Mississippi Teachers? Perceptions of Environmental Education and Outdoor Instruction During a COVID-19 Pandemic

Environmental education (EE) and outdoor instruction are essential to understanding and addressing different environmental issues in school communities. This study investigated Mississippi teachers? perceptions on environmental education and outdoor instruction during the 2020-2021 pandemic. A state-wide survey examined teachers? thoughts about environmental education and outdoor instruction and COVID-19 limitations in their classrooms and how that may affect their perceptions. Analysis was conducted using SPSS contingency and frequency tables, Chi-square Test of Independence, and content analysis of qualitative data. The results showed that Mississippi teacher participants believed that environmental education in Mississippi K-12 schools is very important and that outdoor instruction is a good way to learn environmental education. Many participants are interested in teaching classes outdoors but stated that they do not take their classes outside often. Results also documented that participants are concerned about the different limitations they face when teaching classes outdoors. Keywords: environmental education, outdoor instruction, COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 classrooms, Mississippi teachers
INTRODUCTION This study investigates Mississippi teachers? perceptions of environmental education, outdoor education, and classroom settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers (N=312) self-selected to participate in a survey, between November 3, [...]