Status of Environmental Education in Tennessee.

Overview & Synopsis

Summarized are results of a survey of Tennessee teachers, elementary school principals, and supervisors of instruction regarding their views of environmental education and its implementation. Of the possible respondents, 35.4% returned the survey questionnaire. Frequency tabulations, percentages, and means show that environmental education is overwhelmingly perceived as an important component of the public school curriculum. In a majority of cases, educators integrate environmental education into other school subjects and incorporate both field trips and school site studies into their teaching activities. Over 70% of respondents indicated that environmental education programs should focus on the pre-adult level. Also presented in this report are a copy of the survey questionnaire, a discussion of limitations of the research methodology, conclusions regarding perceived problems in teaching environmental education, and respondents' opinions about the subject areas that relate most to environmental education. (WB)