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Impact of Early-Exposure Environmental Education on A View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by UTC Scholar IMPACT OF EARLY-EXPOSURE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ON A CHILD’S SELECTION OF WORDS AND CREATIVITY By Reid Fisher Jim Tucker Tom Buggey Professor Professor (Chair) (Committee Member) Hinsdale Bernard Tom Howick Professor External Reviewer (Committee Member) (Committee Member) Anthony J. Lease A. Jerald Ainsworth Interim Dean of the College Dean of the Graduate School of Health, Education and Professional Studies IMPACT OF EARLY-EXPOSURE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ON A CHILD’S SELECTION OF WORDS AND CREATIVITY By Reid Fisher A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Education The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee August 2013 ii © Copyright 2013 By Reid Anthony Fisher All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Environmental education researchers have long identified a connection between formative play experiences in nature settings and pro-environmental behaviors (i.e., career paths) of their subjects later in life. Most studies have been post-hoc retrospective looks that have not had the ability to assess causation. As more children are removed from free-play wilderness opportunities, some schools are seeking means to create those formative experiences within the educational setting, but research has not been done to address the impact that this approach has on developing particular environmental behaviors. To address that gap in the literature, this study seeks to identify the impacts that a forest-immersion pre-kindergarten has on the connection of the child with the natural world. Twenty-seven pre-kindergarten students from two academic programs participated in a quasi-experimental study in which they responded to age-appropriate divergent-thinking tasks. Measures of fluency, flexibility, originality, and creativity were compared. Parents completed a survey containing open-ended questions and a 5-point Likert-scaled instrument on ecological perceptions. A significant difference was found between the two groups. The forest-immersion group used more nature-based words in their ideations, which reflects a cognitive impact stemming from their educational environment. Despite both programs employing a Reggio Emilia-inspired teaching philosophy, the students in the forest-immersion program expressed greater numbers of ideations and higher creativity scores as well. Forest-immersion programs used in early- iv childhood education have the potential to impact the cognition of the child as reflected in language use. Subsequent studies need to be done to follow these children as they progress through their education to identify lasting impacts that may arise in the form of pro-environmental behaviors. v DEDICATION To my wife A’ndrea and my children Dakota and Maverick vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Without the distraction of my loving family, I would have completed this with a great deal more sleep, and perhaps, faster. I cherished every distraction, hug, and tickle- fight. Particular thanks goes to my wife who kicked me out of the house until I finished. I wish to thank my committee, Jim Tucker, Hinsdale Bernard, Tom Buggey, and Tom Howick, as they patiently guided my impatience. Erin Kenney, Christie Pierce, and Karen Kerstetter all were very gracious to support me in working with their children. Thank you for letting me glimpse into their minds. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iv DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. viii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xi CHAPTER .......................................................................................................................... 1 I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 Forest Kindergarten .................................................................................... 1 Conceptual Framework ............................................................................... 5 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................... 9 Methods..................................................................................................... 11 Research Questions ................................................................................... 12 Hypothesis................................................................................................. 13 Null Hypothesis ........................................................................................ 13 Definition of Terms................................................................................... 14 Rationale for the Study ............................................................................. 15 Significance of the Study .......................................................................... 16 Delimitations ............................................................................................. 17 Limitations ................................................................................................ 17 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE.......................................................................... 19 Global Environment .................................................................................. 19 Education .................................................................................................. 21 Calls for Change in the Educational Paradigm ......................................... 28 Implementing Change ............................................................................... 31 Nature Impacts .......................................................................................... 35 No Child Left Inside ................................................................................. 37 A Child’s Development ............................................................................ 41 Reggio Emilia ............................................................................... 44 viii Testing....................................................................................................... 45 III. METHODS .................................................................................................... 48 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................. 48 Experimental School Recruitment ............................................................ 48 Control School Recruitment ..................................................................... 49 Nature of the Research Design ................................................................. 49 Research Questions ................................................................................... 50 Variables ................................................................................................... 50 Dependent Variables ................................................................................. 51 Null Hypothesis 1 ..................................................................................... 51 Null Hypothesis 2 ..................................................................................... 51 Null Hypothesis 3 ..................................................................................... 51 Null Hypothesis 4 ..................................................................................... 52 Procedures ................................................................................................. 52 Parents ........................................................................................... 52 Teachers ........................................................................................ 52 Students ......................................................................................... 53 Data Analysis ............................................................................................ 55 Evaluators ..................................................................................... 55 Parents ........................................................................................... 55 Student responses .......................................................................... 56 IV. RESULTS ....................................................................................................... 58 Programs Description................................................................................ 58 Forest kindergarten ....................................................................... 58 Control school philosophies .......................................................... 61 Subject Description ................................................................................... 62 Teachers ........................................................................................ 62 Students ......................................................................................... 63 Parents ..........................................................................................
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