Reflections on "Alternatives to National Standards in Environmental Education: Process-Based Quality Assessment"

Abstract

During recent years there has been a growing interest in developing national standards for environmental education in the United States. Advocates for standards claim that environmental education is often poorly defined and lacks clear directions and purposes with the result that some programs offered to students are of poor quality and provide content which is inappropriate, inaccurate, or biased. In addition, funding agencies often require grant applications to state the expected results of their proposals in terms which offer measurable, quantified outcomes or other demonstrable results. Standards, it is claimed, would provide guidance to program developers and evaluators, as well as to agencies which make decisions concerning program funding. ...