School to home transfer Investigating School to Home Transfer: some issues from environmental education practice and theory.

School to home transfer

Investigating School to Home Transfer: some issues from

environmental education practice and theory

Overview

• A current issue

• Review findings

• Own conclusions

• Future directions

motivating over 6,000 families to make over 10,000 environmental changes http://ecochildsplay.com/2008/09/24/%e2%80%9ctoo-cool-for-school%e2%80%9d-enrichment-programs-activate-youth/#more-1692

Why?“Marketers know that KIDS influence parents, we’re just taking the same dynamic and applying it to global warming,” http://ecochildsplay.com/2008/09/24/%e2%80%9ctoo-cool-for-school%e2%80%9d-enrichment-programs-activate-youth/

Adult generations have the power to affect change:‘yeah, yeah, they should really because when you are a little kid you don’t really, even if you don’t understand it you won’t be able to do much because it is more kind of your parents that … so you kind of have to persuade your parents to do it to actually make a big change’

Why not?‘… using children has got

obvious appeal as a campaign tactic. After all, they make natural campaigners - no shades of grey, no nuanced arguments, just loads of passion and clarity…’

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/feb/01/schools.ethicalliving

In his book, Russell tries to stir up hatred against ‘Groans’ (grown-ups) and their wasteful ways, and encourages children to become ‘Guardians of the Glorious Green Future’, nagging until their parents sign a ‘Glorious Green Charter http://www.spiked-

online.com/index.php

‘…prerequisites for those people that turn youngsters into child soldiers and suicide bombers; it all boils down to the ease with which they can be indoctrinated and manipulated’

Research• Nine papers spanning 2 decades (1992 to 2008)

researched in both the developed (Europe, Australia, USA and Canada) and the developing (Costa Rica and Mexico) world

• Intervention • Pre and post test (often)• Control group (often)• Local focus• Limited potential for transfer leading to

superficial behaviour changes or increased awareness (ESD 1)

Sutherland and Ham, 1992• Ethnographic case study in Costa Rica• pre and post interviews & family observations• Little or no ‘deliberate transfer’• ‘…programs that consider adults as audiences should

not rely on children as messengers since the transfer is not dependable or reliable’

• Simple behaviour change (financial savings)• Parents ‘stifle’ communication from children• Empowering children• Upsetting ‘power relations’ • ‘inadvertent transfer’• ‘It probably already happens’

Uzzell, 1994, 1999• Action competence and experiential learning• Large study involving 4 programmes in 4

European countries• Limited transfer observed in 3 programmes• Portugal – importance of political context – improvement in socio-political status from

environmental exploitation

• Uzzell concludes that:

EFFECTIVE WHENTwo-way communication and dialogue occurs The environment is already a topic of

conversation and something about which the parents have a pre-existing concern

The parent willingly acknowledges the ‘expert status’ of the child

BUTMethod can raise concern amongst children

about ‘minority status’Poor self esteem and negative attitudes towards

education are barriers ‘Current’ models of schooling do not encourage it

Model 2: local communities invited into the school (1) Dealing with actual environmental problems (2) Breaking down barriers between school and local community: environmental education carried out in local communities. (3) Action-oriented: the development of action possibilities.

Local Community

School

Model 3: the school as a guest in the local community. (1) Dealing with actual environmental problems. (2) Breaking down barriers between school and local community: environmental education carried out in local communities. (3) Action-oriented: the development of actionpossibilities.

Local Community

School

Model 4: the school as social agent (Dialogue model). (1) Dealing with actual environmental problems (2) Breaking down barriers between school and local community: environmental education carried out in local communities; students active in community in school time (3) Action-oriented: the development of action possibilities; concrete actions in the local community, both direct (e.g. waste, traffic, etc.) and indirect (influencing others, e.g. parents, politicians, planners

Local Community

School

Solution

Ballantyne et al (2001)

• Involving parents in homework activities and preparation of presentations to peers about

• A local focus enhances the effectiveness of school to home transfer

• Involving local community members • Emotional engagement with the issues

(including enjoyment)• Enthusiasm and engagement of teachers

Vaughen et al (1999)• Scarlet Macaw population in Costa Rica• Multiple choice pre- and posttest• Involved follow-up post test 8 months later• Programme designed to involve parents in

homework activities (cf Ballantyne et al)• Evidence of community learning: parental

control group displayed significantly improved results in the 2nd posttest

Schneller (2008)• Longitudinal study in Mexico • Lateral learning (peer tutoring)• 10 of 11 students reported change in behaviour of

family• 14 of 21 students reported change in behaviour of

family• Reported impact of programmes appear highly

effective at producing behaviour change• ‘It has been positive because the things that she is

learning in the class she is bringing home to us’BUT• Sea turtles bring tourism• Garbage affects well-being

My research• Qualitative• Exploratory approach (no intervention)• Research internet administered surveys to parents and

students (structured)student mediated interviews of students

(semi-structured)

Strands• family discussions about school work• family involvement with sustainability and

environmental issues• perception of children’s ability to teach parents

within the family• reactions to the concept of ‘positive pester

power’ and ‘local perspectives’ in teaching at the school

• usefulness of the above in eliciting behavioural changes and learning within families

Findings• Children at this institution can teach their parents

and can influence their parents’ commitment to sustainability

• school to home transfer is not necessarily enhanced by a local focus here

• although ‘positive pester power’ might be an effective way of encouraging pro-environmental behaviour, the children interviewed at this school are not enthusiastic about engaging in it

• there is little or no reported evidence of learning spreading into the community as a result of school to home transfer

Incidental findings

• ‘…it means that they know that paying for my education is paying off! ‘

• Siblings • ‘because it’s like, wow! I taught them something’• The decision to discuss topics with parents

should be left up to the child• ‘Polar bears dying’ or ‘really cool stuff’• Parental influence on child

Future directions

• Nudge not noodge (Thaler and Sunstein, 2008)

• Multi-directional; multi-generational• Internet fora and discussion groups• ECM and Sustainable School Initiative • Impact of prior engagement• ESD 2 ( ESD 1?)

Model 4: the school as social agent (Dialogue model). (1) Dealing with actual environmental problems (2) Breaking down barriers between school and local community: environmental education carried out in local communities; students active in community in school time (3) Action-oriented: the development of action possibilities; concrete actions in the local community, both direct (e.g. waste, traffic, etc.) and indirect (influencing others, e.g. parents, politicians, planners

Local Community

School

Solution

References

• Ballantyne, Roy, Connell, Sharon and Fien, John (1998) 'Students as Catalysts of Environmental Change: a framework for researching intergenerational influence through environmental education', EnvironmentalEducation Research, 4:3, 285 – 298

• Ballantyne, Roy, Fien, John and Packer, Jan (2001) 'School Environmental Education Programme Impacts upon Student and Family Learning: acase study analysis', Environmental Education Research, 7:1, 23 - 37

• Duvall, J & Zint, M (2007) A Review of Research on the Effectiveness of Environmental Education in Promoting Intergenerational Learning in The Journal of Environmental Education 38: 4, 14-24

• Leeming, F.C., Porter, B.E., Dwyer, W.O., Cobern, M.K., & Oliver, D.P. (1997) Effects of participation in class activities on children's environmental attitudes and knowledge. Journal of Environmental Education, 28, 33-42.

• Legault, L., & Pelletier, L. (2000). Impact of an environmental education programme on students’ and parents’ attitudes, motivation, and behaviours. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 32, 243–250.

• Sutherland, D., & Ham, S. (1992). Child-to-parent transfer of environmental ideology in Costa Rican families: An ethnographic case study. The Journal of Environmental Education, 23:3, 9-16

• Schneller, A. J. (2008) 'Environmental service learning: outcomes of innovative pedagogy in Baja California Sur, Mexico', Environmental Education Research, 14(3):291 — 307

• Uzzell, David (1999) 'Education for Environmental Action in the Community: new roles and relationships', Cambridge Journal of Education, 29:3, 397 – 413

• Vaughan, C., Gack, J., Solorazano, H., & Ray, R. (1999). The effect of environmental education on schoolchildren, the parents, and community members: A study of intergenerational and intercommunity learning. Journal of Environmental Education, 34(3), 12–21