Updates to Version 1.0 of the Four‐Dimensional Ecology Education Framework Create Version 1.1

Promoting Action Ecology Research Through Integration of Environmental Justice in Undergraduate Ecology Education

Ecological education has become a much-discussed topic in Russia in the last decade, not least because of the dramatic environmental damage that took place during the Soviet period. Creating a sense of personal responsibility in the general population is necessary if the damage is to be undone, and if further damage is to be avoided in the future. For the longer term, it is natural to try to influence the thinking of students who will soon be making decisions that have environmental implications. An indication of how much progress has been made on this front can be seen in the report by Shaikhiev and Kadyrova, "Ecological Education: The Regional Aspect." As they note, for change to occur it is not enough just to create new regulatory bodies. There must also be "fundamentally new thinking, which entails a reorientation of the values and the behavior of individuals and groups of the population with respect to the environment and their own state of health." But as they show, attempts to achieve this goal through education have not been very effective. Using survey data from a survey carried out in Kazan', the authors note that fewer than one in four respondents in the tenth and eleventh grades expressed the slightest interest in environmental issues, and even among that small group there was no feeling that they could have any effect as individuals. Moreover, most students were unable to define the most basic terms and concepts having to do with the environment, only 2.4 percent had heard of the idea of stable development, and none could actually say what it meant. It is not surprising, therefore, that "76 percent of the students think that the ecological knowledge that they acquire in school is never going to be of use to them in the future." Findings such as these are sobering, and cast doubt on whether those responsible for devising and carrying out programs of ecological education really know what to do. Some relevant evidence can be found in the report of a roundtable ("What Should Ecological Education in the Twelve-Year Secondary School Be Like?") held to celebrate the publication of a new journal dedicated to ecological education in the schools. While there was much discussion of the formal aspects of how the materials should be delivered, there did not seem to be much awareness of the extent to which programs to date had resulted in the situation described by Shaikhiev and Kadyrova.

The aim of this research is to know how far the ecology education for the parishoners in the region of St.Ana Maria, Simpang Naneng in St.Petrus an& Paulus parish, Ampah. Ecological education can help people in maintaining and treating the environment properly. This is descriptive qualitative research. Data obtained by observation, interview methods and documentation. The research steps include conversations with informants, informant profiles, determining themes, reflections, implications, synthesis, prospects or possibilities that occur. Information are pastoral officers, parish priests and some parishioners The results of the study showed that the parishioner’s ecological knowledge was still lacking. It is caused by the level of human resources and also the limitation of reporting about ecological education by pastoral officers to the parishioner. In particular, the church can explain ecological education through catechesis for people in the region of St. Ana Maria, Simpang Naneng, st.petrus and Paulus parish, Ampah.

Environmental education from pre-school age is becoming one of the most urgent issues all over the world including Russia. Preschool age is a valuable stage in the development of human environmental culture. At this age, the foundations of the personality are laid, including a positive attitude towards nature and the world around. It is at this age, when it is possible to form ecological knowledge, norms and rules of interaction with nature, to develop empathy for it, and to be active in solving some environmental problems. The aim of the research is the theoretical study and experimental verification of the content, forms and methods of the effective ecological education of preschool children. T.A. Serebryakova’s methodology was used for the diagnosis of the ecological knowledge level. This technique helps determining the level of skills to care for nature objects. Based on the results of ascertaining measurement a program of preschool children’s ecological education was implemented. After using different forms and methods of ecological education including games, exercises, excursions, and joint activities, we measured the level of preschoolers’ environmental awareness again. The results demonstrated the change in preschool children’s level of environmental awareness. There were no children with low levels; significant direct connections intensified. The carried out statistical processing of data substantiated that the changes were not accidental. The results of the case-study allowed making methodological recommendations for the further development of environmental education of preschool children children.

Natural history, loosely defined as the observational study of organisms in the habitats where they occur, is recognized at the roots of ecology. Although the centrality of natural history in ecology has shifted over time, natural history is currently in resurgence: many again consider it to be the foundation of ecological and evolutionary inquiry and advocate the value of organism-centered approaches to address contemporary ecological challenges. Educators identify natural history as the foundational entryway into the practice of ecology, for example in the Ecological Society of America's Four-Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) framework. A strong natural history foundation can help generate testable hypotheses to refine mechanistic understanding of the drivers regulating species distributions and abundances and to inform restoration and conservation efforts. Given the resurgence of natural history as the foundation for ecological knowledge and practice, it is important to recognize that natural history has a long history of racism that has impacted ecological thought and priorities. This history shapes not only who conducts ecological science but also foundational ecological concepts. For example, natural history's emphasis on pristine nature untouched by humans disregards or appropriates stewardship and knowledge of most of the world's population. Because of the legacy of chattel slavery, this exclusion is particularly strong for people of African descent. This exclusion narrows ecological inquiry, limits the capacity to find solutions to ecological problems, and risks interventions that perpetuate the relation between eugenics, ecological knowledge, and natural systems. If ecology is to become an inclusive, responsive, and resilient discipline, this knowledge gap must be addressed. We here present the colonial and racist underpinnings of natural history and offer strategies to expand inclusion in the study of nature. Natural history was steeped in racism, providing a hierarchy of cultures and a taxonomy of races. Complementing growing interest in traditional and Indigenous ecological knowledge, we focus on Black ecological knowledge, for example in the study of "maroon ecologies." Addressing the racist history of natural history is necessary for removing structural and racist barriers to diverse participation and expanding ecological knowledge bases in service of better and more just science.

Education has been and remains an important focus within the Ecological Society of America (ESA). Since the late 1980s, the number of initiatives, sections, and committees devoted to education, especially at the undergraduate level, has increased greatly. The purpose of this article is to identify and describe the education‐related initiatives and groups within ESA (as of May 2025), especially to provide information for new members. Education activities within ESA are coordinated by the Office for Education and Diversity Programs (OEDP). The Education Committee, which reports to ESA’s Governing Board, engages in various education‐related activities on behalf of the Board. Three sections within the ESA address education: the Education Section, the Researchers at Undergraduate Institutions, and the Communication and Engagement Section. ESA’s Four‐Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) framework was endorsed by the Society’s Governing Board in 2018 and is overseen by a 4DEE Sub‐Committee. Three working groups currently help to implement aspects of 4DEE, including nonmajors and general education, video and media, and integration. The ESA sponsors various online resources to support education, including the EcoEdDL digital library, the EcoEd email listserv, and the Teaching with Issues and Experiments in Ecology (TIEE) online journal. Education has become an integral part of the ESA’s Annual Meeting, where attendees can find numerous oral presentations, poster sessions and workshops, including the popular Resources for Ecology Education Fair and Share (REEFS). The Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability (SEEDS) initiative is ESA’s flagship outreach program. The OEDP sponsors a Life Discovery‐Doing Science Education Conference (LDC) that meets annually or semi‐annually. Each year, the ESA formally recognizes an outstanding ecology educator through its Eugene P. Odum Award for Excellence in Ecology Education. ESA members wishing to become involved in ESA’s education initiatives should visit http://www.esa.org/education for more information.

The concept of ecological education has broad and narrow meanings. Ecological education in a broad sense refers to all education that contains the input of ecological ideas and the popularization of ecological content; Ecological education in the narrow sense refers only to school ecological education. To be precise, ecological education refers to a social activity under the guidance of ecological ethics, with the goal of imparting ecological knowledge and skills, cultivating ecological citizens with a high sense of ecological responsibility and sound ecological personality, and adhering to green and sustainable production and life. Colleges should base themselves on the perspective of ecological civilization, comprehensively strengthen the construction of ecological ethics, expand the channels of ecological ethics education, and guide students to form correct moral awareness and ecological civilization concepts, which is explained in this paper.

Two years ago, the Ecological Society of America's (ESA) EcoVisions Project (Palmer et al. 2004, Science 304: 1251–52) set forth an ambitious agenda for ecology that built upon the nearly 15-year tradition of the Sustainable Biosphere Initiative (SBI). The ESA Board then considered the EcoVisions recommendations in the context of ESA's Strategic Plan, and selected four for immediate action: (1) establish Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), composed of ESA members, to interact with Congress on ecological issues ranging from climate change to invasive species; (2) explore ways to effectively communicate our science and its implications for sustainability to a large audience; (3) increase the Society's efforts in education, especially for under-represented groups; and (4) promote international activities across the Americas and beyond. In the fall of 2004, eleven RRTs were established. These teams have already provided timely scientific advice to Congress about the Endangered Species Act, Hurricane Katrina, and the ecosystem services provided by wetlands (see http://esa.org/experts). In an effort to reach policy makers outside of Washington, DC, the ESA is also developing plans to add a regional component to informing policy with ecological knowledge. This effort is motivated by the observation that local-to-regional decision making often has a greater impact on critical environmental issues than does national policy. Two study committees are working to shape this initiative; one takes a broad view on regional issues across the nation, while the other will be involved in rebuilding Gulf Coast landscapes. The ESA continues to expand its commitment to ecological educational programs. Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology, the society's web-based undergraduate education tool, and EcoEdNet, a digital library of ecological education resources, have both been greatly expanded. Our efforts to educate young scholars from under-represented groups continue to grow through the Strategies for Ecology Education, Development, and Sustainability (SEEDS) program. About 25 SEEDS students participate in semi-annual field trips; in early March, 12 current and former fellows, together with six faculty members and staff, attended a leadership workshop in Phoenix, AZ, and 16 students traveled to Mérida, Mexico, for the ESA's meeting, “Ecology in an Era of Globalization”. An international extension to the SEEDS program is also in the planning stages. The ESA is partnering with ecologists from other countries to build a forward-looking, international science. Our colleagues from the Federation of the Ecological Societies of the Americas were active participants in the Mérida meeting. On behalf of the Federation, the ESA has translated six Issues in Ecology into Spanish. The relationship between ESA and the Ecological Society of China has recently been strengthened by our support of two international conferences on sustainability, both held in China. In the fall of 2005, ESA signed an agreement with the Chinese Government, to make its publications available online to 401 institutions across China. In order to launch and carry out all of these new initiatives, the ESA Governing Board approved the hiring of a development specialist to assist in raising the necessary funds. As a result, Director of Development Fran Day began work in February and looks forward to your help in building ESA's programs. Since the 1991 publication of the SBI, the ESA has promoted activities that build capacity for research and education in support of sustainability goals. The EcoVisions Report called for a continuation of capacity building in a number of ways, including designing, building, and using new instrumentation; fostering data sharing; and promoting interdisciplinary research. Now, the Society is turning its attention to these challenges. For example, ESA leadership recently approved a data registry for studies published in its journals, and is working to promote the goal of free and open data access for all environmental sciences. In addition, ESA staff and membership have actively participated in development of the National Ecological Observatory Network and parallel, community-based plans for ecological research integrated with social science (led by the Long-Term Ecological Research [LTER] network). Finally, building community is perhaps the most fundamental – and challenging – issue that we need to confront. A coherent ecological research and education community is one that builds upon excellent individual and collaborative science, as well as having a unique and recognizable set of scientific goals, a clear identity with respect to the larger scientific world, and a contribution to make to society. Working as a group, ecologists have already seen success in creating the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis and the LTER program. These are examples of how a community can conceive, design, and support projects that go beyond what can be accomplished by individuals or smaller groups. Yet much remains to be done. With the help of an active and involved membership, the ESA leadership stands ready to foster a more integrated and effective community for ecological science. Nancy Grimm, ESA President Alan Covich, ESA President Elect Jerry Melillo, ESA Past President

Ecological education is a continuous, multifaceted and mandatory process of education, upbringing and development of an individual, aimed at the acquisition of theoretical and practical knowledge, skills, abilities about the environment, as well as the orientation of the value system and behavior and the formation of an ecological culture. Ecological education, apart from theoretical knowledge and scientific-practical abilities, is first and foremost an approach, philosophy and tool to perceive, understand, interpret the relationship between man and nature, and based on all this to develop new models of behavior of individuals, groups of people and the whole society towards the environment. Ecological culture is the inherited experience of human life activity with the environment, which contributes to a healthy lifestyle, sustainable socio-economic development of the country, improvement of the quality of life and ecological safety. Formation of ecological culture of the society is one of the priority directions of the state. Keywords: ecological issues, ecological knowledge, ecological culture, ecological and sustainable development education, natural resource management, environmental information.

Ecological education is essential for fostering sustainable development and nurturing an ecologically civilized society. It is imperative to embed ecological principles within the pedagogical framework of early childhood education. This study explores the integration of environmental concepts into kindergarten curricula, adopting a child-centric approach to curriculum development. An innovative strategy for specialized programs in kindergartens is proposed, grounded in ecological education principles. Utilizing item response theory, this strategy evaluates young children’s environmental literacy through item characteristic curves and information functions. Additionally, the effectiveness of the specialized, garden-based curriculum is assessed using clustering algorithms. Research conducted in X and N kindergartens reveals that the average scores for the condition, process, and result quality dimensions are 4.3212, 4.3257, and 4.2717, respectively—all surpassing the threshold of 4. These findings indicate that the specialized programs significantly meet the developmental needs of both children and teachers, effectively enhancing the conditions, processes, and outcomes of ecological education in kindergartens.

Ecology and Environmental Justice: Developing an ESA Agenda

Nonmajors (i.e., undergraduate students not majoring in the natural sciences) constitute a majority of United States college graduates and are a large potential audience for courses with ecology content. However, nonmajors may be unmotivated to learn about ecology because they perceive it to be uninteresting and irrelevant to their everyday lives or career goals. Although the Four‐Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) framework can be adapted for nonmajors courses as a starting point to improve student engagement, we suggest that nonmajors ecology instructors also use ecology hooks as effective gateways to 4DEE that will motivate and deepen student learning. Selecting and developing meaningful ecology hooks requires knowing your audience, including their chosen majors. In this way, the audience should inform the hook, and the hook then helps to propel the audience's learning. In addition to being relevant to the audience, ecology hooks should be connected to student learning outcomes and multiple dimensions of 4DEE and supportive of inclusive classroom goals. We discuss how to identify and develop authentic ecology hooks and integrate them into 4DEE‐aligned courses to engage students. For heterogeneous audiences that comprise a mix of many different majors, we suggest the use of three types of universal ecology hooks: “everyday,” “local,” and “wow” hooks. For specialized audiences of a single major or similar majors, we suggest the additional use of “major‐specific” ecology hooks and provide examples for health professions, business, and visual and performing art majors. Although ecology hooks alone are unlikely to be a panacea for all challenges of engaging nonmajors, they are an important teaching tool that can bring new relevance, energy, creativity, thought‐provoking ideas, and connections into nonmajors courses.

Since the Four‐Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) framework was endorsed in the fall of 2018 by the ESA Governing Board, activities of the nine‐member 4DEE Subcommittee have focused on developing a self‐assessment rubric, a guide for assessing student learning, support for majors and non‐majors courses, and a comprehensive report. Together, these resources will advance implementation of the 4DEE framework. The subcommittee is also planning to form communities of practice and host online conversations in support of education innovation by all members of the ecological community.

This article deals with the topical topic «Ethnological concept of «ecological education» in the context of the pedagogical system of «good deeds» based on the activity of the Odessa stanitsa of the National Scout Organization of Ukraine «Plast». The article combines basic knowledge of history, ecology, ethnology, biology and ethno-pedagogics. The main idea of the research is that modern public organizations can carry out mass education and upbringing of all categories of the population, which is based on the combination of ecological knowledge with practical nature conservation and research work.The purpose of the article is to review the ethnological concept of «ecological education» and to analyze the peculiarities of ecological problems in the Odessa region, attempts to involve public children's communities in their solution. The task of this work is to investigate the ethno-pedagogical principles of the activity of the National Scout Organization of Ukraine «Plast», the main methods of raising children as a complex system of personality improvement. The findings are confirmed by the results of our own field studies.The analysis of the pedagogical works of Grigory Vashchenko, Konstantin Ushinsky, Vasyl Sukhomlinsky allows the author to trace the interpretation of the thesis of «good citizen» in Ukrainian pedagogical thought and the modern transformation of this concept into ecological civic education abroad, because, if a person helps others, protects and cleanses natural locations, it corresponds to the moral qualities of a «good citizen». Researchers in the field of history and ethnology V. T. Skurativsky and D. K. Zelenin, describing folk traditions, highlight unique processes of self‑organization of ukrainians, varieties of social mutual assistance in the community, which had an ecological orientation.Educational purpose of Plast’s lessons is hardening the traits of the character of the child: endurance, speed, durability, ability to withstand various tourist tests, difficult transitions, the ability to properly assemble backpacks, put tents correctly, to place the camp properly.In the conclusions, summarizing the Plast’s narrative and exploring the skills that pass the plastuns, the author found the following environmental motives: nature conservation, elements of natural science, purification of the earth from chemical and plastic waste. Nature and love for it are not only a kind of ethno-pedagogical microfactor of child upbringing, but also a prototype of a much broader context - the Motherland. The methodology of Plast’s education contributes to the emergence of the following ecological motives: love for nature, care for the environment, clearing the area from debris.

Uma educação consistente sobre teoria, história e filosofia da Ciência para estudantes de pós-graduação em Ecologia pode elevar a qualidade das pesquisas nesse campo. Entender a prática científica como um processo integrado, desde a criação das hipóteses até as análises estatísticas, é importante, mas não suficiente. É relevante compreender que a atividade científica é precedida e guiada por nossa concepção sobre o conhecimento científico. Neste trabalho, discutimos o envolvimento da epistemologia e história da Ciência na Ecologia e sua importância na formação dos ecólogos, ressaltando implicações da escolha de diferentes abordagens estatísticas. Argumentamos a favor da integração de tais áreas à educação formal de ecólogos e apresentamos formas de incluí-las no currículo dos programas de pós-graduação em Ecologia.