The environmental education program of an urban elementary school

The purpose of this investigation was to develop an urban environmental program as a proposed model for teachers of grades 4-6 in an urban elementary school. The program is designed for the urban teacher who desires to bring the concepts of environmental education into the classroom as an integral part of the existing curriculum. The proposed program was developed from information obtained in a review of pertinent literature, and the planning and operation of a three month summer pilot environmental education program in a disadvantaged, racially mixed urban community of Knoxville, Tennessee. The pilot program study area was examined and interpreted through the use of appropriate maps, conferences with local officials and agencies, and a survey of the human and physical resources of the community, including educational, recreational, socioeconomic factors and additional factors in the physical environment. The urban program was designed using selected activities and strategies developed during the operation of the pilot program. The proposed program is structured around eight units, each consisting of a unit objective, basic vocabulary, related subject areas and suggested activities. By selecting the appropriate activities the program may be used for grades 4-6. The units are integrated into a program using the concept of a system, with inputs, interactions, and outputs. The basic system is the community which is connected to the larger natural and man-made systems by "lifelines". An evaluative technique for the program and the individual units is included. Recommendations for further research and study are made for (1) additional programs developed for the urban communities which com plement existing programs and span the educational experience from grades 1-12, and (2) research on the relationships of attitudes to behavior on the long and short term basis, including the development of an instrument to measure the change in attitudes or values of urban students exposed to environmental education programs.