The Influence of Short-Term Outdoor Ecology Education on Long-Term Variables of Environmental Perspective

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate empirically the ultimate goals of environmental and ecological education: fostering responsible environmental behavior, effecting long-term changes of students' attitudes toward conservation and nature, and providing basic ecological knowledge. One-day and 5-day versions of a long-established outdoor ecology program in a national park were examined. The study was designed as a pre- and posttreatment evaluation, and the posttest was delayed for 1 month after participants experienced the outdoor education program (posttest was delayed for 6 months with a subsample). Approximately 700 students were surveyed by means of multiple-choice knowledge statements; the survey showed that both programs fostered cognitive levels. Similarly, the scores within the subdivision Human-Altered Nature increased. Furthermore, the 5-day program explicitly provoked favorable shifts in individual behavior, both actual and intended, a parameter that is generally seen as a complex and long-term process. Comparison of the average pupil population with the population enrolled in the outdoor education programs surprisingly revealed a more proenvironmental orientation in students enrolled in the program before any education at the nature site took place. Possible reasons–preselection and/or presensitizing of students–are discussed.