Cultivating Environmental Literacy through Journal Writing on the Environment

환경 일기 쓰기를 통한 환경 소양 함양

This study examined the educational effects of journal writing on environmental literacy of elementary students. Thirty-one 3rd grade students were involved in the journal writing which is considered as one of the most frequently performed writing activities in elementary students. Topics for the journal writing were chosen from a textbook on the environment. Before and after the journal writing, an instrument was used to measure the environmental literacy of the students. The environmental literacy instrument was originally developed by Jin (2004) then were modified by Kim (2005) for elementary students. The results of this study are as follows. The environmental literacy of the students, on average, was improved from 140.84 (74.5%) to 161.84 (85.6%) after the journal writing and the difference was statistically significant(t=7.46, p<.001). The environmental literacy scores were significantly improved in every variable after the journal writing: ecological knowledge(t=3.60, p<.01), environmental sensitivity(t=2.54, p<.05), knowledge of environmental issues(t=3.11, p<.01), environmental attitude(t=5.92, p<.001), environmental concern(t=5.27, p<.001), sense of environmental crisis(t=2.97, p<.01), environmental issue investigation and action strategy knowledge (t=2.34, p<.05), environmental skill(t=4.86, p<.001), locus of control(t=5.63, p<.001), and responsible environmental behavior(t=4.64, p<.001). This study also shows that improvement of the students was statistically significant in each of the four levels of goals in environmental education: EE goal level I (t=4.22, p<.001), level II (t=7.53, p<.001), level III(t=5.01, p<.001), and level IV(t=5.46, p<.001). The results imply that the journal writing on the environment is effective in cultivating elementary students' environmental literacy and in achieving goals in environmental education.