be used by t...

A Technique for Analyzing Environmental Issues

Abstract Teaching students to deal with issues appears to be a major component of environmental education. However, complex environmental issues are often confusing for students. The issue analysis technique presented here allows learners to organize information about an issue in a sound conceptual framework.

The Identification of Empirically Derived Goals for Program Development in Environmental Interpretation

Abstract A broad framework of goals for environmental interpretation was produced, and these goals were revised and validated on the basis of input from a national panel of interpretive experts. Several tasks were accomplished. First, an intensive review of interpretive literature was conducted that produced over 100 principles, goals, and objectives in interpretation. An analysis of the key words and phrases used in these principles, goals, and objectives yielded categories of directives for environmental interpretation. A review of research studies related to environmental behavior paradigms was conducted. Following this review, the Hungerford and Volk (1990) model of variables involved in responsible environmental behavior was used as the basis for a framework for environmental interpretation goals related to behavior change. This integration produced an initial set of Goals for Program Development in Environmental Interpretation. The goals comprised 3 hierarchical levels: entry-level goals, ownership ...

A Comparison of Environmental Perceptions and Behaviors of Five Discrete Populations.

Abstract This paper summarizes the perceptions and behaviors regarding environmental issues of five discrete and separate groups/populations. Assessments were made to determine the difference in perceptions held by these groups between issues of greatest importance to mankind, issues of greatest personal interest, and a control issue (noise pollution) with respect to perceived levels of: importance to mankind, information held, individual locus of control, group locus of control, and self-reported environmental actions (behaviors). Findings suggest that academically oriented/environmentally allied groups perceive overpopulation as the most important issue to mankind. Further, groups with environmentally allied characteristics perceive the most important environmental issues facing mankind with a greater degree of within-group homogeneity than the groups consisting of individuals that have few environmentally allied similarities. When comparisons on the data for the variables across issues of greatest inte...