Higher Education Publications

Title: Environmental Education: Academia's Response
Author(s): Kormondy, Edward J., Corcoran, Peter Blaze
Copyright: 1997
Publisher: North American Association for Environmental Education, (NAAEE)
ISBN #: 1-884008-51-8
Copies Available: NAAEE's Conference, Publications and Membership office
410 Tarvin Road
Rock Springs, GA 30739, USA
Phone: (706) 764-2926

Introduction:

In 1972, Kormandy co-authored the first comprehensive assessment of higher education's response to the then-rapidly burgeoning environmental movement (Aldrich and Kormondy, 1972). That study, of the same title as this volume, was published by the Commission on Undergraduate Education in the Biological Sciences (CUEBS). Corcoran and Kormandy, authors of this volume, have long been interested in the evolution of early programs of environmental studies in higher education. They felt it timely, after twenty-five years, to revisit the founding institutions in this arena. With this book they also wished to survey a broad array of academic institutions to assess their progress toward the promise, offered in 1972, of the problem-focused environmental study. Taken together it is hoped that this two-part study will show something of the brief history of the field, the current trends, and the visions of the future.

The authors wanted to look at what has happened in the last 25 years - in particular, how certain institutions have changed. More broadly, though they wanted to look at an array of environmental programs in terms of the picture they provide of environmental education today. The larger questions that prompted the initial study are valid and important today. We hope this report is another small step toward answering them (Kormandy and Corcoran, 1997).

Introduction:

The purpose of this study is to assess the status of environmental education in pre-service teacher education programs in the United States (U.S.). A mail survey was sent to 715 institutions of higher education that are members of the American Association for Colleges for Teacher Education. Over 60% of the institutions responded.

Before this study, little quantitative information was available concerning the environmental education component of the teacher-preparation programs. While many institutions of higher education are involved in environmental education, the extent of their involvement has not been documented, especially at the pre-service level. Environmental educators have observed in their own institutions and those of their colleagues that "...teacher education programs in environmental education remain relatively scarce and poorly developed" (Disinger and Howe, 1990). No systematic survey of colleges, schools, and departments of education had been done to substantiate this observation (McKeown-Ice, Brayton, & May).

Introduction:

This report from the National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology Program illustrates how conservation practices on U.S. university and college campuses can produce great environmental, as well as economic, benefits. The report highlights the pioneering work of 15 institutions of higher education in the U.S. that have achieved the task of saving money and saving the earth simultaneously. Campus ecology works to protect natural and financial resources, while teaching future generations skills and behaviors that encourage environmental responsibility.

Introduction:

A practical guide to how the university can serve as a model of environmental stewardship. GREENING THE IVORY TOWER, a motivational and how-to guide for staff, faculty, and students, offers detailed "greening" strategies for those who may have little experience with institutional change or with the latest environmentally friendly technologies.

Introduction:

A volume in the American Association for Higher Education's (AAHE) Series on Service-Learning. This book goes beyond simple "how to" to provide a rigorous intellectual forum. Scholarly essays discuss what service-learning can contribute to the discipline of environmental studies, as well as what environmental studies can contribute to the epistemology of service-learning. Pedagogical essays describe specific implementation examples across a range of campus types and community settings. Includes sample syllabi and resource lists.