Environmental Education, Age, Race, and Socioeconomic Class: An Exploration of Differential Impacts of Field Trips on Adolescent Youth in the United States

Despite growing calls for greater inclusivity and cultural responsiveness, little is known about how environmental education (EE) may differentially affect diverse audiences. As part of a national study of 334 environmentally focused day field trips for adolescent youth in the United States in 2018, we examined how outcomes differed for students of different grade levels, racial backgrounds, and socioeconomic status. Participants who were younger, Hispanic, and from lower socioeconomic classes exhibited more positive outcomes than older, non-Hispanic, and wealthier participants. Differences in Hispanic populations are likely at least partially attributable to known survey response biases. We also found that programs with non-White instructors tended to yield higher levels of satisfaction in groups where the student majority was not White. We discuss potential explanations for these trends and call for further research on culturally responsive and age-appropriate approaches to EE.