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Excellence in Environmental Education for Elementary and Secondary Schools in the United States

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Schooling for Sustainable Development Across the Pacific

Part of the book series: Schooling for Sustainable Development ((SSDE,volume 5))

Abstract

As in most parts of the world, environmental education in the United States is an evolving field. This evolution, however, is situated within the context of a highly political nationwide debate which has been raging, for nearly 30 years, over how to best provide quality education for all learners. Much of this debate has centered on the development of national, state and local standards for the core disciplines. These efforts have effectively narrowed the curriculum to a primary focus on reading and mathematics. Environmental education, which has always fought to find a place within the curriculum, stands in danger of becoming even more marginalized. This chapter focuses on how efforts to professionalize the field – to promote excellence in environmental education particularly at the elementary and secondary levels – took root and how the environmental education community is focusing on building the necessary capacity to implement coherent and cohesive environmental education programs nationwide.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA

    Bora Simmons

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  1. Bora Simmons
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Correspondence to Bora Simmons .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education and Human Development, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR

    John Chi-Kin Lee

  2. Department of Anthropology, Sociology and Social Work, Seattle University, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Rob Efird

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Simmons, B. (2014). Excellence in Environmental Education for Elementary and Secondary Schools in the United States. In: Lee, JK., Efird, R. (eds) Schooling for Sustainable Development Across the Pacific. Schooling for Sustainable Development, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8866-3_4

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