Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 3-9-2021 The Perceptions of Rural Teachers Engaged in Environmental Education Professional Development Workshops: A Case Study of the Alder Creek Community Forest and the Story of Your Place Bryan R. Benz Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Environmental Education Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Benz, Bryan R., "The Perceptions of Rural Teachers Engaged in Environmental Education Professional Development Workshops: A Case Study of the Alder Creek Community Forest and the Story of Your Place" (2021). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 5665. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.7537 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. The Perceptions of Rural Teachers Engaged in Environmental Education Professional Development Workshops: A Case Study of the Alder Creek Community Forest and the Story of Your Place by Bryan R. Benz A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership: Curriculum and Instruction Dissertation Committee Micki M. Caskey, Chair Heather Burns Anita Bright Suzanne Estes Portland State University 2021 i Abstract Environmental issues can be difficult for people to understand and for teachers to address in their classrooms. Issues such as climate change and ozone depletion are difficult to comprehend and present a challenge for most people to understand thoroughly the complexity of these environmental challenges. Professional development programs could provide the tools for teachers to improve their environmental literacy and a pathway for learning new methods for engaging their students. However, in rural Oregon, where professional development opportunities are scarce, teachers rely on a lean supply of organizations to provide these experiences. Alder Creek Community Forest, a nonprofit organization, provides opportunities for teachers to explore and to learn about the environment. Specifically, Alder Creek Community Forest collaborates with rural educators by facilitating workshops to help teachers integrate environmental education into a school’s curriculum. My problem of practice was that teachers in rural areas have limited professional development opportunities related to environmental education. The purpose of the study was to describe the perceptions of teachers engaged in environmental education professional development workshops. I interviewed three teachers to capture their experience of participating in the environmental education curriculum with interviews before their participation, during their participation, and after they attended a minimum of two workshops. Results from my analysis offer insight into the lived experiences of three rural educators who participated in an environmental education curriculum. Their experiences contribute to this qualitative case study about ii how an environmental education professional development program can improve environmental literacy. iii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. i List of Tables....................................................................................................................vii Chapter 1: Problem Statement ........................................................................................ 1 Problem Statement ............................................................................................... 1 Problem Description ............................................................................................ 4 Context of the Problem ............................................................................ 6 Validation that the Problem Exists ......................................................... 11 Statement of the Research Problem .................................................................... 13 Significance of the Research Problem ................................................................ 14 Presentation of Methods and Research Questions............................................... 17 Definitions of Key Concepts ............................................................................... 20 Summary...............................................................................................................21 Chapter 2: Literature Review ……................................................................................. 22 Theoretical Framework ...................................................................................... 22 Situated Learning Theory ....................................................................... 23 Review of the Research Literature ..................................................................... 27 Environmental Literacy .......................................................................... 28 Environmental Education ....................................................................... 28 Story of Your Place ................................................................................ 31 Professional Development .......................................................................35 Rural School ........................................................................................... 37 iv Review of the Methodological Literature .......................................................... 38 Summary of the Research Literature and Application to the Study .................. 43 Chapter 3: Methods ........................................................................................................ 45 Research Methods .............................................................................................. 46 Participants ............................................................................................. 48 Procedures .............................................................................................. 49 Phase 1 ....................................................................................... 50 Phase 2 ....................................................................................... 51 Instruments and Measures ...................................................................... 53 Data Collection and Analysis ................................................................. 54 Role of the Researcher ....................................................................................... 56 Chapter 4: Results .......................................................................................................... 58 Analysis of Data ................................................................................................. 59 Presentation of Results ....................................................................................... 62 ACCF as the Case .................................................................................. 63 Participating Teachers ............................................................................ 66 Debra .......................................................................................... 67 Helena ........................................................................................ 70 Laura .......................................................................................... 72 Results Summary ....................................................................................75 Interpretation of Findings ...................................................................................76 Perceptions of Teachers ..........................................................................76 v Positive Environmental Experiences ..........................................76 Reinforcement of Environmental Attitudes ................................77 Professional Development ..........................................................79 Environmental Literacy ..........................................................................82 Reinforcement of Environmental Attitudes ................................83 Professional Development ..........................................................86 Professional Development Support ........................................................89 Positive Environmental Experiences ..........................................89 Professional Development—Positive .........................................90 Professional Development—Challenges ....................................95 Positive Environmental Experiences ..........................................97 Limitations of Study ...........................................................................................98 Chapter 5: Conclusion ...................................................................................................101 Synthesis of Results ...........................................................................................102 Research Question One: Teachers Perceptions of Workshops ..............103 Research Question Two: Story of your Place.........................................106 Research Question Three: Teachers’ Beliefs and Sense of Place...........109 Situated in the Larger Context ............................................................................112