The complete report can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.
citation:
Bay Area Environmental Education:
How Do We Know We’re Making a Difference?
FINAL REPORT
July 2004
Summary
Through a collaborative learning process, a group of Bay Area environmental education professionals and representatives from the East Bay Community, Marin Community, Peninsula Community and The San Francisco Foundations have developed a regional framework that outlines how environmentally-responsible behavior can be promoted through environmental education.
This common framework will allow environmental education organizations to align efforts more readily. The framework also provides a basis for considering how systematic collection of evaluative data can then inform future program planning and delivery. The intent is that this effort will enable program providers to improve programs, coordinate efforts, and make a stronger collective positive impact.
This report documents the work of the learning community, describing how six key program strategies form the core of the regional framework and the focus of evaluation design. Participants in the learning community drew the following six strategies from their own professional knowledge, the research literature, and presentations by resource people:
• Implement Best EE Practices
• Target Specific Behaviors
• Disseminate Core EE Messages
• Increase Cultural Competence
• Promote Collaboration/Partnerships
• Increase Evaluation Capacity
The report provides details on the learning community’s development of the following items:
• A Regional Framework that depicts the relationships between the six key program strategies and desired outcomes,
• An Evaluation Questions Matrix that lays out possible foci for assessing each of the strategies,
• Key Attributes that characterize high-quality implementation of the strategies,
• Four Evaluation Design Options that would increase the evaluation capacity of the Bay Area EE community, and
• Recommendations for Action beyond the Learning Community.
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