ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN THE LIFE SCIENCE CURRICULUM IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THE STATE OF OREGON

The purpose of this study was to describe the present status of environmental education as it is incorporated in high school life science classes in the state of Oregon. This was done by analyzing and describing four general categories of curricular characteristics which included: (1) environmental education objectives; (2) source of instructional materials; (3) content selection; and (4) curriculum development constraints.;A review of the environmental education literature published after 1969 revealed that environmental education was embryonic in the 1960s, received a major endorsement in 1970 with the passage of the Environmental Education Act, and reached a peak of emphasis in the mid 1970s. Since that time there has been a rapid decline in interest and research, leading environmental education to a critical stage of development.;The method used in this study was a direct-mail questionnaire sent to high school life science teachers in Oregon. Questionnaire results were analyzed with respect to the following variables: environmental education objectives, sources of materials, curriculum development constraints, school size, and school location. Sixty percent of the 341 questionnaires were returned including four which were not used due to a lack of demographic data, resulting in a utility population of 200 questionnaires.;Findings included the following: objectives were focused more on understanding the environment and developing an appreciation for it than on helping students solve environmental problems or develop environmental data collecting techniques; most instructional materials come from single discipline textbooks, materials developed by the staff, or a combination of these rather than from materials developed by the school system or commercially prepared programs; the content comes primarily from teacher interest; and the highest ranking constraint to curriculum development was lack of time. When demographic data were analyzed no significant differences could be found between large and small schools or schools east and west of the Cascades.;The study population was comprised of 341 life science teachers in the state of Oregon in grades 9-12 during the 1981-1982 school year. This population represents all life science instructors that could be located through the State Department of Education and through a survey of the science department chairmen.