Given the increasing recognition of the potential for school students to act as catalysts of environmental change, research is needed to determine the extent to which school environmental education programs can facilitate intergenerational communication and learning in the home and wider community. The present paper reports on preliminary findings from a pilot study based on two environmental education programs. Four factors were investigated in terms of their influence upon the extent to which school students discussed the programs at home: student response to the program; student environmental orientation; parent environmental orientation; and family communication properties. In this study, program and family communication factors exerted the greatest influence on the frequency of discussions concerning environmental education programs experienced by students. Suggestions are made for ways in I which environmental education programs can be designed in order to facilitate student-parent communication about environmental issues.

This paper reports on a study into the environmental opinions and concerns of a sample of Brisbane children in the upper primary, junior and senior secondary years. The study adopted a qualitative approach. Children's opinions about the environments around them and beyond were gathered using open-ended question items and focus group discussions. The study revealed that the upper primary children participating were most obviously concerned about their immediate personal environments. The junior and senior secondary students were more concerned about their natural environments to which they showed strong positive associations. On the other hand, all participants wanted to undertake personal action for change in their social environments at local, national and global levels.

This paper describes a study of sixth grade children's conceptions of nature and the environment. In so doing, it asks that environmental educators pay more attention to children's preconceived notions of environment and nature. Should this occur the theory-practice gap in environmental education may be diminished. Learners' concepts of ‘nature’ and the ‘environment’ provide a needed perspective for the development of individually and contextually appropriate teaching and learning strategies in environmental education. Without knowledge of them it is not clear whose version of environment it is which the learner is being educated ‘in’, ‘about’, ‘with’ or ‘for’.

In the research which was the original focus for this account, an ‘environmental life history’ study, things turned out as expected—findings replicated previous environmental life history results. Yet the investigator in this apparently ‘successful’ research, Mary Faeth Chenery, was left with questions such as “So what?” and “Have I simply reproduced the conditions which contribute to the problems I'm trying to solve?” Her colleague, Almut Beringer, has critiqued—and ‘re-viewed’—the study, setting out some reasons why the research was indeed of value. The two ‘halves’ of this article open a dialogue about the value of environmental life history research, and offer some insights into qualitative research method in environmental education. In the process, implications may be drawn for environmental education and for a range of issues within qualitative research.

There is a paucity of research in Australia on the nature of young people's attitudes, knowledge and actions. This paper reports on the findings from one such study of Australian high school students. The research was based on a survey of 5688 students from Melbourne and Brisbane. These young people identified protection of the environment as the most important problem In Australia and strongly supported the belief systems characteristic of an ‘environmental paradigm’. Despite this, the majority displayed relatively low levels of knowledge of key environmental concepts, and were involved in little environmental action-taking outside of household activities. Differences are reported between: students from Melbourne and Brisbane; girls and boys; high performing and general schools; and teachers and students. The paper concludes with a discussion of some implications for environmental education in Australia.

This paper reports the beginnings of an exploration of the effects of tertiary level environmental education, based on Ecologically Sustainable Development criteria, on the development of students' environmental attitudes and behaviours. Baseline data has been collected against which changes in attitudes and behaviours can be monitored. Important factors influencing students' current attitudes and behaviours include their personal experiences, books and magazines, schooling and newspapers. Significant differences in students’ responses were recorded against three socio-demographic variables—age, gender and the degree program enrolled in. Respondents' value systems have been recorded; their relationship to other study variables requires further research.

The paper considers the connections between the environmental crisis and patterns of consumption in the Western, and Westernised, worlds. These patterns are named as ‘malconsumption’, a concept which is defined and then discussed In terms of its importance to the work of environmental educators. Malconsumption as a means of ‘meaning-making’ and of countering ‘the empty self, and as a consequence of the activities of the advertising and other industries is explained. The paper closes with a summary of the orientation and activities associated with the practice of permaculture, and a proposition that a consideration of this practice in environmental education might contribute to a countering of the drive towards malconsumption.

Rather than create another definition this paper explores the philosophy of interpretation in order to identify its core values. This shows that the main difference between environmental interpretation and environmental education is whether affect is considered to be pre-or post-cognitive. To the interpreter particularly significant experiences create deep emotional responses in participants that need no explanation. While moods, feelings and emotions are known to be important to attitude and behaviour change, how they create behaviour change is largely unknown. Interpretation will only make significant advances and become more challenging when it is informed by articulated theory. The implications for practice are that affective rather than cognitive models of learning need to be both employed and explored in future.

Since the middle of the 20th century, zoological gardens have endeavoured to assist in the restoration of global, regional and national biodiversity. To help realise these conservation goals zoo professionals rely on formal and informal education schemes to enhance zoo visitors' awareness of environmental conservation issues. A questionnaire was administered at eight Australian zoos to elicit information regarding visitors' environmental knowledge and attitudes. Data from several open-ended questionnaire items were consistent with data from closed questions which intimated that zoo respondents appreciated zoos' conservation activities. However, a gap existed between visitors' endorsement of conservation and their level of conservation activism. This suggests that educational and interpretive materials used in zoos should include comprehensive and clearly intelligible information about a range of environmental values and means of involvement in action for conservation.

The paper discusses the nature of an ecocentric view of humans and the Earth, and how this connects with the development of human spirituality. The relationship of these ideas to environmental education is explored, and an outline provided of how humanistic educational methods might contribute to students developing ecocentric views, their unique spirituality and environmentally supportive behaviours.

The decisions and activities of engineers are often intimately connected with the choice of energy systems and their far reaching effects on society and the environment. Yet there is little or no explicit ‘sustainable energy education’ — that is, education about the rote that the production and use energy plays in modern society, including the related technical aspects—in most undergraduate engineering courses.

The significance of energy to modern society, the culture of engineering, and the future outlook for sustainable energy education are explored from a historical perspective in the context of environmentalism, feminism and industrialism. The current status of sustainable energy education theory and practice in Australia is outlined. Drawing on interviews with key practitioners possible approaches to sustainable energy education in engineering are discussed. Current courses and resources for sustainable energy education for engineers are summarised.

The development and implementation of a training program is a requirement of Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) certified under international standards. To date, information about these programs has been scarce. The paper reports the results of a survey of 20 Australian organisations with certified EMSs, designed to provide a start in understanding the role and contribution of training in meeting EMS objectives. Information was sought on the status, direction and focus of the training programs, along with the training providers, topics covered, and the range of training mechanisms. Broadly the findings illustrate differences in the training provided to staff generally, selected staff and to managers. Of importance for environmental educators is the extent to which education in the environment and education about the environment are already part of these training programs. Education for the environment is apparent in some training programs, indicating the scope that EMSs provide for the coverage of all three aspects of environmental education for the general community.

An indication is given of how the Republic of South Africa's new school curriculum, Curriculum 2 005, provides significant opportunity for the inclusion of environmental education. Aspects of the important role played by the Environmental Education Curriculum Initiative in the infusion of environmental education into Curriculum 2 005 are outlined. The paper discusses several of the many challenges to be addressed in the implementation of Curriculum 2 005 and its environmental education potential, and concludes with reference to the particular place of teacher education in this process.

On May 12-13 1997, at the instigation of the Chief Executive officer of what was the South Australian Department for Education and Children's services a student forum held in Adelaide dealt with many issues surrounding the idea of ecologically sustainable living. It was attended by 250 students from Years 4-12 with participants coming from most parts of the state. At the end of two days of group discussions and guest speakers students presented group responses to the Ministers for Education and Children's Services and for Environment and Natural Resources. Student responses addressed the following questions:

• What and how should we learn about ecologically sustainable living in school?

• What do schools need to do to be places that follow the principles of ecologically sustainable living?

• What could the Department for Education and Children's Services do to support students and schools to achieve ecologically sustainable living practices?

As in many parts of the world so too in Canada blossoming socio-environmental problems are having adverse effects on many communities. The environmental consequences, for example, of sustained over-fishing of Newfoundland cod, of west coast deforestation by logging of the Great Lakes area and of soil and water contamination caused by industrial activities are now fairly obvious to all. The associated depletion of employment possibilities, folklore and other cultural capital has often been coupled with an increase in violence and feelings of powerlessness and helplessness. But, according to public opinion surveys there is a positive weave to this web of adversity. People's concern for their planet remains high—and their knowledge of the gravity, scope, and root causes of environmental problems and the relation of these to politics and global economics has greatly expanded. Coupled with this is a realisation that current ways of living on this Earth are unsustainable, and that although governments, scientists and promised technological ‘fixes’ may be necessary parts of the solutions they are insufficient to the sheer enormity of the task. There is a resulting call to action by many communities.