Examining Teachers' Attitudes Toward a Required Environmental Education Program

Abstract

Requiring teachers to partake in environmental education (EE) may generate negative reactions since elementary teachers can be overloaded with meeting standards and student performance goals. This study explores teachers' attitudes toward a required EE program, Lagoon Quest. We compare attitudes among teachers with and without prior Lagoon Quest, EE, and science experience. The results suggest that previous voluntary Lagoon Quest and other EE experience does not associate with teachers' attitudes toward the required Lagoon Quest program, but teachers with science experience are more enthusiastic about the program than those without. Less experienced science teachers indicate that they need more support and instructional aids to implement the program. Providing more training opportunities for teachers and making recommended adaptations in the written supplement may help more teachers develop competence to engage with EE programs.