Children's research into their local environment: Stevenson's gap and possibilities for the curriculum

This uses the ESRC project (RES 221-25-0036) to explore whether environmental education is more successful in schools than Stevenson reported in his seminal article (1987). We provide a chronological analysis of shifts in school environmental education in England, 1987-2006. The ESRC project is used to re-examine Stevenson's theory that a range of curriculum and pedagogical tensions exist between environmental education and schools. The analysis shows that the tensions remain. However, the ESRC project came closer to Stevenson's ideal. Rigour was maintained through the use of interview data from project participants to support this proposition. Significantly, this analysis was able to distinguish project features that led to its success in Stevenson's terms; an aspect which may contribute most to further debate about environmental education policy and practice. I contributed to the original thinking to shape this chapter and contributed throughout to the drafting of the text.

Proportional contribution: 33%