Document: WIN-3-28-11

Kids on nature: Children's knowledge of ecological issues in Greater Yellowstone.

HANSEN, W.D.* ¹ and A.J.HANSEN ²

Gallatin Gateway School, Gallatin Gateway, MT 59730 USA ¹
Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 USA ²

Abstract:
While it is increasingly apparent that ecology is highly relevant to human wellbeing, ecological education for citizens in the U.S. is ad hoc and occurs largely via the popular media. The effectiveness of this education is especially poorly known for children. The information received by boys and girls may be filtered by parents and reflect value judgements more heavily than scientific knowledge. We surveyed 6-8th grade students in the Yellowstone region to determine: the accuracy of ecological knowledge of children relative to their parents; if boys and girls differ in ecological understanding; if children in fast-growing urban counties differ in ecological knowledge from those in slow-growing agricultural counties; and if accuracy of ecological understanding was related to the child's source of information. A pilot study of 68 students revealed that less than 50% adequately understood key facts about three prominent issues: wolf reintroduction; brucellosis infection of bison and cattle; and whirling disease in trout. The source of information most commonly identified was television. Integrating ecological education into public school curricula may be a more effective means of improving the ecological knowledge of children.

Keywords: children, ecological knowledge, Yellowstone

This abstract is being presented at: 8:30 AM in session:
Oral Session #24: Ecological Learning Activities.