Virtually all lecturers in geography recognise the importance of fieldwork as a vital mode of teaching in the subject. This paper draws on material produced as part of a HEFCE review of teaching and learning in the field and assesses the implications of recent changes in higher education for field studies in geography. The literature on the development of, and recent changes in, fieldwork practice is reviewed and assumptions about appropriate forms of teaching and assessment are challenged. The need for carefully integrated preparation of project‐orientated fieldwork is stressed and the importance of debriefing and feedback after field visits is emphasised. Various suggestions for guidelines on good practice are presented. Finally, a range of future issues and problems in fieldwork is identified and discussed.

Fieldwork in geography teaching: A critical review of the literature and approaches

This study estimated reading achievement gaps in different ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic groups of 1st graders in the U.S. compared with specific reference groups and identified statistically significant correlates and moderators of early reading achievement. A subset of 2,296 students nested in 184 schools from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) kindergarten to 1st-grade cohort were analyzed with hierarchical linear models. With child-level background differences controlled, significant 1st-grade reading differentials were found in African American children (-0.51 SD units below Whites), boys (-0.31 SD units below girls), and children from high-poverty households (-0.61 to -1.0 SD units below well-to-do children). In all 3 comparisons, the size of the reading gaps increased from kindergarten entry to 1st grade. Reading level at kindergarten entry was a significant child-level correlate, related to poverty status. At the school level, class size and elementary teacher certification rate were significant reading correlates in 1st grade. Cross-level interactions indicated reading achievement in African American children was moderated by the schools students attended, with attendance rates and reading time at home explaining the variance.

Reading achievement gaps, correlates, and moderators of early reading achievement: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) kindergarten to first grade sample

Lack of education is one of the largest obstacles to development. If people do not know what things are harmful to the environment, how can they respect it? Schools play an important role in the formation of positive attitudes towards the environment in young children. In this paper we analyse some possible reasons of influencing the environmental knowledge and perceptions of English and Mexican school children (aged 7-9). Differences are considered in turn of: the role of national policy, and classroom practice. Children were from eight schools with different environmental ethos. We explore the extent to which culture and the school ethos with regards to the environment have an effect on the formation of environmental knowledge, perceptions and attitudes in young children. A brief description of the most significant changes with regards to environmental issues in the educational systems of England and Mexico is presented. The similarities and differences among the two countries are highlighted. Results r...

Environmental Education: A comparison between English and Mexican school children

Since the dawn of human civilisation, people have interacted with nature, most notably to harness the resources that have fuelled the human enterprise (Vitousek et al . 1997). The sheer rate and scale of human appropriation of natural resources has precipitated a biodiversity crisis currently being manifested in rapid rates of species extinctions, extensive transformation of the structure and function of ecosystems, and rapid alterations to the Earth's climate (Vitousek et al . 1986; Pimm & Raven 2000). The biodiversity crisis is a result of human activity, so the solutions to it will depend largely on human actions, on understanding and enhancing the way that we all interact with nature (Collins et al . 2000; Ehrlich 2002). Because most people on the planet live in towns and cities, the majority of our daily interactions with nature take place in urban environments, and this has led to a recent upsurge of interest in the dynamics of these relationships (Bradshaw & Bekoff 2000; Miller & Hobbs 2002; Pyle 2003; Saunders et al . 2006). Despite the manifest impoverishment of the natural environment in urban areas, or perhaps because of it, many urban dwellers seek out interaction with nature in some form, for example by visiting a local green space, or feeding backyard birds. Yet our understanding of these interactions is nascent, principally because their study requires work across several disciplinary boundaries (Alberti et al . 2003; Braun 2005). For example, ecologists often lack the interest or the tools to study people (Collins et al . 2000).

Urban Ecology: Interactions between people and nature in urban environments

Ecologists, conservation biologists and other natural historians increasingly recognize the need to become involved in public education. An ecologically literate public may be the 'last best hope' for a sustainable biosphere. Partnerships between ecologists and educators may be the best hope, though not the last, for moving towards an ecologically literate public. What are some practical schemes for such partnerships? We present a model for ecology education that has shown promise in several South American settings and describe its application in two quite different contexts in southern Argentina. We hope that our colleagues will ponder, criticize, modify, improve and apply the model in settings other than those we present here.

School yards and nature trails: ecology education outside the university

Ecology in Education

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Ecology in Education