Abstract
Purpose. Residential environmental education programs for elementary school students have been offered by many California schools since 1946. The common goal of these programs is to provide environmental learning experiences which are unavailable in regular classroom settings. Traditional subject areas covered may include astronomy, biology, botany, ecology, geology, and other natural and physical sciences. This study was designed to identify changes in the environmental literacy of sixth grade students who attended an accredited residential outdoor education program. Environmental literacy as defined by Charles Roth (1992) is "the capacity to perceive and interpret the relative health of environmental systems and to take appropriate actions to maintain, restore, or improve these systems." Environmental literacy was measured using "The Children's Attitudes Toward the Environment Scale (CATES)" developed by Dr. Lynn M. Musser and Amy J. Malkus. Methodology. An experimental model based on a Solomon Four Group Design was used for this study. The study population was divided into two control and two experimental groups. One control and one experimental group each received a pre and posttest. The other two groups received the posttest only. Group assignment was based on scheduled attendance dates at an accredited residential environmental education program. The study population consisted of 429 sixth grade elementary school students from the Orange County Area of California. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney Two Sample Test, Kruskal Wallis Analysis of Variance, and chi-square statistical procedures. Findings and conclusion. Students who attended a residential environmental education program showed significant score increases on affective, cognitive, and to some degree, behavioral items. These increases did not appear to be influenced by gender and/or ethnicity. The data suggest that participation in a residential environmental education program increases the environmental literacy of students.