Effects of Childhood Setting and Interaction with Nature on Academic Performance in Introductory College-Level Courses in the Environmental Sciences

Autor/inn/en	Spero, Melanie A.; Balster, Nick J.; Bajcz, Alex W.
Titel	Effects of Childhood Setting and Interaction with Nature on Academic Performance in Introductory College-Level Courses in the Environmental Sciences
Quelle	In: Environmental Education Research, 25 (2019) 3, S.422-442 (21 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Spero, Melanie A.) ORCID (Bajcz, Alex W.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1350-4622
DOI	10.1080/13504622.2018.1496405
Schlagwörter	Background; Academic Achievement; College Students; Environmental Education; Introductory Courses; Environmental Influences; Natural Resources; Child Development; Grades (Scholastic); Urban Areas; Rural Areas; Interaction; Student Interests; Prior Learning; Place of Residence + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Hintergrundinformation; Schulleistung; Collegestudent; Umweltbildung; Umwelterziehung; Umweltpädagogik; Einführungskurs; Environmental influence; Umwelteinfluss; Natural Ressource; Natürliche Ressource; Kindesentwicklung; Notenspiegel; Urban area; Stadtregion; Rural area; Ländlicher Raum; Interaktion; Studieninteresse; Vorkenntnisse; Wohnort
Abstract	This study explored the relationships between student background and academic performance in college introductory environmental science (ES) courses at a large U.S. research university with the premise that this analysis may inform teaching practices, curricula, and efforts to increase retention. We surveyed over 700 students across eleven introductory ES courses and used multiple linear mixed-effects regressions to model the data. We found that students who grew up in rural settings or who had frequent childhood interactions with natural environments earned higher grades, on average, than students from urban settings or with fewer childhood interactions with natural environments. Our results indicate that students reporting frequent childhood interactions with forests, for example, were projected to earn grades up to 1.5 letter grades higher in these courses than students with no such interactions. In addition, students with frequent childhood interactions with nature were likelier to report that such interactions helped them in their ES course, suggesting that these students may recognize the value of these experiences. Greater interest in the subject matter also correlated with higher ES course grades, whereas amount of prior ES coursework did not. We discuss the possible implications of these correlations for ES academic performance and educational practice. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01